Detective in training
By lianneharmony
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Disclaimer:
I do not own any characters presently linked with CCS at the moment. Everything else you see here is a figment of my imagination.
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Summary:
Three strange things have happened. 1) Sakura's family inherits a P.I. agency. 2) The management of the agency is contesting the will. 3) Her crush, Yukito, is in some serious trouble. What's she going to do?
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What on earth are we going to do with a detective agency?
Sakura Kinomoto, Tomoeda
Isn't it strange how a simple phone call can turn things topsy-turvy?
So there it was, one simple Monday morning, with all the morning blues that follow. And I was just having my breakfast of pancakes and all of a sudden, the phone starts ringing.
"I'll get it!" I yelled. That's all I can remember.
But what happened next, I don't remember. If I had to guess though, it went along these lines:
Me: Hello, who is this? (I didn't say Kinomoto residence; because I was pretty sure it was no one we knew, as no one calls us at 8 a.m. in the morning).
Caller: Is this the Kinomoto residence?
Shoot, how'd he know?
Me: Yes, may I please know who's speaking?
Caller: Oh good! I was worried there for a moment! This is my first time doing this, you know (she trailed off, and said some stuff which I really didn't catch. Then suddenly, she went back to being composed and professional). I'm calling on behalf of Hiiragizawa and Akizuki – I'm not one of the senior partners, though, it's my dad who's there and I sort of just naturally had to follow in his footsteps – er, yes. At any rate, we have called you because of a will belonging to Mr. Reed.
This person has seriously got the wrong number.
Me: And who exactly is this 'Mr. Reed'?
At this moment, Touya interrupts and asks, "Who's the caller, monster?" and then he laughs because he thinks he made up a great rhyme, but I thought it was really mean. However, I couldn't say so because I was a little preoccupied at the moment.
Yeah, that was a real understatement.
I didn't answer him of course. I wished Touya'd just be a good brother for a while and let me figure out exactly what this caller was saying, but no, he sashayed next to me and asked: "Seriously, monster, who is it? If it's a guy, don't worry, his bones will be broken in a second."
Suddenly I just burst out.
"Touya! For the millionth time I am not a monster! How many times do I have to say it before it gets into your head? And this caller is not a guy! And how on earth can you break the bones of guy if you don't know his name and no one can travel up to this point faster than the speed of light?"
Caller: Excuse me, but is everything all right?
Me: No, it's just my brother. But who exactly is Mr. Reed?
Caller: You'll find out later. Please visit the headquarters of Akizuki – no wait! It's Hiiragizawa and Akizuki. It is a requirement for all members of the Kinomoto family to be present.
The caller gave me the address to get there (after we arrived in Tokyo, of course) and the instructions to getting there. She also told me that we had to be present on this very important date: 17th of October, 2007 at 4:30 pm.
When I got off the phone, father asked me gently, "Who was it?" I noticed Touya was sulking at a corner, obviously angry that his younger sister had grown a bit into a rebel. But I was too stunned to care (at the time, of course!) and looked straight at father. I started babbling.
"– There must be a mistake! I mean, we don't even know anyone named Reed? How can this be –"
"Sakura, calm down," father gently said. "Now, tell me, what exactly happened?"
Touya stopped sulking, and seemed interested by what I was going o say (wow! This was a first!), leaning slightly towards me from behind father.
"That was a lawyer from a law firm called Hiiragizawa and Akizuki. They're in charge of the will of a man called Mr. Reed."
I was too stunned to continue. I heard Touya say something along the lines of, "Hiiragizawa and Akizuki? Isn't that a prestigious law firm in Tokyo?"
But I couldn't be sure. Father gently prodded me for answers. "What did the caller say?"
I drew in a deep breath and said, "She said we'd inherited a detective agency. We're going to have to go to Tokyo on Wednesday."
And zombie-like, I went up to my room.
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Touya Kinomoto, Tomoeda
After Sakura walked away up the stairs to her room (zombie-like, I might add. I should really changer her nickname from monster to zombie), I looked at dad. She really should act more grown up. She's already seventeen. And I think, b the way she's acting, she's forgotten today was a school day.
Okay, back to shocking news on hand.
"So, dad, do you know anyone named Reed?"
Dad shook his head. It must come as a shock for him. Our family (with – to my never-ending annoyance – the exception of my darling sister Sakura) was rather introverted. Sakura was a homebody to, but she was an extrovert.
Enough about Sakura! Gaaaaah! Why are elder brothers cursed with paranoia?
There I go again (sigh).
The phone rang again. This time, it was me who yelled, "I'll get it!"
This time it was Yukito who called.
"What's up?" I must confess, I was a little surprised. Yukito was all the way up in Tokyo.
At the time, I brushed aside the fact that we had to go to Tokyo in two days to be insignificant and the fact that Yukito was in Tokyo to be a coincidence. But now, I'm not so sure.
"Well, I can't really say the details, but –"
"Just say it, Yukito!" The nervousness apparent in his voice made me concerned. He is, after all, a good friend of mine.
"Touya," he began. I have never heard him speak in this kind of tone.
"I'm in deep trouble."
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Syaoran Li, Hong Kong
Mother was crying. It all started with the telephone call.
I didn't understand. Mother had never been reduced to tears, not since father died. Granted, she wasn't as hysterical as she had been when father had died. Yet, I was undeniable that she was sad. It was all very confusing, you see, because Lis never show emotions.
Something horrible must have happened. Curious, I wondered what had happened.
As soon as mother hung up the phone, I briskly walked to her side. I remember myself asking her what happened, but all that burst out was tears.
"Mother," I soothed her. "Calm down. What happened?"
She touched my cheek, as if I weren't her nearly eighteen-year old son, but rather, her four year old little boy. "Oh, Syaoran, your uncle Reed died!"
I was stunned. He had seemed so – healthy – when I last saw him. He had the same twinkle in his eyes, and the same learned face. The only thing that was different was that he was a little tired, but –
"I don't believe it," I whispered under my breath. But even though it was only a whisper, mother burst into another fresh set of tears.
One may wonder, who am I to care so much about Clow Reed, a famous undercover spy and detective? For that, I will have to disclose information about myself, which before I had never deigned to do so.
My name is Syaoran Li. I am the heir to the Li Clan, which owns a considerable number of companies, either wholly owned or a subsidiary of Li Corporations, a company begun by father before his death, when I was four years old.
It was at that time that my uncle, Clow Reed, who was a distant cousin of my father on his mother's side, had returned from England, where his father was born. I don't know the exact particulars, but I believe it was due to a failed relationship with some woman that he left for the first place. He went to England, she left for Japan. And –
Anyway, he came back when my father died. Ever since then, he'd been sort of a father figure to me, teaching me not only about my responsibilities as the heir to the Li clan (the elders had appointed him among one of my tutors – I have only been home-schooled, never public-schooled), but also about observation skills and discipline, skills he had acquired as a detective. He had trained me so well, I was even able to become part of his team when I was sixteen, helping to solve many cases during the interim.
And now he was dead?
How could that be?
"Syaoran?"
"Yes, mother?"
"You were listed under the beneficiaries of the will."
"So?"
"We have to be at a law firm in Tokyo for the hearing the will."
I sighed. I went up to the practice hall and practice my fighting skills, pounding my frustration against a punchbag.
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Author's Note:
Ahhhh! So I came up with a new story! You like, you like? I've never seen a plot like this before, so I thought, why not?
Enjoy,
lianneharmony