Episode Title: "Sakura no Kuta Kuta Nichiyoubi" - Sakura's Exhausting Sunday
First Aired: April 28, 1998
Kero-chan ni Omakase!

Cards Captured: Rain, Wood

Battle Costume

Sakura and Kero-chan awake to a beautiful and clear Sunday morning. The rain from the night before had cleared up, leaving Sakura in an impertinently happy mood! She even forgives Touya for calling her a monster that morning, as she's going on a picnic with Tomoyo at the park. But, to Sakura's dismay, it turns out she's assigned all of the chores that day. The week before Touya had covered for her while she went to Rika's piano recital, but the catch was Sakura would do all the chores the next week.

A disappointed Sakura sees off her brother (who is going to work), and her father who is going to a very important presentation. Sakura calls up Tomoyo to tell her the bad news, and is determined to bring her a letter of apology the next day at school. Luckily - since no one is home - the reluctant Kero-chan can help out with the chores by doing the laundry. Sakura vacuums, washes and polishes, even de-lints the carpet, under which she surprisingly finds a Clow Card - Wood! Today must be her lucky day.

While Sakura is vacuuming in the basement (the last place), she finds yet another Clow Card, but this one is covered in black ink. Sakura sets it down on a table, along with Wood, when suddenly the telephone rings. It turns out Sakura's father left the notes for his entire presentation on the kitchen table and needs Sakura to bring them to the bus stop pronto! Sakura straps on her rollerblades and gets the folder to her father. It seems Sakura is on a lucky streak, as she runs into Yukito, who is coming back from helping out with the basketball club's game that day. Yukito isn't an actual member of any clubs, but he's so skilled and versatile that a lot of clubs ask him to sub or help out. (I say this, of course, because it makes Sakura get into her "hanyaan", dreamy state. Therefore, it's worth mentioning.) Anyway, Yukito invites Sakura to have lunch with him at a nearby restaurant, where Touya just so happens to be working as a waiter. Yukito is eating enough for an entire family, as usual. Yukito encourages Sakura to eat more, but Sakura slips she has to get home to "Kero-chan"... Talk about awkward.

Upon arriving home, Sakura sees Kero-chan has the laundry all set out to dry on the balcony. She goes up to her room to find him asleep, and goes off to start lunch for the two of them, when suddenly there's a loud noise! Sakura wakes up Kero-chan, and they go downstairs to investigate the rumbling sound. Apparently, it's coming from the basement. Eqiupped with only a mop, Sakura (who is convinced it could be a burglar or ghost) is coerced into opening the basement door by Kero-chan. A tree is growing up and out of the basement! Sakura slams shut the basement door, and tells Kero-chan about the card she found earlier that day. Kero-chan scolds Sakura for not writing her name on the card, as only then will a card submit to a master. He also mentions it's odd for a gentle card like Wood to behave this way... But as if this situation weren't grim enough, someone rings the doorbell and Sakura habitually answers. The Wood breaks through the basement door, with Sakura and Kero-chan wrapped up, and pushes them out in front of the doorway. The door opens... and thankfully, it's Tomoyo! She had come to help Sakura out with her chores, and unties both Sakura and Kero-chan.

Sakura seals the Wood card, but the card is located in the basement. But all of a sudden, Wood emerges rapidly growing from the basement again! Wood chases Sakura, Tomoyo and Kero all the way up to the balcony, but only sprouts leaves and calms down again. Poor Kero-chan's laundry is ruined, and he has to do it all over again. But what's worse is Wood is still growing. Now that it knows there's sunlight, it wants to break through the entire house! They'll have to get to the basement and find the source of all this trouble. Kero-chan proclaims this is a job for Card Captor Sakura!

Downstairs, Sakura is in another one if Tomoyo's infamous battle costumes. It turns out Tomoyo was planning to videotape "Sakura Dances in the Jungle" in the park that day on their picnic, and so she had the costume with her.

Oddly enough, when Sakura, Tomoyo, and Kero-chan reach the basement, it's flooded with about six inches of water! Kero-chan says Wood doesn't come with water... and Sakura realizes this must be the work of the other Clow Card she found that day. Kero-chan points out the little cloud near the top of one of the bookshelves, and says it's the Rain Card. Sakura wastes no time in telling Rain to cut out its mischief, but Rain only chases after Sakura with its huge stream of rain. Kero-chan tells Sakura to use Watery to use Rain's rain against it, and it works perfectly - enclosing Rain in a bubble. Sakura seals Rain, and all of the water in the basement disappears with it. Sakura is about to give the same treatment to Wood, but Kero-chan stops her. Wood shrinks itself down and takes its true form as a small imp-like woman, and reverts back into a card on its own accord. Wood is a very gentle card. A rainbow is left in the basement near the window, making for a perfect end to this episode's excursion. Sakura takes the time to write her name on both cards.

When Sakura, Tomoyo and Kero-chan emerge from the basement, they find the entire house is an utter disaster! Tomoyo says she'll help Sakura and Kero-chan clean up, and they couldn't be more grateful.

Touya and Otou-san (Sakura's father) arrive home at the same time to find the house sparkling clean. They knock on Sakura's door to find her asleep with Kero-chan (who can easily be mistaken for a plush-toy.) Otou-san says he'll save the cake he brought home for Sakura later, but Touya says he'll eat her piece if she doesn't write her name on it. Hazily in her sleep, Sakura replies, "I wrote my name down properly..."