Missions

By Nadeshiko

A/N:  This is a totally A/U plot.  The only person Sakura has met out of the CCS crew is Tomoyo.  Read and review!!

Disclaimer:  CLAMP holds all the rights to Card Captor Sakura, because if I owned it, I wouldn't have allowed Nelvana to cut so much crap out of the English series.

Prologue

Destination: China

Sakura shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight.  It was a beautiful day, sun shining high in the sky, flowers blooming, the faint sound of children playing games in the background.  Something that you would take straight from a fiction novel.  But it was real, and Sakura, a full grown woman, was enjoying every minute of it, soaking up the sunlight and admiring the towering flowers in the gardens lining the streets of Japan. 

She was surely prepared for work by the looks of it.  Clad in a jean knee-length skirt, deep blue pantyhose, and a hunter green sweater covered by a jean vest, she certainly looked like a business woman.  Her eyes sparkled with delight, seeing the young, care-free children play ball with one another.  'And to think, I used to be innocent…' she thought.  'There's no way I can be innocent now, I've seen too much.' 

She was referring to the Clow Cards that took away a large chunk of her childhood, the same ones that killed her brother and father.  According to Clow Reed, creator of the Clow Cards, her mother was also 'blessed' with these powers, but unfortunately couldn't seal them properly, and was never seen again.  These memories totally ruined Sakura's mood.  Sure, she was an adult and didn't need a parent for financial support or safety, but what about all of those past years, growing up without a family?  Those lonely years, having the closest thing to a parent being your best friend's parents.  They may have been kind to her, but they weren't hers

She dismissed the turmoil of thoughts by brushing back a few locks of hair that had fallen in front of her face.  Coming out of her office previously, she had decided to walk home to admire the beautiful scenery around her, hoping to take her thoughts off of what they were on right now.  The incident.  'No,' she thought.  'I won't cry anymore.'

She had never told anyone about what had happened, it was always said as a house fire.  But a house fire it wasn't.  Only Sakura knew the real reason for her father's and brother's demise.  Although she looked cheery and bright on the outside, no one has ever seen what lies under the warm front and inside her heart.  Which was something that she swore she would never let anyone see.

Sakura walked the rest of the way home without any problems, and before she knew it, she was standing on her front step.  Sakura lived in a roomy house, the money she had saved from a child had certainly helped out in the funding of it.  Inserting the key into the keyhole of the peach painted house, she entered it and kicked off her black pumps.  "Man, those were killing me!"  Unfortunately, formal wear was demanded by the council of where she worked. 

To describe where she worked a little more, it was a huge building that was supposedly the head of a newspaper company.  But, little did the public know, it was a secret spy base for the top elite, tracking down many top 100 thieves and the like.  Sakura often had to travel and go under cover, and thankfully, she had been stuck with all of the missions that involved magic.  'And all thanks to Keemera, too.  I still wonder about her…'  Sakura then got lost in a memory of a day that still has her thinking to this point in time.




*~* (Begin Flashback) *~*

Ring!  Ring! 

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Sakura reached the phone and answered it.

"Moushi Moushi, Sakura speaking."

"Miss Sakura?"

"Hai?"

It was the head of the council.  If she phoned her home phone, then the mission must be pretty bad.  Usually, cases could be held off until work, the next day.

"We have something for you to do.  Tap into line 14."

Sakura did as she was commanded.  Working with this company had its benefits.  She received a home phone in case of immediate assistance.  It had over 500 lines to tap into, to ensure maximum security in all private calls.  With the click of a button, Line 14 appeared on the small screen on the phone.  "Done."

"We have a case in Hokkaido, in a small town north of Sapporo."  The council boss cleared her throat.  "Magical occurances are involved."

"Magical occurances?!"  'How would she know that I use magic?!'

"Do not fret, Sakura.  Your secret is safe with me.  I will be assigning you all of the cases with magic.  Are you clear on that?"

"Hai." Sakura confirmed.

"Good."

Sakura was just about to hang up when the boss stopped her by saying "Oh, and Sakura?"

"Hai?"

"You may want to bring your Sakura Cards with you."

Sakura smiled.  "Okay." Just about to hang up yet again, she stopped herself and said "Thank you, Keemera."

Keemera smiled on the other line.  "No problem, Sakura."

*~* (End Flashback) *~*

Sakura sat down on the green couch in her living room.  She rubbed her feet, trying to get the soreness out of them.  Once she was somewhat comfortable, she called her best friend, Tomoyo Daidouji. 

"Moshi moshi?" Tomoyo answered.

"Tomoyo-san?"

"Hai, Sakura-chan.  Daijoubu desu ka?"

"Daijoubu.." she answered solemnly.  "But my feet are killing me!!"

Tomoyo worked at the same place as Sakura, but her job was a lot easier.  Tomoyo tracked down suspicious people via computer, does a background search, finding out more about the criminal in question, and lets everyone know what to be aware of when tracking the thief.  Sakura's job, however, was different.  Sakura was one of the people who actually went out and tracked the people.  She has never let one go, and doesn't plan on doing it in the near future. 

"Did you hear about the new suspect?" Tomoyo chirped happily.  Tomoyo was always happy.

"Umm… no.  Should I have?"

Tomoyo nearly fainted.  "Sakura-chan!!  How could you?!?  This new suspect is one of the top elite!!  Demo, I'd better keep my mouth shut and get off the phone.  Keemera-san should be phoning you soon to let you know."

"Okay Tomoyo-san.  I'll phone you later, alright?"

"Alright, Sakura-chan.  Ja!"

"Ja."  And with that, Sakura and Tomoyo hung up the phone. 

Sakura stood by the phone for a second, expecting Keemera to phone right there and then.  'Well, you never know.  After all, I think that woman has a sixth sense!!'  It's true, Sakura had sensed something strange about her the minute she first met her.  It was like she knew everything, that no one could have any secrets without her knowing of them. 

Deciding that she wasn't going to phone at this exact moment, Sakura entered the kitchen to cook herself some dinner.  "Hmmm… Looks like it's chicken and mashed potatoes tonight." She said to no one in particular.  Ever since Kero left when she sealed all of the cards when she was 14, she's had no one besides Tomoyo and her family. 

Sakura sighed, stirring the sauce for her chicken.  Just then the phone rang.  'Gosh, I really don't think that thing ever gets a rest……' she noted.  Walking over to the phone, she lifted the receiver, saying "Moshi moshi?  Sakura speaking."

"Sakura, we have another mission for you."

'Figures' Sakura thought.  "Yeah, Tomoyo-san told me something about some person that I should know about for my next mission or something."

"Hai, Sakura.  This would prove to be one of your toughest missions yet.  We have a very dangerous man under the code name 'Aaron Elman'.  We're not sure who he really is, but he is attending a school in China called Weyerhaeuser.  They study Magic, and it is believed that there is a new set of Cards there.  Sakura, as the Card Mistress, I expect you to obtain these cards, and make sure they don't end up in the wrong hands.  Also, find out as much about this 'Aaron' person as you can.  Am I clear?"

"……Hai…." Sakura breathed.  

"Good.  You will depart for the Weyerhaeuser school tomorrow morning.  Be prepared to exercise your magic abilities, Sakura.  This opponent will be tough."

Sakura was about to say something but Keemera hung up.  'Oh well,' she thought.  'Looks like I'm heading off to China.'