.:Original prankster:.

Actions and Motives

"It's not as bad as it looks," soothed Tomoyo.

The voice was muffled. "I'm BALD."

Tomoyo prayed to the gods for new levels of comforting. "You're lucky. You've a cranium utterly suited for hair loss. Men in their sixties are envious of that, you know."

The voice moaned. Tomoyo continued, regardless. "Really. Hiiragizawa-kun had an unsightly dint in the back of his skull. You, Li-kun, on the other hand –"

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

She pivoted gracefully. "Why, Hiiragizawa-kun. How do you do? I'm sure Li-kun would love to come out to greet you, but he's otherwise occupied." A moan punctuated her sentence. Eriol raised an eyebrow.

"In the boys' bathroom?"

Tomoyo was supremely unruffled. "He's becoming acquainted with his skull."

Eriol raised the other eyebrow. "I was right. You really ARE enjoying this."

She considered this statement. "I suppose I take a certain amount of joy in knowing that your underestimation of myself led to this. Really, Hiiragizawa-kun. It didn't have to be like this." Her tone was ever so slightly mocking.

"You didn't use a Card in the end, did you?"

She smiled, and said nothing. Eriol caught a glimpse of sharp, white teeth.

"You used something else. Li-kun's magic, I presume. That's why my charm to counter only half worked."

Tomoyo's face gave nothing away. "It appears that you got the person who was casting the spell right, just not the magic. I wonder, when did you put the charm on?"

"When Sakura-san's experiment exploded. You were distracted. Naturally, I'd take advantage."

"That was a mean thing to do to Sakura-chan. You shouldn't use her like that."

Eriol frowned slightly. "It was a necessary evil. To have to distracted so I could –"

"-Do something to our experiment. And in turn, to me." Syaoran stepped out from the bathroom, eye twitching. He was holding his blazer over his head.

Eriol managed to look amused, superior and sympathetic at the same time. "My dear little descendant. Does that blazer keep your poor, naked head warm?"

Syaoran scanned the area. The two of them had bolted (Tomoyo most elegantly, Syaoran tripping over his feet) from the class to a deserted part of the school, leaving Eriol to make excuses. Tomoyo had spent a good ten minutes trying to coax Syaoran out of the bathroom until Eriol had shown.

"Shut up," he said bluntly to Eriol. Tomoyo tutted at the lack of manners. The magician's expression was dry.

"As fun as this has been, I think it would be prudent to end this nonsense." And he entered the bathroom with a flourish.

Syaoran and Tomoyo stared after him "He wasn't calling it 'nonsense' when he thought he'd figured out what we were doing," Syaoran observed

She sighed. "Well, he sort of had. I'm just relieved you knew an alternative to using a Sakura Card. I really don't think Sakura-chan would have approved if she had known…"

Syaoran shrugged. "I don't even know whether the Card would have worked for me. It's just … irritating how he knew exactly what we were doing. But -" a large, shit-eating grin spread on his face "- your camcorder captured it, right?"

Tomoyo's expression would have been a smirk on the face of any other. She produced her camcorder from her bag.

"I believe I do."

Sakura, usually a cheerful girl, was getting irritated. She had more than half an idea why Eriol was sulking, and why Syaoran was positively gleeful.

"Tomoyo-chan," she whispered, nudging the girl that sat next to her. "When were you going to let me in on this?"

Her best friend didn't look surprised that Sakura had figured out what was going on. Tomoyo looked wryly at her. "I didn't think you'd approve of our actions."

Sakura pondered this. "Well … Eriol-kun had been getting out of hand a bit. And his face was kind of funny. But you should have told me what you wanted the Illusion for!"

"We didn't use it in the end, Sakura-chan. Hiiragizawa-kun had figured out we'd ask for a Card. And it backfired on Li-kun slightly."

Sakura glanced over to where her boyfriend fingered his re-acquired hair. More than slightly, she couldn't help but think. She pursed her lips when she saw him glance over at Eriol and giggle inanely, and looked to Tomoyo for an explanation.

"He watched the footage ten times in a row."

Syaoran glanced down at something – Sakura assumed the camcorder – and started cackling.

"Eleven."

At that moment, their History teacher walked in the classroom, and Syaoran shoved the camcorder in his bag.

Sakura sighed. Things will only get messier, she thought. And promptly vowed to stay out of things.

"Eriol-"

"Eriol-sama-"

Once more they were in Eriol's 'Throne Room' (glamorously dubbed by Nakuru), but this time Eriol felt the need to pace on the ceiling of the room.

"You two were very unhelpful last time, you know."

Nakuru squinted up at her master. "The brains of Clow Reed himself, above us, Suppi-chan."

The guardian nodded sagely. "Wisdom incarnate. But what a pity."

Nakuru sighed melodramatically. "What a pity."

Eriol's eyes narrowed. Upside down, this was a rather amusing effect. "What is a pity?"

"You just don't learn," they chorused simultaneously. The magician snorted.

"You rehearsed that, didn't you?"

Nakuru agreed unashamedly. Spinel Sun spoke. "You are the one who feels the need to flounce around spectacularly on the ceiling." He continued over the indignant cries that he, Eriol, was not flouncing, per se, but proving a point that he was the Awesome and Almighty Incarnation of the Great and Spectacularly Grand, Powerful and Omniscient Clow Reed.

"You only feel the need to show off and bring up Clow Reed when you feel stupid." Eriol spluttered. "And you must be feeling pretty stupid now."

"Being tricked by Tomoyo-chan," Nakuru added.

The magician pouted. "Since when did Daidouji Tomoyo become 'Tomoyo-chan' to you, Nakuru?"

"Since I realised she was awesome."

"Anyway", continued Spinel meaningfully; Eriol's face turning pink from the blood flow to his head and Nakuru's comments. "You just can't handle the fact that you were tricked twice by her and Sakura-san's boyfriend."

Eriol scowled darkly. "Xiao-Lang was a pawn in her ruthless plan to humiliate me. She was the mastermind behind his actions!"

Spinel floated up to Eriol's head. And smacked him.

"Listen to yourself, Eriol-sama," he said calmly (not distracted at all by Nakuru's giggling as she watched her master's face change to a lovely, glowing red). "Daidouji-san had no such plan. You were the one to start it, with the cold water." Eriol's eyes glazed over in happy memory of pranking Tomoyo. "Don't blame her for retaliating, and getting Xiao-Lang to help."

Nakuru piped up. "You do half the things you do for a reaction, anyways. You like to provoke."

"That is not true." Spinel and Nakuru could only stare at him.

He coughed. "Well. Maybe partially true."

"Face it, Oh Dubiously Great Master," said Nakuru. "Tomoyo-chan one-upping you is frustrating you to no end. And her lack of magic even more so. And now you have the ridiculous need to blow your own trumpet and prove to two magical creatures that you can walk on a ceiling."

"Doing something Daidouji-san cannot do," interjected Spinel.

Eriol digested this, and floated down slowly to the floor.

"So you're saying," he pondered, landing gently on his head. "That if I want to win this, I have to utilise non-magical means?"

Nakuru and Spinel Sun could only gape at the astounding extent one (completely MAD, thought Nakuru) person could misunderstand.

"You," declared Nakuru. "Are completely mad. Come, Suppi-chan." And she gathered the small, protesting creature into her arms and stalked off regally.

Eriol remained on his head, scheming deviously.

Tomoyo sipped tea calmly in the face of Syaoran's relentless examination of his hair.

"It'll fall out if you keep on tugging it that hard," she pointed out. Syaoran didn't stop.

"I just KNOW that he's done something to it. Why would he restore my hair so easily! I bet he's charmed it so it'll turn blue. Or attract swarms of geese. Or serenade Sakura-chan with dirty songs."

"Your hair would need a mouth for that."

Syaoran looked aghast. "My hair will grow body parts. He's out to get me, I swear."

"That's called paranoia, you know." Tomoyo eyed Syaoran. The two of them had returned to his apartment for more plotting; however Tomoyo hadn't counted on Syaoran's near reluctance in continuing.

"Look, Li-kun," she stated pragmatically. "Today was a success. All that resulted was a little embarrassment – "

"That bastard said I had a toxic fungal infection on my scalp! And people believed him!"

"- A little embarrassment," she said firmly. "And you're forgetting people saw him bald, too, and that we have the incident nicely recorded."

Syaoran perked up at this. "I have to say, it was worth it for that reason alone. His face, Daidouji-san. It was excellent."

Tomoyo smiled at the memory. "Sakura-chan found it funny in the end, you know. I count that as a blessing to continue. Hiiragizawa-kun will no doubt be plotting something too."

Syaoran looked at her with renewed vigour. "You really are liking this, aren't you? Punishing him."

Tomoyo's eyes glittered with mirth. "And now, let us get to work, Li-kun. There is much to be done."

A/N:- Only four or so months, and lo, there is fic. Done with quick self-beta, so if any mistakes are spotted you will be much loved and adored. It's pretty fast-paced so if you've missed anything let me know. And please review - constructive criticism is what I want. I thank Hououza for the nicest review, and -sera-chan011- for inspiring me to scribble this in one day.

Also, if anyone feels generous enough to contribute ideas for pranks they will be thanked gratuitously. See you in another four months, kids.