2196/A sweet caper

A sweet caper
Date of Scene:	07 December 2016
Location:	Plot Room #2
Synopsis:	Sakura finds the sweet card and kind of steals it from Shinobu, angering her in the process. Oops.
Cast of Characters:	188, Sakura Kinomoto

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Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    The night is chilly, but not unbearably so, though the wind does give it a bit of extra bite. The location Sakura scouts out that undoubtably contains the whimsical card she's looking for is extravagant in the extreme, a large manor with a full gated garden for a front yard. Said garden is trimmed elegantly with patterned designs in front. However, the entirety of this extravagance doesn't really get to see much of the light of day considering how secluded it is by trees all around the gate that separates the manor and its surroundings from the rest of the world, almost like it's its own little dimension.

    Eerily, there's not a single regular light to be seen in the house, not even anything resembling a porch light. There's only a glint of something faintly bright coming from one of the rooms on the upper level of the manor. The lack of light and the general seclusion might actually give any potential thieves or intruders a breath of fresh air considering how much less likely these factors make getting caught.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto stared at the house, giving a light sigh. She'd scouted the place out a few times already, it seemed pretty deserted. Kero swore the card, whichever one was there, was there. And now that she was close, she could feel it. Just a tiny bit. But enough.

She was just with Kero this time. Why? Because she was NOT involving Tomoyo in a break in. She stared at the house, looking around. Unfortunately, Tomoyo had still decided to dress her up. Be cause of course she did. she was wearing some kind of weird, ninja cosplay outfit. Baggy dark graty pants, dark purple top and arm covers. A nose/mouth covering. Honestly, it was probably for the best. Worst came to worst, she could magic on out of there. "Ready?"

"Of course, Kero. Let's go. Through!" Together, the two stepped through the outer wall and silently ran across the courtyard to the house. Or started to. She froze in place when inside and eeped. "Little!" She turned little and then flew on kuro's back, towards the house. If anyone looked outside, it'd just seem like a strange bird flying through the yard towards the porch.

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    As Sakura and Kero approach, there's nothing really out of the ordinary about the place aside from how well-kept it is. Someone with either a lot of money or a lot of free time probably does indeed live here, but there never seems to be a soul around. Curious! Who is it that really takes care of the place even? Probably some weird landscaping company. Nonetheless, Kero and Sakura are on and about.

    Alas, their first obstacle is invariably reached. Getting inside. None of the windows are open, obviously the doors are closed. There are many of both to try to open on multiple levels of the home so which shall our little ninja break-and-enterer heroine attempt first!?

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto let out a sigh of relief once they were by the door. Okay, she could do this. She returned to her normal size before Kero laid on her shoulder. She grinned. "Through," she activated again, before stepping through the walls with ease. Ah, the joys of magic.

Granted... how bright was the place inside?

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    The two move inside and... into almost total darkness. The only light inside is that which comes through the windows from the moon. From what can be made out, the interior of the house is neat, but somewhat dusty and it looks like a lot of it isn't really being used. Sakura's sense of the Sweet gets stronger as she gets inside, coming from the general direction of the upstairs area of the manor.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto let out a sigh of relief, slowly tip toeing through the house and making her way up the stairs. As she went, she looked around. "I don't suppose there's a dust card, is there?"

"What? no, of course not sakura. Don't be rediculous."

"Oh, good."

"There is a sand card, though."

"... WHY?"

"Clow Reed was a big fan of sand castles."

"How old was he?"

"Hundreds of years old, why?"

She just gave a sigh of exasperation. Most powerful mage in human history. Spends his days making sand castles with magic. She grabbed the banister as she went up, cringing every time the steps creaked.

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    Little puffs of dust flash in any stray beams of moonlight coming through the windows as Sakura moves about and grabs hold of the bannister. Seems nobody really goes up these stairs much. The place is almost agonizingly quiet, any small noise the two make echos around their immediate surroundings. As they climb and approach, the connection Sakura has to the Sweet card gets stronger, but there's no chocolate or sweet anything around here it would seem. There're paintings on the walls and empty vases along with other various ornaments. There's something odd about them, but they can't quiet be made out in the darkness. At the top of the stairs, there're several hallways with rows of doors, but only one has a bit of glinting light peeking out the bottom of it.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto took a slow, deep breath before gently making her way towards it. She made it to just outside the door and then--

Creeeeeeek.

She froze in place, looking down at the floor board. She stared in horror and went completely still, praying that whoever lived her wouldn't notice or hear. She closed her eyes and mentally screamed, chewing on her lip. she could do this. She listened intently for any sign of being noticed.

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    The light flickering on the other side of the door starts to jitter visibly beneath the door, but its intensity doesn't change. After that loud creak, the sleepy sound of a young girl beyond the door mumbles something incoherent and groggy. However, several moments go by and no further sounds of mumbling or any sounds of floorboards creaking sound out in return, denoting a lack of movement beyond the door.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto lets out a sigh of relief. She glanced to Kero. "It's in there, isn't it?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "Yes. Just be careful. Good thing your face is hidden, right Sakura?"

"I feel like a thief..."

"You're protecting whoever lives here from the clow cards. There's no telling what could be in there. Shadow, time, return. These people could be in danger."

She nodded and slowly gripped the door knob, twisting it as silently as she could and pushing it open softly.

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    The room within is completely different from the rest of the house. It's vivid and brightly-colored with signs of life including a messy desk, a lavish bed with drapery, and plates of snacks... a lot of snacks. There's candy pretty much everywhere where candy can be put aside from the floor. It's all lit by a certain fairy which silhouettes the bed with the figure of someone sleeping.

    Unfortunately, certain documents on that messy desk may hint that the person living in this house has connections to a certain unsavory organization if Sakura is even aware of such a thing. More pointedly though, that card she's been looking for is floating in the air next to the bed, contained in a quite visible cage made out of fizzling, crackling, dark energy. Within its confines, the fairy looks rather miserable and claustrophobic. Even as Sakura enters the room, it already shifts and flits as if eager to see a sign of life.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto blinked a few times, cocking her head to the side. Unfortunately, she had no idea who or what Eclipse was. So she had no idea what was going on. Nor had she encountered dark energy yet. Or, at least, not much of it.

She gulped and took a step forward. "What's... going on here?"

"That's the sweet card. She seems to be trapped in some kind of... magic barrier. Sakura. See if you can get close."

She nodded, moving closer and slowly sneaking up on it. She lightly tapped it with her wand. "How... do I break it?"

"If you had the sleep card, it'd be easy. But... hummmm..."

She stared at it thoughtfully, before blinking. Was there space between the bars? If so, she'd take out the little card. "little, shrink her small enough to get out," she whispered, using the card to shrink Sweet down small enough to sneak through them.

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    Sucess! The bars are actually fairly wide apart, leaving plenty of room for the Sweet to sneak through once she's littlified... BZZT! Upon leaving the cage, the Sweet is subsequently shocked as the cage fizzles, cracks, and then pops... loudly. It seems as though this particular sucess is bittersweet as the poor fairy is knocked about by the sudden attack against it, sending it reeling.

    Meanwhile, the figure that was sound asleep in bed stirs and grumbles reasonably as she's just been oh so rudely awakened, "Hmmmmph... Why'm I awake?" The figure asks in a young girl's very groggy tone of voice.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto shrieks, catching the fairy as it began to grow. "No no no!" she said a bit too loudly, holding it close. she then let out a sigh of relief. "It's going to be okay. You're safe now. I've got you."

"Ummm, sakura..." Kero whispered.

"What? I... oh," she said softly, looking right at the girl. She looked to the cage, then the little fairy held in her hands, then backto the woman. "Eh... heh heh... eh? Errr... this... is all... a dream?"

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    "Ugh... I need to stop eating before be- Wait a minute..." The voice starts, nearly convinced. Swiftly, Shinobu reaches out to grip the drapery concealing herself and swipes it to one side. She's squinting sleepily, wearing a black nightgown and a blindfold for her beauty rest which is tilted up to let her see the intruders stealing her candymaker.

    It only takes a moment for her to realize what's going on. It now becomes quite clear where that source of dark magic was coming from as Shinobu grumbles and starts to exude a smoky, invisible miasma of darkness that is rather palpable. She doesn't seem pleased, "Ahem... that, is mine." She states clearly while pointing at Sweet. The Sweet isn't really damaged, but she does seem dazed and out of it by the shock.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto looked down to sweet, then back to the woman. Then back to Sweet. "ummmm, no she's not. She's a clow card."

"That's right, she's Sakura's!"

"Kero what is the point of the mask if you tell her my name?!"

"What? she's a mage! What's she going to do? She probably already know's who you are. The only way out of this is to fight."

Sakura stared. She then sighed and, gently, put Sweet into her pocket. "If... I must then..." Grabbed Kero and ran for her life, slamming the door behind herself!

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    Shinobu squints and tilts her head in utter confusion at Sakura and Kero. Their discussion has her dumbfounded enough to not react immediately as they run away. Even after Sakura has gotten some distance, it seems like Shinobu isn't following... although a moment later it seems that's not neccessary. As Sakura and Kero run, plumes of dark energy follow, blasting doors off their hinges just behind them. As they approach the stairs, they creak and crack and then begin to contort, that bannister of safety comes to life, rattling like a snake and blocking that potential exit.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto squeaked, backing away from it. She pulled out through and--

"Sakura, don't!"

"W-what?"

"Using through to move through magical barriers is dangerous! It's a lot more draining and if you end it early, you might end up getting really hurt!"

"But... it..." She gulped and turned back. She tried pushing open a door, if she could, trying to find a window or some such.

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    The door opens easily enough, but then another plume of darkness blasts through it, knocking into Sakura promptly. However, it didn't seem very accurate or directed and the energy passes on, leaving the empty and now damaged room clear with a window glinting in the moonlight before her. The poor captor doesn't even have much time to worry about the sudden blast as the sinister raking of the banister slithers closer from behind.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto stumbles back from the magic, shaking her head. "Ugh. Come on, we're almost out!" She raced to the window and then... tried to open it.

She didn't try to break it open. She tried to unlatch it and open it.

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    As luck may have it, the window's not locked. It opens aaaaaand the bannister snake is here. In fact, it's already slithering around the intruder, even... hissing, oddly, attempting to snake Sakura's legs together!

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto pulled open the window, then shrieked as the bannister grabbed her around the legs, pinning them together. She shrieked, falling face down. "Kero!" she yelled, managing to hold onto her wand at least.

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    The grip isn't meant to be painful, but the creature is made out of wood so it does tend to hurt slightly. The creature isn't very nice about dragging Sakura back, but it does so unless she can think fast! The careful and walking pace steps of Shinobu start to sound off from down the hallway, approaching to meet her catch.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto shrieked, clutching at... crud, empty room. She tried digging a hole inthe ground with her staff. It... didn't really work. When she started to hear the approaching steps, she looked up and let out a whimper. "I... I ummm... OH!" And then, as Shinobuu came closer... "FREEZE!" She used the freeze card! Turning... the hallway... into a makeshift ice rink and hopefully freezing the bannister creature.

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    The chill of ice starts to swirl about the room. It starts around the tip of Sakura's wand and then spreads outwards quickly, easily capturing the bannister monster with Sakura still tied up by the legs in it to an icicle bannister snake monster thing. Sakura's no longer creeping towards the scary dark mage, but Shinobu's steps aren't hindered in the slightest, though she doesn't speed up either.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto gulped and looked up. Okay, think, think. What did she... wait, she was an idiot. Frozen, bound. But there was stil lsomething she could do. "Thunder! Break these binds on me!" She called. Lightning formed from the card before surging out at the bannister, intending to destroy it fully and send... lots of bits of wood scattering.

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    BZZT! The crash of lightning surges at the bannister and causes it to blast into several frozen pieces, shrapnel clattering all over the places and denting the ice. Sakura is free with the window open, but time is short. Shinobu is quite close, so close that her miasma of darkness is starting to slide into the room. It does -not- feel pleasant. It's almost suffocating, especially for the inexperienced mage in the room.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto turned to look at the woman for a moment, before she raced towards the window andtried to leap out. As soon as she was out the window, she'd pull out another card. "Float card!" Which... while it didn't make her fly this time, it would let her gently drift towards the ground. Once she hit the ground, she'd glance up. "Kero, you okay? How's sweet?"

"Tired, but good."

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    The Sweet is gone! Oh, wait, no, it's unconscious, but tucked itself inside of Sakura's ninja robes amidst the fuss. It's probably not a good idea to look back. If Sakura were to, she'd see the frightening silhouette of Shinobu standing in the window, her aggitation palpable in her figure. However, the poor card captor doesn't have a whole lot of time to breathe. She made it out of the house, but there's a garden that definitely wants to eat her to go. The groves and hedges sway and creak in an absolutely unfriendly manner. Sakura gets a headstart as the dark magic starts to wind its way into the greenery.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto turned towards the greenery. Then back towards the woman. Then to the greenery. "I... I think this might have been a bad idea."

"Well, you can always just try fighting her."

"I'm not sure she'll fall for the same trick I got mara with..."

"It would be pretty funny, though!"

She gave a sigh of exasperation. "At least this is easy to deal with." She raced towards the greenery before pulling out yet another card. how many of these bloody things did she have. "Wood! Bind them away!" Born from the card, branches and vines would surge out, attempting to envelop and entwine with the other plant life, mixing and pining as best they could.

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
The utterly loud and obnoxious sound of wood creaking and cracking fills the air as plants attack plants. From the Wood card, vines and branches shoot out, filling the already writhing garden with even more plant matter. They clear a path for Sakura as best they can, but they're being overwhelmed quickly by the sheer number of other plants joining the fray in favor of the darkness.

    Shinobu remains in the window. Unmoving with dark energy pouring out of her in all directions although it's only visible near to her. It seems she's given up the chase... or she believes it's already over. It's time to find out as just before Sakura reaches the gate to freedom, one of the towering trees beyond it sparks to life. Hollow, dark holes form in it to create eyes as the branches twist and conjoin to make makeshift hands. It stomps forward, shaking the ground and sending dirt everywhere from its torn up roots, blocking Sakura's path to the gate.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto stared up at it, then took a slow, deep breath. "Kero-chan?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Sorry," she said before grabbing him and stuffing him in her pocket. "FLOAT! Make me weightless!" She then ran AT the tree. She leaped up, kicking off its face and racing up its trunk, snagging a limb and trying to haul herself up and spin across, tryin to use her natural agility and weightless body to outmaneuver it and use it as a ladder to get out and over the gate.

However, the moment she used the float card, the wood card deactivated, her magic only able to maintain one card at a time, leaving the other plants to crumble from the assault.

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    Curses, the treants one weakness... small, agile objects. The lumbering creature tries to swing at Sakura, but ends up hitting itself in the face. Not too bright, it would seem. The other plants slither in, entangling the large creature as though they have a mind of their own. However, they too, are fast and agile and nimbly chase Sakura as she climbs the shaking creature, branches like limbs swinging this way and that in her path, nearly knocking her back into the waiting grasp of the knife-like vines more than once. There's little room for error here!

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto swung, hum! She grabbed a limb and it looked like she was going to be caught!! then she dropped down and ran across the limbs, leaping back and grabbing a limb overhead, narrowly avoiding a striking limb. She swung on it twice, like it was a beam, before letting go and sailing through the air! She grabbed another branch as she went, spun once on it, then landed before finally leaping out and over the fench.

Kero rested in her pocket, swirls for eyes. She stopped on the roof, looking back and grinning. Had she actually done it? And my gosh she was an agile little thing.

Shinobu Yuu has posed:
    Sweet freedom! The low and long bellow of plants tangling with plants in what could be described as plant-like agony sounds out behind Sakura as she lands outside the fence and away from that dark and frightening manor. However, for her freedom, the ashamed treant starts stumbling backwards, back, back, back, aaaand it's falling. The cracking of broken wood sounds out all around as the tree falls soundly, damaging much of the forest, it's makeshift hand swiping down from its initial turn with intent to send Sakura flying much further than she probably intended. An escape, but a dangerous one that will leave Sakura with a few ouchies to remember it by.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto landed, hitting the ground and crashing through, tumbling. It hurt, but she was okay, that last blow sending her a bit further than she liked. Still, she was out. She held up her hand. "Return to your true form! Clow card!" she yelled. Poor sweet would then return and... be added with the others. Her task finished, she fled into the night.