Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Card Captor Sakura - Altered World ❯ Sakura and the Mysterious Magical Book ( Chapter 1 )

Notes: This fanfic will be S+S, and will deal with more mature concepts later on. Read at your own risk. Spare my horrible memory, I can't remember every single detail and there aren't complete episode summaries of CCS. Oh and this is my first CCS story so I may have some problems with the characterization, please be gentle. I'm poor; don't sue. I don't own CCS at all.

(revised February 26, 2003)

A young man with unruly brown hair and amber eyes stared down at the blue-roofed house, his face set into a smirk. He was dressed in an outdated green Chinese robes that fluttered around him and if one was watching were watching a Chinese movie they would think he was an extraordinary swordsman or martial artist. He had his right foot raised on the peak of the roof. His other leg rested on the slant of the roof which made an impressive image, considering he was able to balance his stance.

He could sense it; it was near and soon would be the end of his quest. He would come home, and his clan would respect him, welcoming him back no longer as a worthless child. Not Li Syaoran that would be babied by his sisters, forced to do their slightest whims. His thoughts trailed back home to Hong Kong, which he had left three years ago. He made a small grimace as an image of a certain ruby eyed girl with her long obsidian hair set in buns at the side of her head emerged in his mind. Probably within a year of his return, his marriage to the girl would be fulfilled. It wasn't that he actually hated the girl, but she was like a sibling to him and marriage to her made him feel he was committing incest. He sighed, shaking his head faintly to clear his thoughts. He needed to complete his quest, not waste time dallying on trivial matters.

He jumped and completed a somersault in the air as he flipped onto the blue-roofed house. He made little sound while landing with his soles padded. Good, he thought. It wouldn't do for any of the occupants of the house waking. He headed for a part of the roof where there was a gleam caused by the streetlamps; a window. He took a glimpse inside and saw a figure sleeping on a bed. Night made his job much easier, concealing him in its shadows and leaving all but the restless unwary. The window was left slightly ajar and he simply lifted it up and crawled in. This is too simple. Much more than he could ever imagine reflecting on how horrible his journey had been; a complete wild goose chase from one city to another. It was as if something was deliberately playing with him, sending him to flounce around the whole continent.

The room he recently entered proclaimed with female childishness, making him grimace. Several stuffed animals lying at the head of the bed. He looked over the sleeping figure to check if she was still sleeping soundly. Her breaths were even, and soft. She was deep into slumber, and if he performed his job correctly, would remain so. She was a young girl about his age, sixteen or seventeen, he judged. Short auburn locks framed her face and her face itself was completely tranquil. He gave her a look of pure disgust, how could someone his age remain so immature?

Suddenly, he felt a strange feeling tingling in the back of his mind while he moved to head out of the room. He did a double take on the girl's sleeping form and felt a faint aura emanate from her. Oh, how he wanted to laugh mockingly! A complete useless ditz like her had the power while several members of the Li Clan, descendants of Clow Reed himself, didn't even have a pinch of magic. What a joke, he thought with contempt, as he crept out the girl's room and gently shut the door behind himself.

The aura he was seeking grew stronger as he headed down the stairs. He called upon the God of Fire and lit an ofuda into a small flame. He paused slightly to trace the aura and headed down the corridor, stopping in front of a door that obviously led to the basement of the house he had intruded. He entered and walked down the stairs calmly, blinking as the aura had increased in magnitude, overwhelming his senses. He walked toward the aura closer and there laid "The Clow" on an oak desk with its lion-like guardian, the Cerberus, on the cover. Relief swam over him as the book lay before him.

Finally, I've found it.

Kinomoto Sakura rubbed her eyes and pulled her covers around herself closer against the chill. She gave up and glanced upwards seeing her window wide open. Funny, she remembered leaving her window with the slightest crack open. She raised herself to close the window and her foot came across something strangely grainy. She bent down and inspected the ground where her foot had made contact. She just cleaned the floors of her room that day and it was improbable that it was grimy already. It was very odd. Her heart began to pound slightly in fear.

"Could it be a burglar?" she whispered in a quiet voice that shook slightly.

She pulled open a drawer and shuffled around it for a flashlight. She slowly moved out of her room, her feet making brief contact with the floor and turned on her flashlight, illuminating the dark hall. She reached the bottom of the stairs she turned around the corner and plainly stared in shock. The door to the basement was wide open while it was usually kept shut in case someone would collide with the door and injure him or her self. Her heart began to race as she approached the basement. She shut off her flashlight, as she saw some light from within, and she made her way cautiously down the steps.

There was the back of a man in green line with orange and yellow approaching where her father kept the artefacts that he had excavated. He was tall but not as tall as her brother. She would probably reach less than midway to the top of his head. Short chocolate brown strands lay in an unordered mess at the crown of his head. His shoulders were broad, hinting his physical strength his loose robes hid. The robes where held tightly together at his waist with an orange belt. The long, wide sleeves fluttered around his arms as he shifted slightly, his hand reaching forward.

"Who's there?" she asked, too frightened to think clearly of the danger that could occur from stating her presence.

The man whirled around with an expression of complete surprise was plastered on his face. He quickly straightened his face and a neutral expression formed. His amber eyes pierced straight into hers, making her want to cry out but no sound escaped her mouth. He was quite handsome but his eyes were cold, not brutal cruelty but plain dispassion. It absolutely frightened her.

Despite his cool appearance, Syaoran's mind was in a state of chaos. How could this happen to him when he was so close! In his frenzied state, the only coherent thought was to make a quick escape. He roughly shoved the girl aside, dismissing her whimper of pain, and quickly dashed upstairs to the window where he had entered. His heart was beating rapidly as he crawled out of the window. There was no time to lose, and he began leaping from rooftop to rooftop until he reached the balcony of his apartment. He pulled the glass pane doors aside and dropped onto his bed panting. Something in the back of his mind screamed at him and he looked down at his empty hands. He failed to take the book.

"Damn..." he swore as he begun to berate himself for being uncharacteristically careless that evening.

Shock and fear eventually wore off and was replaced by curiosity. She pushed herself up from where she laid sprawled on the ground. I wonder what he was looking for, she thought as she approached the desk the Chinese man seemed so intent on. A book seemed to draw to her and she reached out her hand to touch it.

"The Clow?" she said out loud questioningly as her fingers lightly trailed across the cover, over the raised words. Her fingers began to dance towards the lock of the book and the latch snapped open of its own accord. Undaunted, she lifted and opened the book and saw a strange deck of cards within. She lifted the first card curiously, and read the name of the card.

"The Windy?"

Suddenly a furious wind seemed to appear out of nowhere and Sakura braced herself as the wind sent the rest of the cards flying. The cards spread across the room and appeared to be disappearing through the walls and ceiling of the basement. Surprised, Sakura dropped the book, leaving it to clatter onto the ground.

The book began to glow and from it, emerged a stuff doll? The winged yellow teddy bear-like doll rose and its beady eyes glinted to life.

"Konyanyachi wa!!!" the creature greeted her cheerfully in Osaka dialect.

Is it one of those novelty talking dolls that Tomoyo's mother makes, Sakura thought as she blinked disbelievingly.

"Huh?" was the only word that escaped Sakura's thoughts.

"So you were able to wake me up," said the doll proudly as he pressed his stumpy hands to his waist.

"Osaka dialect?" questioned Sakura as she stared at the thing, knowing she was gawking.

"Well this book was in Osaka for a while. I picked up the Osaka dialect," stated the stuffed doll in a matter-of-fact voice.

Sakura grabbed the creature rudely and began looking it over, examining it for a decent explanation.

"Where's the battery? The switch?" she exclaimed hysterically, turning it over and over.

"Whoa... what you're doing?" said the creature, waving its arms frantically in alarm.

"Where's the sound coming from!" she cried, still thinking she was probably dreaming. Oh, she should have known to lay off the sweets, but her father's desserts were too good!

"I'm not a toy! I'm Cerberus, Beast of the seal who guards this book!" shouted the creature indignantly.

"Seal? Cerberus?" wondered Sakura as she silently prayed to wake up.

"That's right! To guard these cards in this book from becoming evil is my..." the creature called Cerberus suddenly paused, as if he just remembered something important. Cerberus' eyes shot down to the empty book laying on the grounding.

"The cards are all gone?! Why? Why's that?! Where in the world did they go?" he screamed, flying amuck causing Sakura to feel slightly dizzy.

"This?" Sakura asked in a daze as she raised the Windy card in her hand.

"This is it! This is it! This is it!" Cerberus said excitedly and then halted, "Then, what about the other cards?"

"I read the card and suddenly the wind came out of nowhere. They all flew away somehow," answered Sakura meekly.

"I see," Cerberus said while rubbing his chin sagely before screaming. "What?!"

"This is bad. I have absolutely no idea where the cards are," said Cerberus, seated in Sakura's room after an attempt to locate the Clow Cards by sensing their aura.

"Here," said Sakura as she offered him some pudding. Well, she had to be polite, despite whatever it was…

"It looks good." Cerberus said eyeing the pudding greedily.

"This book contains the Clow Cards," he said finally, pointing at the book with his sparkling, clean spoon.

"Clow Cards?" queried Sakura, unfamiliar with the name.

"Clow Cards," repeated Cerberus, emphasizing the words. "When the Seal is broken, a disaster will befall upon this world. Those are special cards created by a powerful magician named Clow Reed. Each card has its own life and holds stunning power. They all do whatever they want recklessly, and no normal human beings can defeat them. That's why Clow created this book, and put me, the Beast of the Seal, on the cover. Anyway, with the one to bring the cards back will have to be you. I'll be your guide."

"Why me?" blurted Sakura in astonishment. She had to stay away from reading all that manga as well. It must have been going into her head, corrupting her mind. She was going to wake, wasn't she?

"It was you who scattered them with the magic card of the wind, right?" answered Cerberus, pointing the spoon at her condemningly.

"Bu-but, it's your job to seal the cards properly, isn't it?" argued Sakura, angered that Cerberus rested the responsibility on her shoulders.

"Well, I fell asleep by mistake..." replied Cerberus sheepishly, fiddling with the spoon.

"For how long?" prodded Sakura.

"About thirty-five years..." said Cerberus, shrinking back slightly.

"And you call yourself Beast of the Seal?" scolded Sakura in annoyance as she shot up from her seat on her bed.

Cerberus hurried some excuses. "Lots of things happen in life! C'mon! In any case, the fact that you could open this book... means that you could use a bit of magic. What's your name?"

"Sakura," answered the girl, staring at the beast questioningly.

"All right, Sakura. Stand over there," commanded Cerberus, waving his spoon in a general direction.

"Huh?" said Sakura as she complied with his demand naively.

A small golden key floated alarmingly in the air before Cerberus.

"O Key of the Seal. There is one who wishes for a contract with thee. A girl named Sakura. O Key, grant her power! Release!" chanted Cerberus, reciting the incantation without a pause.

The key extended before her disbelieving eyes and formed a staff of some sort.

"Sakura, take the staff! All right! It's the birth of the Card Captor!" shouted Cerberus encouragingly.

"This is absolutely impossible!" Sakura exclaimed in amazement as she clutched the staff in her hands, eyes sliding down the length of it through her examination.

"Wow! This is soft!" Cerberus exclaimed in amazement as he dug into his pudding, ignoring Sakura's exclamations.

Sakura's wonderment soon faded, and she stalked in front of Cerberus crossly. "There's no way I'm the Card Captor!"

"You're now the Card Captor, the one who captures the Clow Cards. Isn't that cool?" said Cerberus oblivious to Sakura's distress and savouring the pudding.

"You have to realise that I'm just a normal teenager! I have nothing to do with the disaster of the world," ranted Sakura, throwing up her arms in exasperation.

"Who was the one that scattered the card with this?" said Cerberus, glancing at her briefly before turning his attention back towards his beloved sweets.

"Who was the one that didn't watch the cards and fell asleep?" said Sakura, levelling a glare at the doll who was not heeding her predicament.

A strong gust of wind blew into Sakura's room through her window, making her grip her desk for balance and interrupted the glaring contest which begun between the two.

"Such strong wind..." she murmured faintly in surprise, and headed towards her window.

"Sakura!" yelled Cerberus as he pointed out to the sky, finally directing his attention away from the captivating pudding.

Sakura flipped her head upwards and saw a humongous bird in the distance, contrasting the pitch black of the night sky.

"What is that!" cried Sakura in alarm as she took a step backwards.

"It's a Clow Card," answered Cerberus solemnly.

"Huh?" Apparently the reality of her situation wasn't settling in Sakura's mind. It isn't any day where some ridiculously cute flying object announces that you are now crowned to be saviour of the world… Well maybe not.

"That's the card, Fly. It's not the time to admire the view! Hurry!" Cerberus said hastily as he nudged her shoulder.

"For what?" questioned Sakura in her baffled state.

"Card Captor Sakura's first job!" declared Cerberus all too cheerfully.

"Wha-What!"

It was the beginning of an adventure, with our reluctant heroine and her new cuddly companion. A destiny that time had not forgotten.

Fate had finally begun to move…

Li Syaoran suddenly shot up from his bed after rolling around and bemoaning his failure. He felt the distinct power of the Clow cards channel into his room and the power felt more definitive, more alive than when he was paces away from the book itself.
It couldn't be possible, could it? He closed his eyes and concentrated on the aura faintly drumming in his mind.

"Shit, they're free," he said swearing and bounded off the bed. He threw off sleep wear and grabbed his battle regalia.

"Why in my pyjamas..." moaned Sakura in dismay at her undressed state.

"What's the world's one and only Card Captor saying?" Cerberus said he beat his wings steadily, following Sakura who travelled by her roller blades.

"It's huge! I can't do it!" Sakura objected as she skated furiously around the corner, shaking her head.

"Don't say such discouraging things! Sakura, magic! That key! Transform it like the way I taught you just now!"

A magic circle formed under Sakura, a replica of the pattern on the back of the Clow Cards, as she raised her hand to her neck and chanted, "O Key which hides the forces of darkness, reveal thy true form before me. I, Sakura, command thee under contract. Release!"

The key extended yet again and formed the magical staff now gripped securely in her hands.

"Ready, Sakura? The card Fly is of the element wind. You should be able to capture it with Windy," advised Cerberus, tailing after her as she increased her speed.

"Is this how I do it?" asked Sakura, staring confusedly at the card Windy.

"Anyway, get a little closer," spoke Cerberus. Sakura obeyed and inched towards the unsuspecting magical entity.

Unexpectedly, the bird gave a shriek of alarm, focusing on the new Card Captor who was intent on containing it. The bird streaked downwards, creating a strong gust that threw Sakura into the air. Cerberus caught Sakura with his mouth and with much effort set her gently back onto the ground.

"What should I do? It dove at me!" called Sakura, as she steadied herself on the rollerblades.

"Sakura, the card Windy!" shouted Cerberus, as the rebellious card began hovered before them.

"This is bad! It's coming again!" Cerberus cried as the card beat its wings frantically, revving for another attack. "Hurry! Use the card Windy!"

"But this is... I can't do it!" cried Sakura desperately, her eyes flickering between the card in her hand and her current opponent.

During Sakura's hesitation, Fly swooped towards Sakura and sent Cerberus flying such a manner that he slammed hard into the ground.

"Isn't the Card Captor the one who has to do something about that?" Cerberus groaned as he picked himself off the pavement.

The card swept into the air and commenced flying in the opposite direction in a direct attempt to escape.

"Something... Maybe I can do something..." Sakura murmured took chase after Fly, her rollerblades skidding on the ground at top speed.

"What are you going to do?! Sakura! Sakura!" Cerberus cried out as he tried to follow Sakura and failed, unable to match her sudden burst of speed.

She gained enough momentum during her rush to skate up the wall, gasping in small breaths. Reaching a certain height, she pushed off the wall, landing onto the bird. A magic circle appeared from under her and she threw Windy into midair. Taking her staff, she hit the beak of it onto the card. A blue aura began to emit from the card, as power gathered.

"O Wind, become a chain of admonition. Windy!" the Japanese girl chanted in a hurried breath.

A wind sprite emerged, charging forward. Wisps of wind began to encircle Fly, and then eventually surrounded it completely. The wind tugged the card down towards the ground and Sakura leaped, allowing gravity to take her to the ground.

"Return to thy form which thou should be! Clow Card!" she yelled, hitting the beak of her staff onto Fly. Fly began to disintegrate into wisps of magic as reverted to a card. Out of its own volition, it flew into her hand.

"Well done, Sakura!" Cerberus exclaimed congratulatory as he flew towards the gasping girl.

"I thought I was going to die!" Sakura cried through gasps of breath, with her hands on her knees to support her upper body.

"You're truly the Card Captor that I counted on," said Cerberus while patting her shoulder happily.

"I didn't agree to this!" started Sakura angrily as she turned her head to glare at him.

"It'll be a good experience for you!" said Cerberus dismissively. "Now, the card you captured with all that effort, try tapping it."

"What will that do?" asked Sakura, her eyes glinting at the creature warily.

"Just do it," said Cerberus, waving a hand up and down nonchalantly.

The magic circle formed under Sakura as she threw the card in midair and struck it with her staff.

"Fly!" she shouted and amazingly wings formed on the end of her staff. Cerberus motioned with his hands for her to mount staff and it took her high into the air.

"How's it? Feels good, doesn't it?" conversed Cerberus in attempts to trying to soften her anger from before.

"Yes," she said smiling with her eyes closed, enjoying the slight breeze caressing her hair that flying created.

"I'll depend on you from now on, okay? Card Captor Sakura?" said Cerberus inconspicuously.

"Yeah!" said Sakura carelessly.

"Hey wait! I didn't say I'm doing it!" exclaimed Sakura, her eyes wide at the realisation of Cerberus's manipulation.

Li Syaoran was leaning against a wall near the site of the battle. So they were really set free. He would have to let the girl do her duties freely, seeing that he could not seal the cards without the power of being a Card Captor. What a weak girl. Her magical power was unrefined and it clearly paled to his own. I am not returning to Hong Kong for a long time, aren't I, he thought with annoyance. Another thought briefly crossed his mind. What in the world was that fuzzy flying stuffed doll?

Notes:

I will not write all 70 episodes (If you expect me to, you have to be kidding right?) but I'll write the plot up to the second movie but I'll tend to stray from the original story in some points. I also will include some manga elements...

Since this is my first CCS fic, please give me some comments and criticism.

March 16, 2001 Christine Chan aka Kinomoto Sakura of Ffnet