Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ The Second Generation Cardcaptors ❯ Omedetto Tanjobi! ( Chapter 35 )

Second Generation Cardcaptors 35

Akiko: We all had a long day last time. I was invited to go to a high school track meet with Mizuki-sensei, Nakuru-san, Touya-san, and Yukito-san! Meeko, Makoto and Shinji went with Auntie Sakura and Syaoran to go listen to an opera. During the performances in both areas, Clow Cards attack! Mizuki-sensei and Nakuru aided me in capturing the Flower, while Sakura and Syaoran helped the others capture the very hard card: Sand. It swallowed up the singer whole! (Syaoran: Much to my delight. Sakura: *hits Syaoran upside the head* Mou Syaoran! You can be so mean sometimes! Besides…I got us two more tickets to next week's performance. Syaoran: NOOOO!!!!) Akiko: Hee hee, well that's all, now we come to a very intriguing day: Meeko and Makoto's birthdays!

Meeko and Makoto, along with their parents and the little Kero, sat around the family table to discuss their next moves…

"We have to have lots of cake." Kero said, floating above Syaoran's hand, who was writing down all the information.

"I know, I know! You said that three times already!" Syaoran growled at the guardian beast.

"Then write it down already!" Kero shouted back.

"Kero-chan!" Sakura admonished. Kero shied back a bit and floated back over to his mistress' shoulder.

"As much as we get, there would never be enough to fill your stomach." Makoto muttered under his breath.

"Why you…!" Kero challenged, raising a small fist.

Meeko sighed. "When should we have it?" Their birthday was September 4th, but they had school that day so…

"How about the fifth? That's a Wednesday, ne?" Sakura suggested, looking at her small calendar. "And it's a half day too."

"Alright!" Makoto and Meeko both happily agreed.

"C-A-K-E, gaki." Kero said, once again above Syaoran's head.

"I know how to spell it!"

Akiko laughed. "So, what do you guys want for your birthdays?" She asked her best friends.

"Oh, you don't have to get us anything." Meeko insisted.

"Yes they do!" Makoto said. "Anything big and expensive…oww!" He exclaimed as Meeko elbowed him in the ribs. "Alright, alright, I was kidding!"

Now it was Shinji's turn to laugh. Although he laughed on the outside, he was a nervous wreck on the inside. It took all his powers to hide that fact from Meeko, through their small link.

Makoto frowned at Shinji's slightly odd behavior. "Hey, why don't we stop in here and get some ideas?" He pointed to a shop that they were presently passing on their way home.

Meeko shrugged with a nod and walked with Akiko inside the shop.

Makoto turned to Shinji. "What's up with you? You look like you just spent an hour fighting a Clow Card."

Shinji sighed and stopped his relaxed behavior. "I want to get Meeko something important for her birthday, but by Kami-sama I don't know what."

"Hey, what about me! It's my birthday too!" Meeko put his fists on his hips.

Shinji waved away the concern. "I already got your present."

"Oh." Makoto was taken aback, but then he smiled, wrapping his arm around Shinji's shoulders. "I'll help you out."

The young angel boy looked up in surprise. "You will?"

"Who knows her better than me?" Makoto smirked.

"You guys going to stay out here all day or what?" Akiko giggled as both boys noticed they were still in the front door.

Shinji blushed and quickly rushed into the store. "Gomen!"

"I'm going to walk Shinji home!" Makoto shouted.

"What protection could you give him?" Meeko teased.

Shinji laughed. "Worried for me, Meeko?"

Meeko blushed bright red and turned away. "A-anou…e-eeto…"

Makoto smirked and walked away with Shinji, quickly getting a small, harmless, but not totally painless arrow in the behind. He yelped in pain and jumped into the air.

That would be for payback… His sister's voice came to him in his mind.

Meeko closed the door, and Makoto growled. If only she knew why he was walking Shinji home, maybe she wouldn't be so hard on her twin. He sighed. "Still haven't figured out what to get her?"

Shinji shook his head in dismay. "I was thinking about a necklace, but it just seems too…"

"Ordinary?"

"Hai, and your sister is anything but ordinary."

"You're telling me." Makoto sighed. "Let's go to Akiko's place and talk this over with her."

Shinji raised an eyebrow. "Won't she tell Meeko?"

Makoto shook his head. "She's Meeko's friend, but knowing her secret would ruin the surprise, Abbadon himself couldn't pry it out of her."

"Okay. Where should we go to get it?"

"Angel boy still nervous?" Makoto teased.

Shinji mock glared at him and crossed his arms. "You gonna help me or not?"

"Yeah, yeah, just hold your magical horses. We'll talk to Akiko about that. Come on."

"Kawaii!!" Akiko exclaimed, stars appearing in her eyes. "A gallant hero buys a present for his true love just to make her happy. Hanyaan!"

Makoto sweat dropped. "A-Akiko, it isn't that big of a deal…"

Akiko bonked him on the head. "Yes it is, otherwise you wouldn't have come with Shinji-kun asking for help, now would you?" She replied sweetly.

"Y-you w-won't tell her, r-right?" Shinji asked, unsurely.

Akiko smiled. "Of course not. When she sees what you get her, I want to get her shocked expression on videotape! My Meeko-chan is so photogenic!" She was seeing stars again.

Makoto leaned over to Shinji. "It's times like this you know she's Tomoyo's kid."

Shinji agreed whole-heartedly. "So, what exactly are we going to get her?"

Akiko came out of her reverie. "Oh, well, remember that shop we looked around in earlier?"

"Um…yeah, but I wasn't really paying attention." Shinji said, sweat dropping.

Akiko rolled her eyes. "Well it's a good thing you have me then, ne?" Men…couldn't pay attention if their life depended on it. "Let's do some shopping!"

Makoto and Shinji exchanged looks. What have we gotten ourselves into?

Akiko dragged the boys back to the store they had been in before and brought them to a glass case, pointing to something. "I knew it'd still be here!"

Shinji looked and smiled. Inside the glass case was a beautiful porcelain music box. Atop it were two angel children, sharing a hug, dressed in pretty white robes. The bottom of it opened out to reveal a jewelry box.

"It's perfect!" Shinji exclaimed, but then he saw the price and was crestfallen. "I don't have enough."

Makoto smirked. "Don't worry. I'll pitch in the rest of my allowance. Like you said, it's perfect. You're not just going to let a gift like that out of your sight now after everything we've been though to find it, are you?"

"Iie." Shinji smiled. "Arigatou."

"Hey we're friends, ne?" Makoto said.

"Hai."

"It's settled then." Akiko said, turning to the store's clerk. "May we purchase this, please?"

The clerk nodded and began to head over towards the trio. Just then, Shinji felt a Clow Card and it was very nearby. "Clow Ka-do no kehai." (I sense a Clow Card)

Makoto and Akiko nodded and closed their eyes, spreading out their senses until they too found it and tried to pinpoint it.

"What would you like again, miss?" The clerk said from behind the counter.

Akiko turned around and gasped. "It's gone!"

Shinji frowned. This is the work of the Move Card. Definitely.

Without a second though, Shinji ran out of the store and outside. Makoto soon followed and Akiko stumbled for an explanation. "Gomen, never mind. We don't have enough for it anyway." She didn't wait for him to ask more questions. Instead, she ran out and followed her friends down the street.

The clerk blinked in confusion as the children ran out of his store, then looked down at the glass case and noticed something was missing…

Back at home, Meeko also sensed the Clow Card and looked out the window. "Makoto should have been back by now. Where is he?" Just then the presence got stronger. "I'll have to fight it on my own." She called out her wand and the Fly card and took out of the window.

Shinji dove for the music box which was on the floor in front of him, but it disappeared before he could do catch it.

Makoto was climbing a tree and reached out, but the music box once again grew small wings and disappeared from sight.

Akiko tried to sneak up on it when it was behind a bush, but it sensed her and once again vanished.

"This card is really getting on my nerves! How are we supposed to catch it anyway!?"

Shinji tried to think, but was coming up blank. "We have to sense it before it lands, so to speak."

"You think we can do that?" Makoto asked, skeptically.

"Well I'm willing to give it a try!" Akiko said, heroically. She closed her eyes and went through the whole surrounding area. They had been chasing Move for the last half hour and still couldn't catch it! They had chased it all the way back to the surrounding forest near Penguin Park.

Akiko concentrated hard, using what she knew of her powers and focused on the color of the card. Move swirled around the area, appearing for brief glimpses here and there. Finally she sensed it was coming right towards her.

"Lock!" She called out suddenly. Lock wrapped a shield around Move and locked it in place, making it unable to move or disappear again. "Yatta!" She exclaimed happily and reached forward to get the music box from the air in front of her.

That's when Makoto's danger sense went off. "Iie! Matte!"

But it was too late. When Akiko wrapped her hands around the treasure, a blue haze surrounded her and she disappeared with a stifled scream.

"Akiko!!" Makoto shouted. "What's going on!?" He asked Shinji.

He didn't get a reply, and when he turned around, he saw Shinji make another dive for the music box. When Shinji touched it, he too disappeared. The music box floated up and the Move…well, moved again.

"Shinji?!" Makoto wondered. Where did they go?

"Shinji!!"

Makoto turned around and was shocked to see Meeko coming down using Fly.

"What are you doing here!?" Makoto asked.

Meeko ran to where Shinji had disappeared. "What happened? Where'd he go!?"

"I don't know, but I've had far too much of this." He called forth his sword. "Upon this key, I place a spell. Show me your powers, within the sword do dwell!" He closed his eyes and tried to do the same thing Akiko did and sense for the card before it appeared.

Meeko did the same thing and soon she sensed it coming right between her and her brother. At the same time, both twins called out: "Return to the shape you were meant to be! Clow Card!" Meeko slammed down her wand and Makoto pulled down his sword.

Expecting to have one card captured, two cards captured. One at the end of Meeko's wand and the other at the end of Makoto's sword. Both children gasped and held out their hands as the cards floated to them.

"The Move." Makoto said.

"And the Erase!" Meeko exclaimed.

As Meeko said this, the sleeping forms of Shinji and Akiko appeared before them. Meeko ran to Shinji, who began to wake up and Makoto ran to Akiko.

Shinji looked up and was shocked to see Meeko kneeling besides him. "M-Meeko! What are you doing here?"

"Capturing a card, what else? Obviously you guys were having trouble." She said sternly, yet with a smile.

Makoto saw the music box also appear behind Akiko, just as she was waking up. He gasped and quickly scooped up the box, putting it inside Akiko's jacket. Her eyes went wide and she nodded in understanding.

Makoto helped her up and Akiko waved her hand. "W-well, I gotta get going. Mom is making dinner tonight instead of the servants and don't want to miss out."

Meeko frowned. "What were you guys chasing anyway?"

Shinji laughed nervously. "Oh, just a library book that someone had left behind. Probably why the Clow Cards choose it, because it was out in the open and no one was coming back for it."

Makoto gawked. How did Shinji learn to lie so well? And could he give Makoto lessons?

Meeko bought it and hugged Shinji. "I'm glad you're okay!"

Shinji hugged her back and replied softly in her ear. "Nothing Clow Reed or Abbadon could keep me away from you."

Meeko blushed and Makoto hesitantly split them up. "We gotta get home now, Meeko. Mom and Dad aren't done planning for Wednesday yet."

"Okay. Ja ne Shinji! Ja ne Akiko!" She waved and walked away with Makoto.

"Bai bai!" (bye bye) Akiko replied, then sighed in relief. "That was close." She handed the music box back to Shinji.

"Yeah, thanks. I owe you big time." He said, taking the undamaged present.

"No kidding." She replied dryly.

Wednesday came quickly for the magical twins and before they knew it, they were bent over a large cake (much to Kero's delight) with eleven candles on it. Family and friends gathered around and sang happy birthday. Kero just floated above his mistress, waiting for the cutting of the cake.

"I wish for presents!" Makoto shouted. "Oww!" Meeko smacked him upside the head.

"You say it out loud and it won't come true, baka." She said, as-a-matter-of-fact. "I already got what I want." She added softly, eyeing Shinji, who blushed.

Akiko giggled and kept the camera focused on Meeko. "Blow out the candles!"

Meeko and Makoto smiled and closed their eyes, extinguishing all the flame with one breath.

"Yatta!" Kero exclaimed, diving head first into the cake. Or at least he would have, if Sakura hadn't caught his tail.

"Kero-chan. Chotto matte." (Please wait) She eyed him.

Kero gave a hurt puppy (teddy bear?) expression, then sighed and flew off to the side.

"While I cut the cake…" Syaoran said. "Start opening your presents."

"Yatta!" Makoto said, diving into his presents from Shinji and Akiko.

Meeko sweat dropped and looked at her presents. "Which should I open first?" She said, looking over at Akiko and Shinji.

"Open Shinji-kun's first, Meeko-chan!" Akiko said, from behind the camera.

Shinji suddenly got tense as Meeko agreed with a smile and bent over to pick up the elaborately wrapped package. She carefully undid the red ribbon, and slowly removed the tape from the wrapping paper.

"You going to take this long with all your presents?" Makoto said, sweat dropping as he watched her.

Meeko glared at him. "It's my birthday too and I'll take as long as I want!" She finally finished opening the package, and gasped at the present lying inside. The hand crafted music box was shining its brightest and held an elegant glow to it.

"Shinji…it's beautiful." When she lifted the lid, underneath the two angels, a song began to play. It was soft and beautiful and reminded Meeko of a small spring brook, flowing towards the quiet ocean. She closed her eyes and listened to the song and let it play out, everyone staying quiet, also listening to the melody.

When it was finished, Meeko opened her eyes and noticed there was another drawer beneath the one she had just opened. Pulling it out, she saw a soft downy white feather inside. It was one of Shinji's feathers. She gasped at its beauty and when she wrapped her fingers around it, she was overrun with a sense of steady streaming love, strong and persistent. She automatically knew it was what Shinji had been feeling when he pulled this single feather free.

Akiko smiled and zoomed in on Meeko's shocked expression. I didn't mention that. It was smart of Shinji-kun. I would never have thought of it.

Meeko smiled and held the feather close to her heart, letting the lovely sensations fill her body and soul. Then, out of nowhere, she leapt forward and pulled Shinji into a hug. "Domo arigatou gozaimasu!"

Shinji hugged back. "Omedetto tanjobi." (Happy Birthday) He whispered into his ear.

Akiko sighed happily, then shrieked as Kero popped into the camera's view. "Time for cake! Wai wai!"

Sakura sweat dropped. "H-hoe…"