Summary: Sakura is known to be a little bit on the bad side, but when she
ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time, she is wrongly accused of a
crime she didn't commit. It is decided that until Sakura can prove her
innocence, she will do community service by working at a volunteer job in
companies' office. The only job available to her is to be the personal
secretary of the heir to the Li Clan and current head of their company, Li
Syaoran, flirtatious playboy with a will as hard as rock. Will she succumb
to his charms? And if she does, will he just break her heart and use her
like the rest of his ex-girlfriends?
The Roles:
Sakura's Lawyer: Tomoyo Daidouji
Sakura's Best Friend: Meiling Li
Meiling's Guardian: When she first came to Japan, it was Wei. But when she turned 15, she got her own apartment.
Sakura's other school friends: Rika Sasaki, Chiharu Mihara, and Yamazaki Takashi
Syaoran's Partner: Eriol Hiirigizawa
Syaoran's Recorder/File Keeper/Help + Information Director: Naoko Yanagisawa
Eriol's Personal Secretary: Nakuru Akizuki
Court Judge: Kaho Mizuki
Sakura's Pet: Kero-chan, her golden lab puppy.
Nakuru's Pet: Spinel a.k.a Suppi-chan, a small black lab puppy.
Touya, Yukito, Terada-sensei, and Fujitaka play themselves.
Kalli: It's me again! And I'm back with another new story! I have a lot of new story projects going on! I just finished a chapter of the Tenchi story, the very first chapter of my new Gundam Wing story, and now I'm finally working on this story! I've had the idea for a long time now, I just never got around to actually writing it. So right now, I've got 2 CCS stories to update, and I'm thinking about starting a story for Inuyasha. That's still undecided though.
Kira: I can't believe u started a new story when you've got 4 more to finish!
Kalli: I couldn't help it! This idea has been nagging at me for so long now!
Kira: *rolls eyes* Whatever.
Kalli: *sweatdrop* I know I really should stop thinking about all these new ideas, but I just keep having new thoughts!
Spinel: Hi?
Kalli: *sees Spinel* KAWAII!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ur so cute!!!!!!!!
Spinel: *quickly packs mini suitcase and runs out the door*
Kalli: I wonder what his hurry was. Oh well, on with the story!
Key:
"Blah" - speaking
'Blah' - thinking
~~~- scene change
#$Blah#$ - P.O.V. change
*Blah* - actions
a/n - authors note
Criminal Affairs
Chapter 1: The Uncommitted Crime
By: Kalli
~~~~Kinomoto Residence~~~~#$Sakura P.O.V.#$
"Sakura! Time to get up!" yelled my dad, Fujitaka, from downstairs. I groaned and lazily slid out of bed and threw my regular school uniform on, then bounded down the steps.
"Hey Kero." I said, petting our family pet, a little golden lab pup. I sat down at the table and dug into my pancakes. Then my brother Touya walked in and sat down with a smug smile on his face. He sat down across from me and grinned.
"So, I hear you have another detention today kaijuu." He said as though his birthday had come early.
I kicked him under the table and watched him get red in the face. "That's tomorrow, thank you very much!"
He snorted and grinned. "Big difference. My mistake."
I put my plate in the sink and whacked him over the head as I went to put my rollerblades on. He glared at me and I stuck my tongue out at him in return.
I slipped my yellow, red, and white rollerblades on and zoomed out the door. As you can tell so far, I love beating up my older brother, and rollerblading. My name is Sakura Kinomoto if you didn't get that the first time. I guess you could say I'm a lil on the bad side. I skip class and swear a lot. But I'm a virgin, I don't act slutty, I don't smoke or get drunk, I just get into smaller trouble like getting detention. Every once in a while, I'll bring in a 3-day suspension.
As I was skating, a red Taurus pulled up beside me and the window rolled down. The person inside the car whistled. "Hey cutie! Wanna ride with me?" asked the voice jokingly.
I winked teasingly and opened the passenger door. "You know it, babe!"
"Alright!" the person laughed. "Morning Saku."
"Morning Mei." This person is my best friend in the entire world, Li Meiling. I call her Mei for short. I've known her since 2nd grade, which is when she first transferred to our school. She's 19, one year older than me, she should be in college, but when she transferred, she couldn't speak Japanese well enough to stay in the class she was in, so she was put in ours instead.
Her favorite color is red, which you could probably tell by her outfit. She was wearing a red tank-top with jean shorts and red flip-flops. She had topped the outfit off with half-lens red sunglasses. She always wears her hair in odangos and is usually the one skipping class and getting in trouble with me. My partner in crime, I guess you could call her.
"So, what do we have planned for today?" she asked.
I leaned back in my seat and sighed. "Going to class and pissing the teachers off. What else?"
She snorted. "We have such boring lives."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh yea. Dropping water balloons and messing with the fuse box gets boring. What should we do this weekend?"
She smiled slyly. "I've got a date."
"Who is it this time?"
"Uh..some guy...whatshisname...oh, some guy that Yamazaki set me up with from the soccer team."
"Another one?"
"Yep. Why don't you ever go out with guys?"
I smiled seductively. "I prefer girls."
"Really?"
"Just kidding! I like girls, but not romantically. Just to hang out with."
"Good, You had me worried there for a minute."
Meiling reached over and turned on the radio. Ah, yes, the best way to start your morning is with a bit of rock music. Good ol' Offspring.
After a few minutes of popping chips into our mouths and flicking off perverts who whistled at us, we arrived at our wonderful school from hell.
We got out of the car and started walking towards the building. "Meiling! Sakura!" yelled a feminine voice behind us. We turned around and waved to Chiharu Mihara. She's one of our other friends. She always wears her hair in braids on the side of her head. We're also friends with her boyfriend, Yamazaki, and her best friend, Rika.
"Morning Chiharu!"
"Mornin." Said Meiling sleepily.
"Hey, did you guys here about that gang that's been causing trouble lately?"
"No, what's going on?" asked Meiling.
"Well, they've been catching middle and elementary school kids who are on their way home and stealing their money or books and stuff like that, then beating them up for the fun of it. One kid's in the hospital with a broken arm. The police still haven't caught them yet."
"That's terrible! We pick on younger kids, but not if we don't know them well enough to do so. Plus, we never hurt them!" I said.
Meiling nodded. "We'll beat those guys to the sorry pulp they should be if we ever run into them."
Chiharu smiled. "They usually hide out in alleys or dark places."
"Thanks for the tip. Now, let's get to class."
We walked off chatting happily, without a care in the world. Little did we know the kind of trouble we were about to drag ourselves into. Mainly me, just my luck.
~~~~~Later that day after school~~~~~
I ran out of my last class and into the fresh air outside. Meiling and the others were following closely behind me. Rika and Yamazaki were there this time. Rika has short, wavy hair down to her shoulders, and Yamazaki has spiky black hair.
"Finally out of school!" I said enthusiastically.
"Yep, and we got 4 detentions each today. It's a new record!" said Meiling.
"Yessssssss!" We gave each other a high-five and jumped around like we were high on something.
"Hey guys, we'll see you tomorrow. Me and Rika have to study for a test in math. Your so lucky your not in our class."
"We know." I said grinning.
Rika rolled her eyes. "I bet." She grabbed her backpack and started walking towards the school library with Chiharu. "Later!" she called out behind her.
"I got soccer practice today. Pray for me. I had to be goalie last time. Or as I like to call it, the ball target." said Yamazaki, then ran off.
We snorted and laughed. "Poor Yamazaki. Hey, Meiling, do you think I could hitch a ride with you today?"
"Nope, Sorry Saku. I gotta hit the store for some more groceries."
"Alright. I guess I'll walk home today."
"Sorry. See ya."
"See ya." I walked off in the opposite direction towards my house. After a few minutes of walking, I heard voices in a nearby alley. I walked closer to hear what they were saying.
"Hand over the money, kid." Said a gruff voice.
"I-I don't h-h-have any m-money, mister!" said a young voice, which I could tell belonged to a young boy.
"Bullshit, you little brat!" said another voice. Then I heard a slapping sound and a shriek followed. Then it clicked. 'This must be the gang Chiharu told us about!' I thought. I could tell the kid was already hurt. And I was pretty sure that if I didn't do anything, he'd be hurt even more than he already is. I took a deep breath and whipped around the corner to face them.
"Hey! Leave the kid alone!" I yelled. 5 rough-looking guys gave me angry looks. They shoved the kid to the ground, where he banged his head against the wall and he was obviously knocked out.
"What do you want, bitch?"
"I told you to leave that kid alone! Didn't you hear him? He has no money!"
"Yeah, right. What are you gonna do about it? You wanna fight us?" the guy who I assumed was the leader, asked me mockingly.
I hesitated, then answered confidently. "You bet!" I figured 'These guys are street thugs. No big deal.'
They lost their goofy, cocky exterior and started running at me. I dodged most of them and even landed a nice hard kick to the spinal cord of one of the guys. I ran towards the kid, but was stopped by another guy who grabbed me around the waist with a tight hold. I jerked my elbow up desperately and elbowed him in the nose. He stumbled back holding his nose.
I yelled out to the kid. "Kid! Stay where you are! I'm coming to help you!" I yelled, even though I had a bad feeling he couldn't hear one damned thing I was saying at the moment. I felt a hard jolt to my side and slammed into the wall beside me. I gripped my side, but kept going towards the kid. As I moved towards him, I saw his eyes slightly open. I blinked to make sure I had just seen that. The 3 that were left tried everything they could to keep me away. One punched me in the face, which I was sure was gonna result in a black eye later, but right now, I had to get the kid out of there. I looked back, and his eyes were closed and he was out cold. So, once again, I tried to get to him.
But one of the gang members got there first and knocked the kid against a pipe, then turned to me and said "We'll leave this kid to you, but don't mess with us again bitch." He spat out.
Then I heard a wailing sound in the distance. As it got closer, I could tell what it was. *WOO WOO WOO* (police car sound if you didn't get that). The guys started running and jumped over a fence and out of sight. I sunk to the ground next to the kid and pulled him to me.
I shook him gently. "Kid, hey wake up. Kid!". Then I spotted a small red backpack near where he was laying and picked it up. I looked in the inside of one of the pockets and found a small piece of paper that had 'This bag belongs to Shiro Hitaka. If found, please return.' Written on it. "Shiro, huh? I wonder where this kid lives."
"Put the kid down and back away!" came a strong voice that was a few yards away from me. I jumped and turned to find a policeman pointing a gun at me and holding a radio in his hand, saying something I couldn't hear.
I lay the kid down next to his bag and backed away with my hands in the air. 2 paramedics came and took the kid and the backpack away. The policeman walked up to me and grabbed my arm. "Your going to the station with us, young lady." He said in a grave voice.
I shuddered a little and sat down in the back of the police car. After we started driving, I leaned forward and asked "How'd you guys know what was going on?"
"We got a call from one of the residents in the apartment building you were next to."
"Oh. Um, look, I'm sure you've heard about the gang that's been doing this kind of thing. I'm almost positive it was them and I-"
"Save it, kid. Your gonna have to go to court anyway. You're a witness and a suspect at the moment."
"Suspect?!" I asked with obvious panic in my voice. "I swear I was trying to help the kid from those guys! I wasn't trying to hurt him at all!"
"The resident who called us said it sounded like there were only 2 others, and we didn't see any others there except you when we got there. You may be innocent ma'am, but until you have evidence to prove that, you'll stay main suspect."
I decided not to talk the rest of the way. I was panicking. I was bad, sure, but this bad?! Never! 'There's plenty of reason to think I'm guilty, even though I'm not. And what evidence is there to prove that I'm not?! Wait, the kid! He can testify! He was conscious when he saw me come to help him!' I relaxed a little at this. I eventually drifted off to sleep, unaware of what was about to happen to me.
~~~~A few hours later~~~~
I sighed deeply. My dad and brother had been allowed to talk to me for about 15 minutes and I had been able to explain to them what happened. But after that, they had been forced to leave. Chiharu, Yamazaki, and Rika had already come in to talk with me. They were allowed to stay a little longer because they gave the guard a box of doughnuts. Meiling, they said, was still out shopping and probably hadn't gotten the message yet.
"Sakura!" I looked up to see who it was.
I jumped up from the small cot in my cell and pressed my face against the bars. "Meiling! Get me outta here!" I begged.
"Sorry miss, visiting hours for this girl are over." Said the guard strictly.
Meiling glared at him. "Boy, you better get off of your fat ass and let me in or let her out before I break this door down and make you wish you were never born!" she threatened. I could almost see the flames in her eyes. Now, where were those devil horns of hers.....ah, yes, there they were, right on top of her head as usual.
"Young lady, I can arrest you for that mouth of yours!" he warned.
She sighed fakely. 'Uh-oh, the fake sigh. What's she up to now?'. She looked up at him and smiled. "I guess I'll just have to" she pulled out 3 boxes of doughnuts from behind her back. "Eat these yummy chocolate covered doughnuts by myself."
The guard looked longingly at the doughnuts that Meiling was holding. "Well, I suppose I could allow you about 20 minutes."
"How about you let me stay with my best friend for the rest of the night? I promise I'll take the blame if you get in any trouble!"
"1 hour and that's the best I can give you."
Meiling cleared her throat and pulled a doughnut out. "Did I mention that they have sprinkles?"
The guard rushed forward and tried to grab it out of her hand. She pulled it away at the last minute. "Whole night, and I give you all 3 boxes. Deal?"
He eagerly nodded and opened the door. She stepped in and handed the doughnuts to him. He grabbed them and stuffed one whole into his mouth. She gave him a disgusted look and pulled up a chair in front of my cell. "So, how ya holdin up? Rika already told me what happened. Are you alright?"
"I'm just fine except for a few bruises."
"Yeah. You're already forming a black eye. So, do you already know what the evidence is to prove that you're innocent?"
"Yeah, the kid, his name is Shiro, saw me when I came to try to rescue him. Then he was knocked out, but he can still tell them that it was me who was trying to help him!"
Meiling looked at the ground uncomfortably and then slowly spoke. "Um....Sakura, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but the kid-Shiro, is in the hospital. I asked about him and they said that he's got amnesia. They say it's probably from being thrown into a hard surface so many times, but he doesn't remember his name or who he is. He won't be able to even go home for probably another 3-4 months. So, you don't have too much evidence to go on right now."
It took a few minutes for this to sink in. "Mei, does this mean?....."
"No, you won't be here for that long. They'll probably just make sure that there's someone there with you at all times. You'll still go to school, but it's very likely that you'll have to do an afternoon job for one of the companies here or in Tokyo as community service until you can prove that your innocent."
I blinked. "Really?" Meiling nodded. "Well, I guess that won't be so bad. Do I get to keep the money I make from this job?"
Meilings brow wrinkled in thought. "I think she said you'd get to keep about 25- 60 % if you're lucky."
"She?" I asked suspiciously.
Meiling smiled widely. "Your new lawyer! Did you really think I knew that much about what your punishment would be because I was a law genius? I hope not."
"I WAS wondering about that. Where do I get the money to pay this lawyer?"
"I'm paying for it!"
"Where do you GET this money anyway?"
"My family in Hong-Kong."
"I see. Are they rich or something?"
She nodded. "They're a pretty powerful clan in China, so if I need money for something that they think is important enough, they'll send me some!"
"I get it. So, tell me about this lawyer woman."
"Her name is Tomoyo Daidouji. She's won 9 out of 10 of all her cases. She's had about 200 at the moment. They say she's like a tiger when it comes to the courtroom. But she sounded very friendly on the phone. You'll meet her tomorrow around 3. You'll know who she is when you see her. It's easy to tell she's a lawyer."
"Did you already meet her?"
"No, I looked at a picture of her in this brochure from the law firm she works at. She said she loved the challenge of your case, so she gave me a discount! I like the woman already!"
I laughed. "Does that mean that you get to keep the rest for your own purposes?"
She grinned slyly. "Yep! Oh yea, one more thing, your lawyer even agreed that if I paid for it, she can get you out of here and take you to a nice place for dinner."
"Where are we going?"
"Um..I think it was this place called Zen Sushi. It's a small restaurant downtown. Sushi, Tempura, ya know, that kinda thing. It's so cute!" she squealed excitedly.
"I think you've told me about that place before. Does she have any idea where I'll be working?"
Meiling shook her head. "Probably not. I asked about that too. She says that the company you work at will have to actually offer the position. You probably won't get to choose your job unless they have more than one available. So, it's probably gonna be something completely random."
"Great. At least I can still go on living somewhat normally though."
"Yeah."
*SNORE* I jumped a little , then saw the guard fast asleep on his desk snoring with some drool on his chin.
Meiling smiled innocently and faked a baby tone. "Gee, I guess he musta been sweepy, huh?"
Then it clicked. "Mei, tell me you didn't....."
She grinned sheepishly. "Well, I figured it'd be a good back-up plan just in case he tried to trick me!"
I slapped a hand to my forehead. "I should've known."
*yawn* "I'm sleepy. You should try to rest too, Sakura, you go to court tomorrow."
I gulped. "I do?"
"Yep. It'll only be for about half an hour though. It's just to see what should happen from here."
"Oh. Well, good night."
"G'night."
A few minutes later Meiling was sleeping like a baby. Obviously not a very innocent baby, but still. I sighed and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. 'I guess all I can do now is hope. Oh well, Mei's right. I better get some sleep while I can.' I rolled over on my side and nestled into the stiff cot the best I could. I finally fell asleep (even though it was verrrrrrrrrryyyyyy difficult).
~~~~~The next morning~~~~~
"Hey, Saku, wake up!" whispered Meiling.
I groaned and rolled over. "Go away Kero, I still have 10 more frickin minutes, ya know."
Meiling snorted. "Oh no, you don't. It's 3 in the afternoon."
"3?!" I yelped, shooting out of bed.
She nodded. "Here, I dropped by your house and got some more....uh, ....presentable clothes for you to wear."
"Hehe..Thanks." I said sweatdropping while looking down at the dirty school uniform I still had on.
I looked at what she had brought me. "You didn't get a flashy halter top or anything for me to wear in court, right?"
"Why not? I'm sure you could win the judge over easily enough with the right outfit."
Then I heard a strong female voice behind Meiling. "I don't think so. It's highly unlikely that the judge for this will like an outfit like that."
Meiling apparently already knew who it was. "Why? Could he really be that much of a stiff?"
"No, actually, this judge is very nice, very relaxed."
"Just not perverted?"
"I wouldn't know."
"Shouldn't you be able to tell with the guy?"
"Well, for one thing, this 'guy' is a woman."
Meiling blushed a little. "Oops. Well, that certainly would explain a few things." She said laughing nervously.
I tried to peek over Meiling's shoulder. "Who is that, Mei?"
"Oh, this is, well, I assume this is, your lawyer, Daidouji Tomoyo." She stepped aside, revealing a stunning woman. She had an air of confidence about her. Meiling was right, you could tell she was a lawyer, even though her khakis and long-sleeved black T-shirt didn't match her air. But the way she held herself showed she was much more than a common woman. Her dark purple-tinted hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail. Her eyes were sapphire-blue and gazed at me with a calm, thoughtful look.
"Correct. Please call me Tomoyo. I'm not one for formalities. I assume you" she looked at Meiling. "Are Li Meiling?"
Meiling nodded. "Yep, that's me."
Then she turned to me. "Then you must be Sakura Kinomoto. I'll be representing you in your case. Meiling has already filled me in on the details."
"I'm sorry for not being very, uh, presentable at the moment. I haven't had a chance to change for a while."
"No problem. You can go ahead and change now if you like." She said, calmly turning her back to me. Meiling followed suit.
I quickly slipped into the jeans and cream-colored shirt Meiling had brought me and called out. "Okay, I'm done now. You can turn around."
They turned back around. Then I reached up and tried to smooth my hair down, with no luck whatsoever. Tomoyo fished through her purse and took out a dark blue brush. "You can use this if you like."
I quickly brushed out my hair and pulled it into the tightest braid I could manage, then handed it back to her. I liked her already. "Thanks."
"No problem. So, do you want to come out of your cell now?"
I sweatdropped when I saw that I was still standing in the middle of the cell, even though the door was wide open. 'You sure are smart, aren't ya, Sakura?' I said to myself.
I stepped out and extended my hand to her. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise." She replied, smiling gently and shaking my hand. "So, shall we get going?" she asked, picking up her purse and walking towards the door.
"Go where?" I asked, puzzled.
"To court. It starts in 15 minutes. It takes about 10 to get over there, so let's go." Meiling and I followed her out the door. She walked up to a sleek blue camaro and opened the door. "Hop in, ladies."
We sat down inside the car and admired the interior. We didn't have too much time for that though, because we soon learned that Tomoyo's driving was nowhere near as calm as she was. When we finally got to the courtroom, Meiling looked pale and was pressed against the back of her seat, and I was clinging to the head of the seat in front of me.
"God help us." Muttered Meiling shakily.
"I'll never take life for granted again." I replied.
Tomoyo looked back at us worriedly. "Are you 2 alright?"
"Tomoyo, where the hell did you learn to drive?" asked Meiling.
"My mother. Of course, she prefers a motorcycle to a car, so if you'd rather......."
"NO!" we both shouted at the same time.
She laughed. "Alright, alright. Let's go, shall we?"
We nodded and slowly got out of the car. Tomoyo and me started walking towards the courthouse, but then noticed that Meiling wasn't following us. We turned around and there was Meiling, kneeling and repeatedly kissing the ground.
"Yuck."
Tomoyo nodded. "Was my driving THAT bad?"
"I take the 5th amendment. I don't have to answer that question because I have the right to remain silent."
She laughed and gave me a lopsided grin. "Alright then." She turned towards Meiling and yelled "Oi! Meiling! We have to get to court now!"
Meiling stood up blushing from embarrassment and walked quickly towards us. "Uh, sorry bout that."
"I've seen worse" replied Tomoyo.
"Does Meiling have a twin sister or something?" I asked jokingly.
Meiling lightly punched me in the arm and glared at me teasingly. "Haha, very funny."
A few seconds later, we had entered the courtroom. It looked exactly like you'd expect it to. Brown wooden walls, 2 tables, and 2 rows of benches on both sides with the judge's booth in the middle. We followed Tomoyo to one of the tables and sat down nervously. There were only a few other people, my parents and close friends (who Mei went to sit with), and a few other people who I assumed were relatives of Shiro.
"All stand for the honorable judge Mizuki." Boomed a deep voice suddenly.
I jumped in my seat, then quickly stood up as a pretty middle-aged woman with long red hair and brown eyes walked in and sat down at the judges' bench. "Alright, let's just get straight to it, since I'm not one for all those formal starts, ok?"
A few people laughed and she just smiled gently. "Alright, now, you must be Sakura Kinomoto, correct?" she asked, glancing at me.
"Yes ma'am."
"Alright. You seem like a nice enough girl. We talked to some of your teachers and classmates about it. We got reports of skipping and pranks, but as far as we can tell, no drugs, sexual harassment, or violence that wasn't just joking around." She said authoritatively.
"So, I believe that you probably didn't do this, and Shiro's parents, after looking at your records, agree with me." She glanced at the table next to us where a gentle-looking woman with black hair and gold eyes sat next to their lawyer and a man with tan-gold hair and blue eyes who I assumed was her husband. They both smiled slightly and nodded. I smiled back.
"However, we can't find any evidence that you did or didn't do this. That's our problem. Shiro is the only person who can tell us anything, so until he's able to testify, or we get enough hard-core evidence to prove ANYTHING about this case, you'll be watched, but we can't keep you in jail or juvenile hall without actual evidence or reason, so, you get to go to school, and do all the things you normally do, but we'll have to keep an eye on you."
I sighed, but then found out it was too early to be completely relieved.
"Also, as a precaution, just in case you did for some reason do this, you'll have to get a job with a company that has a job offering and is willing to take you. There's only one company at the moment that's available, and that's the Li Company. Good news: Your job makes pretty good money and you get to keep 60% of all your profits."
I smiled happily. This wasn't so bad after all. She chuckled lightly. "Don't smile so soon. The bad news: your job is to be the personal secretary of the head of the company, Li Syaoran." Some of the females in the court looked at each other and started whispering.
"Okay..." I said hesitantly. The females that had been whispering started laughing, along with the judge.
She eyed me amusingly. "I'll get Daidouji-san to fill you in, ok? Alright, your all dismissed."
Everyone got up and started walking towards the door, chatting happily. I turned to Tomoyo with a questioning look. "Tomoyo, what were they talking about?"
"I'll tell you at dinner. Let's go ahead and drive over there now."
I turned to her in panic. "Let someone else drive! Please!"
"Fine, You can drive." She said, dropping the keys into my hands.
"Thank you!"
Meiling walked up to us. "Sakura, I'll see you tomorrow. I gotta get home. Bye!"
"Bye Mei!" I yelled as she ran off.
~~~~~~~~~At the Restaurant~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'll have the shrimp tempura."
"I'll have the bento box."
After the waitress had walked away to get our orders, I turned to Tomoyo. "So what's the deal with this guy, Li Syaoran?"
She snorted a little. "He's famous, or infamous, I should probably say, for playing a lot of women and using them for their looks. When you go into his office, you'll notice that almost all of his female workers are attractive women. He's rich, smart, and in truth, very handsome."
I nodded. "Gotcha. When do I start?"
"Tomorrow." She answered.
I almost choked on my food. "Tomorrow!" I managed to get out.
She nodded. "Yep. I've already been given the information you'll need to get there. There's a girl named Naoko Yanagisawa that goes to your school that works in his office also. She's agreed to meet you at the front of the school after your classes are over. She has-"
"Brown hair and wears glasses, right?" Tomoyo nodded at this. "Yeah, I know her. She's been my partner on a few projects and she's in my science class. She's really nice. What's her job?"
"She's the director of the information booth and the record keeper." Tomoyo replied.
"I see. Well, I guess I'll see just how bad this guy is tomorrow."
She laughed. "Good luck." And we clinked our water glasses together in a toast.
~~~~~Same Time at the Li Company~~~~~~~~#$Syaoran P.O.V.#$
"Oh, Syaoran.." Moaned a dark green haired girl who was in my arms.
"Hmmm...yeah?"
"You *kiss* are *kiss* so *kiss* good *kiss* at *kiss* kissing! *kiss*" she said.
"Yeah, *kiss* I know."
She giggled and pushed up against me. Then the door opened and my partner, Eriol Hiirigizawa, walked in. He had a very amused look on his face. "Sorry to interrupt your oh-so-important business, Syaoran, but your mother is on the phone."
My eyes widened. 'God help me.' "Put her on."
The girl pouted. "Syaoran, what about the rest of our night?"
I winked at her. "Sorry, babe, but we're over."
She stepped back from me. "Y-you mean you just used me for 2 days and your dumping me?!"
I nodded. "Yep."
"B-but you said that we could go out to dinner this Friday and then go on a romantic walk and so many other things! And they were all lies?!"
"That's right." I said matter-of-factly.
She sniffed as tears sprang to her eyes. "Y-you jerk! I-I don't believe you! H-how could you d-do this to me?!"
"Life's not fair. Get over it. Did you really think I'd make those promises if I'd just been dating you for 2 days? Ha! I hope not."
A tear rolled down her cheek as she turned and ran out the door crying. I just smiled, then turned to Eriol, who was still standing in the doorway. "I thought you were gonna get my mother on the phone in here."
Eriol smiled slowly. "I did."
"Hello, my dear son." Said a cold and serious voice over the intercom.
Now was a good time to panic. "Mother! I-I had no idea that you were there!"
"That's why I didn't say anything. Syaoran, I've had enough of your stupid relationships. None of them mean anything! Your already 20, you should find a nice young girl and settle down!"
"I have a few more years."
"I hope you mean a few more years to find the right woman that will last more than 2 days!"
"B-but-"
"You WILL find a suitable girl. I can't control it if you want to have meaningless relationships, but in 7 months, you WILL have found a nice young lady who could become a good wife and be approved by the clan. She has to WANT to marry you, not just be some girl you picked up 2 days before the deadline. If your relationship doesn't work out, you can find someone else, but no more of those stupid 2-days after this!" she said strictly.
"Yes, mother." I said, sinking into my chair miserably.
"Good boy. I love you, Syaoran. Now, be GOOD, alright."
"Okay. I love you too." My mother could be scary sometimes.
"Well, aren't you the lucky one?" said Eriol smugly.
"Your still here?" I groaned.
"Yep. I just got a replacement for your personal secretary."
"Really?"
"Yep. She has to get a job as part of a requirement from judge Mizuki."
"Mizuki Kaho?"
"Yep."
"Ah, yes. We've dealt with her before. She's cute."
"And too old for you, Syaoran. But the girl is only 18. Here's the report on the case so that you know what's going on." He said, throwing a folder on top of my desk.
I flipped through it. "Thanks. I'll look over it later."
"She starts tomorrow. Naoko's bringing her."
"Yanagisawa? Ya know, she's one of the only females who works for me that I can't get a date with. Stubborn gal, but a real hard worker."
"At least you only asked once. She probably would've quit if you had asked more than 2 times."
"Maybe. Oh well, I'll let her be. Well, I'm going home. See you tomorrow."
"You too. Syanora!"
~~~~~~Next Day at Kinomoto Residence~~~~~~~#$Sakura P.O.V.#$
*RRRIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGGG* "Go away" I mumbled at my alarm clock. Of course, since I was talking to an inanimate object, it didn't obey my command, the damned thing, and lucky lil me got to get out of the nice, warm, comfy, flu- *snore*
"SAKURA!!!!!!! I KNOW THAT YOU DIDN'T JUST GO BACK TO SLEEPIN YOUR BED!" yelled an obviously smug Touya from downstairs.
"Go to hell." I moaned to myself. "It's where you came from." I added as an after-thought.
I finally dragged myself out of bed and downstairs. "Morning." I said sleepily.
"Morning Kaijuu."
"Go away Baka-SAMA, don't you have something better to do?"
"Not right now."
"Shut up, moron."
"Monster."
"Idiot!"
"Squirt!"
"Dimwit!"
"Half-wit!"
"No wit!"
"No brain!"
"Mr. I-still-sleep-with-my-baby-blanket-and-purple-teddy-bear-from-when-I- was-5-years-old!" I yelled triumphantly.
He shut up and sat down, then slammed his fork on the table in frustration. Dad looked at him exasperatedly. "Touya, I keep telling you, don't slam your fork on the table!"
"Sorry." He muttered.
"Alright. Now be good and eat up!"
1 breakfast, 2 name wars, and 3 kicks in the shin later, I was ready to go...almost. "Uh, Sakura, is it wear your pajamas day or something?" asked Touya, obviously trying to hold in his laughter.
"Huh?" I looked down at what I was wearing. "Oops. Be right back." After I had run upstairs and changed, Meiling was already waiting outside to pick me up.
"Morning! Ready for your new life of payment for a crime you didn't do to begin?"
"It's too early." I replied grumpily.
"Tough luck. Let's go."
I dragged myself into her car and finally managed to wake up after listening to a few rock songs. When we arrived at school, everyone came rushing up to me.
"Did you do it?"
"Did you beat that kid up?"
"Are you gonna go to jail?"
"Are you getting sued?"
"MOVE IT PEOPLE, FRIENDS COMIN THROUGH!"
Thank god for Chiharu Mihara's occasional bossy nature. "Nothing to see here, keep moving!" she yelled ferociously.
People finally walked off chattering excitedly. "Thanks Chiharu." I said gratefully.
"No prob. Ready to go to class?"
"Yep. But first, I gotta take care of one thing."
"Alright, we'll wait for you."
"Thanks." After that, I ran off to find Naoko. I looked for a few seconds and finally spotted her chatting with a promising Track star named Rei that was a grade higher than me.
I walked up to them a little timidly. "Um.....morning."
They turned to me with surprised looks on their faces. "Morning Sakura- san!" greeted Rei smiling.
"Good morning." Said Naoko politely.
"Naoko, you're the one who's showing me the Li Co. , right?"
She nodded. "Yep. It'll be good to finally have a girl my age that's not some stupid big-chested bimbo working there. I'll meet you in front of the school after classes, ok?"
"Sure. I just wanted to check and make sure that everything's in order."
"Alright, well, we'll see you later."
Then I ran back to Chiharu and Meiling, who were tapping their feet. "Finally!" said Meiling in an annoyed tone.
"Sorry."
"What were you talking to Yanagisawa for?" asked Chiharu curiously.
"I had to ask her if she was the on showing me around the workplace."
"That's right, she works there too, doesn't she?"
"Yep."
*Ring* We all checked our watches. "Not again!" I yelled and sped off to class.
~~~~~~~~After School~~~~~~~~~
I walked up to Naoko, who was waiting patiently by the front door. She turned to me smiling. "Ready?"
"I think so."
"Good. Now, let me tell you about Li. He's nice, in a flirty, somewhat annoying way. He's a very hands-on worker when it comes to his female workers. Very cute, but don't let that fool you. The longest relationship he's ever had, according to his partner, was 1 week and a half."
"He has a partner?"
"Yep, his name is Hiirigizawa Eriol. He's much nicer. His personal secretary is a few years older than us, but she's nice. Kinda hyper though. He's pretty cute too, and he's nowhere near as bad as Li when it comes to women. He thinks their cute, but he rarely dates one. You'll probably like him more than Li."
"Probably."
We took a bus to Tokyo, where we got off and walked to a huge building that had "Li Company" on the side in tall, shining, silver-ish letters.
"This is it, Sakura-san." Said Naoko.
I stared for a few seconds, then followed Naoko into the building. We took the elevator to the 10th floor and got off. "This is were you and me will be working. You won't usually have to go to any other floor, so don't worry about them."
"Naoko!" said an energetic female voice behind us. I turned and met 2 brown eyes that sparkled with interest. The girl appeared to be a few years older than us, and a few inches taller at that. She had long, dark brown hair down hair back with one lock of it braided and tied with a pink bead that was flipped to the front of her shoulder. She also had mid-face length locks of hair on both sides of her face. She was wearing a light blue business suit and had a stack of papers in her hand.
"Hey Nakuru! This is Sakura Kinomoto, Li's new secretary."
"I see, you must be that girl I heard about. Nice to meet you. Sorry I don't have more time to talk, but if I carry these papers much longer, I think my arms are gonna fall off!"
"Then we'll see you later!" I called as she walked off.
Naoko turned to me. "That was Hiirigizawa's secretary, Akizuki Nakuru. The one I told you about earlier." Then she started walking again. She pointed to a few other women and told me who they were, but I didn't really pay attention, I just nodded at whatever she said, but I was really thinking about what my new 'Boss' would be like.
We finally reached a large dark wooden door with "Li Syaoran-Company President" printed on a golden nameplate. Naoko knocked on the door and I heard a deep, smooth voice answer. "Yes?"
"Mr.Li, your new secretary is here." Said Naoko.
"Show her in, please."
Naoko opened the door and I stepped in to meet my new boss.
THE END
Kalli: Sorry to leave a cliffhanger, but remember, the more reviews, the faster I update (That's usually the case anyways.)
Kira: *pinching Spinels cheeks* Awww..you are just so CUTE!!!!!!!! *squeals*
Spinel: Help meeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!
Kalli: You? Help ME!
Spinel: ME!
Kalli: ME!
Kira: POCKY! ^.^
Spinel + Kalli: Eh? *sweatdrop*
Kira: Pocky!
Kalli: I'm just gonna give the preview now. Here it is:
Sakura meets her new boss, and it's irritation at first sight! Well, actually first pick-up line, but newayz, Sakura is waiting for Syaoran to get off the phone when she finds a very familiar looking picture of him and a girl when they were about 5 years old that gives Sakura an extreme control over her now boss-turned-grumbling-servant. Wait and see next time exactly what the picture holds in Chapter 2: 'The Picture of the Past Days of Li!'
Kalli: Well, that's all for now, and don't forget to REVIEW!!!!!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO THE PEOPLE WHO DO!!!!!!!!! *sniffs* Please review?! I'll be your best friend! Haha, j/k! Ja for now!
The Roles:
Sakura's Lawyer: Tomoyo Daidouji
Sakura's Best Friend: Meiling Li
Meiling's Guardian: When she first came to Japan, it was Wei. But when she turned 15, she got her own apartment.
Sakura's other school friends: Rika Sasaki, Chiharu Mihara, and Yamazaki Takashi
Syaoran's Partner: Eriol Hiirigizawa
Syaoran's Recorder/File Keeper/Help + Information Director: Naoko Yanagisawa
Eriol's Personal Secretary: Nakuru Akizuki
Court Judge: Kaho Mizuki
Sakura's Pet: Kero-chan, her golden lab puppy.
Nakuru's Pet: Spinel a.k.a Suppi-chan, a small black lab puppy.
Touya, Yukito, Terada-sensei, and Fujitaka play themselves.
Kalli: It's me again! And I'm back with another new story! I have a lot of new story projects going on! I just finished a chapter of the Tenchi story, the very first chapter of my new Gundam Wing story, and now I'm finally working on this story! I've had the idea for a long time now, I just never got around to actually writing it. So right now, I've got 2 CCS stories to update, and I'm thinking about starting a story for Inuyasha. That's still undecided though.
Kira: I can't believe u started a new story when you've got 4 more to finish!
Kalli: I couldn't help it! This idea has been nagging at me for so long now!
Kira: *rolls eyes* Whatever.
Kalli: *sweatdrop* I know I really should stop thinking about all these new ideas, but I just keep having new thoughts!
Spinel: Hi?
Kalli: *sees Spinel* KAWAII!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ur so cute!!!!!!!!
Spinel: *quickly packs mini suitcase and runs out the door*
Kalli: I wonder what his hurry was. Oh well, on with the story!
Key:
"Blah" - speaking
'Blah' - thinking
~~~- scene change
#$Blah#$ - P.O.V. change
*Blah* - actions
a/n - authors note
Criminal Affairs
Chapter 1: The Uncommitted Crime
By: Kalli
~~~~Kinomoto Residence~~~~#$Sakura P.O.V.#$
"Sakura! Time to get up!" yelled my dad, Fujitaka, from downstairs. I groaned and lazily slid out of bed and threw my regular school uniform on, then bounded down the steps.
"Hey Kero." I said, petting our family pet, a little golden lab pup. I sat down at the table and dug into my pancakes. Then my brother Touya walked in and sat down with a smug smile on his face. He sat down across from me and grinned.
"So, I hear you have another detention today kaijuu." He said as though his birthday had come early.
I kicked him under the table and watched him get red in the face. "That's tomorrow, thank you very much!"
He snorted and grinned. "Big difference. My mistake."
I put my plate in the sink and whacked him over the head as I went to put my rollerblades on. He glared at me and I stuck my tongue out at him in return.
I slipped my yellow, red, and white rollerblades on and zoomed out the door. As you can tell so far, I love beating up my older brother, and rollerblading. My name is Sakura Kinomoto if you didn't get that the first time. I guess you could say I'm a lil on the bad side. I skip class and swear a lot. But I'm a virgin, I don't act slutty, I don't smoke or get drunk, I just get into smaller trouble like getting detention. Every once in a while, I'll bring in a 3-day suspension.
As I was skating, a red Taurus pulled up beside me and the window rolled down. The person inside the car whistled. "Hey cutie! Wanna ride with me?" asked the voice jokingly.
I winked teasingly and opened the passenger door. "You know it, babe!"
"Alright!" the person laughed. "Morning Saku."
"Morning Mei." This person is my best friend in the entire world, Li Meiling. I call her Mei for short. I've known her since 2nd grade, which is when she first transferred to our school. She's 19, one year older than me, she should be in college, but when she transferred, she couldn't speak Japanese well enough to stay in the class she was in, so she was put in ours instead.
Her favorite color is red, which you could probably tell by her outfit. She was wearing a red tank-top with jean shorts and red flip-flops. She had topped the outfit off with half-lens red sunglasses. She always wears her hair in odangos and is usually the one skipping class and getting in trouble with me. My partner in crime, I guess you could call her.
"So, what do we have planned for today?" she asked.
I leaned back in my seat and sighed. "Going to class and pissing the teachers off. What else?"
She snorted. "We have such boring lives."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh yea. Dropping water balloons and messing with the fuse box gets boring. What should we do this weekend?"
She smiled slyly. "I've got a date."
"Who is it this time?"
"Uh..some guy...whatshisname...oh, some guy that Yamazaki set me up with from the soccer team."
"Another one?"
"Yep. Why don't you ever go out with guys?"
I smiled seductively. "I prefer girls."
"Really?"
"Just kidding! I like girls, but not romantically. Just to hang out with."
"Good, You had me worried there for a minute."
Meiling reached over and turned on the radio. Ah, yes, the best way to start your morning is with a bit of rock music. Good ol' Offspring.
After a few minutes of popping chips into our mouths and flicking off perverts who whistled at us, we arrived at our wonderful school from hell.
We got out of the car and started walking towards the building. "Meiling! Sakura!" yelled a feminine voice behind us. We turned around and waved to Chiharu Mihara. She's one of our other friends. She always wears her hair in braids on the side of her head. We're also friends with her boyfriend, Yamazaki, and her best friend, Rika.
"Morning Chiharu!"
"Mornin." Said Meiling sleepily.
"Hey, did you guys here about that gang that's been causing trouble lately?"
"No, what's going on?" asked Meiling.
"Well, they've been catching middle and elementary school kids who are on their way home and stealing their money or books and stuff like that, then beating them up for the fun of it. One kid's in the hospital with a broken arm. The police still haven't caught them yet."
"That's terrible! We pick on younger kids, but not if we don't know them well enough to do so. Plus, we never hurt them!" I said.
Meiling nodded. "We'll beat those guys to the sorry pulp they should be if we ever run into them."
Chiharu smiled. "They usually hide out in alleys or dark places."
"Thanks for the tip. Now, let's get to class."
We walked off chatting happily, without a care in the world. Little did we know the kind of trouble we were about to drag ourselves into. Mainly me, just my luck.
~~~~~Later that day after school~~~~~
I ran out of my last class and into the fresh air outside. Meiling and the others were following closely behind me. Rika and Yamazaki were there this time. Rika has short, wavy hair down to her shoulders, and Yamazaki has spiky black hair.
"Finally out of school!" I said enthusiastically.
"Yep, and we got 4 detentions each today. It's a new record!" said Meiling.
"Yessssssss!" We gave each other a high-five and jumped around like we were high on something.
"Hey guys, we'll see you tomorrow. Me and Rika have to study for a test in math. Your so lucky your not in our class."
"We know." I said grinning.
Rika rolled her eyes. "I bet." She grabbed her backpack and started walking towards the school library with Chiharu. "Later!" she called out behind her.
"I got soccer practice today. Pray for me. I had to be goalie last time. Or as I like to call it, the ball target." said Yamazaki, then ran off.
We snorted and laughed. "Poor Yamazaki. Hey, Meiling, do you think I could hitch a ride with you today?"
"Nope, Sorry Saku. I gotta hit the store for some more groceries."
"Alright. I guess I'll walk home today."
"Sorry. See ya."
"See ya." I walked off in the opposite direction towards my house. After a few minutes of walking, I heard voices in a nearby alley. I walked closer to hear what they were saying.
"Hand over the money, kid." Said a gruff voice.
"I-I don't h-h-have any m-money, mister!" said a young voice, which I could tell belonged to a young boy.
"Bullshit, you little brat!" said another voice. Then I heard a slapping sound and a shriek followed. Then it clicked. 'This must be the gang Chiharu told us about!' I thought. I could tell the kid was already hurt. And I was pretty sure that if I didn't do anything, he'd be hurt even more than he already is. I took a deep breath and whipped around the corner to face them.
"Hey! Leave the kid alone!" I yelled. 5 rough-looking guys gave me angry looks. They shoved the kid to the ground, where he banged his head against the wall and he was obviously knocked out.
"What do you want, bitch?"
"I told you to leave that kid alone! Didn't you hear him? He has no money!"
"Yeah, right. What are you gonna do about it? You wanna fight us?" the guy who I assumed was the leader, asked me mockingly.
I hesitated, then answered confidently. "You bet!" I figured 'These guys are street thugs. No big deal.'
They lost their goofy, cocky exterior and started running at me. I dodged most of them and even landed a nice hard kick to the spinal cord of one of the guys. I ran towards the kid, but was stopped by another guy who grabbed me around the waist with a tight hold. I jerked my elbow up desperately and elbowed him in the nose. He stumbled back holding his nose.
I yelled out to the kid. "Kid! Stay where you are! I'm coming to help you!" I yelled, even though I had a bad feeling he couldn't hear one damned thing I was saying at the moment. I felt a hard jolt to my side and slammed into the wall beside me. I gripped my side, but kept going towards the kid. As I moved towards him, I saw his eyes slightly open. I blinked to make sure I had just seen that. The 3 that were left tried everything they could to keep me away. One punched me in the face, which I was sure was gonna result in a black eye later, but right now, I had to get the kid out of there. I looked back, and his eyes were closed and he was out cold. So, once again, I tried to get to him.
But one of the gang members got there first and knocked the kid against a pipe, then turned to me and said "We'll leave this kid to you, but don't mess with us again bitch." He spat out.
Then I heard a wailing sound in the distance. As it got closer, I could tell what it was. *WOO WOO WOO* (police car sound if you didn't get that). The guys started running and jumped over a fence and out of sight. I sunk to the ground next to the kid and pulled him to me.
I shook him gently. "Kid, hey wake up. Kid!". Then I spotted a small red backpack near where he was laying and picked it up. I looked in the inside of one of the pockets and found a small piece of paper that had 'This bag belongs to Shiro Hitaka. If found, please return.' Written on it. "Shiro, huh? I wonder where this kid lives."
"Put the kid down and back away!" came a strong voice that was a few yards away from me. I jumped and turned to find a policeman pointing a gun at me and holding a radio in his hand, saying something I couldn't hear.
I lay the kid down next to his bag and backed away with my hands in the air. 2 paramedics came and took the kid and the backpack away. The policeman walked up to me and grabbed my arm. "Your going to the station with us, young lady." He said in a grave voice.
I shuddered a little and sat down in the back of the police car. After we started driving, I leaned forward and asked "How'd you guys know what was going on?"
"We got a call from one of the residents in the apartment building you were next to."
"Oh. Um, look, I'm sure you've heard about the gang that's been doing this kind of thing. I'm almost positive it was them and I-"
"Save it, kid. Your gonna have to go to court anyway. You're a witness and a suspect at the moment."
"Suspect?!" I asked with obvious panic in my voice. "I swear I was trying to help the kid from those guys! I wasn't trying to hurt him at all!"
"The resident who called us said it sounded like there were only 2 others, and we didn't see any others there except you when we got there. You may be innocent ma'am, but until you have evidence to prove that, you'll stay main suspect."
I decided not to talk the rest of the way. I was panicking. I was bad, sure, but this bad?! Never! 'There's plenty of reason to think I'm guilty, even though I'm not. And what evidence is there to prove that I'm not?! Wait, the kid! He can testify! He was conscious when he saw me come to help him!' I relaxed a little at this. I eventually drifted off to sleep, unaware of what was about to happen to me.
~~~~A few hours later~~~~
I sighed deeply. My dad and brother had been allowed to talk to me for about 15 minutes and I had been able to explain to them what happened. But after that, they had been forced to leave. Chiharu, Yamazaki, and Rika had already come in to talk with me. They were allowed to stay a little longer because they gave the guard a box of doughnuts. Meiling, they said, was still out shopping and probably hadn't gotten the message yet.
"Sakura!" I looked up to see who it was.
I jumped up from the small cot in my cell and pressed my face against the bars. "Meiling! Get me outta here!" I begged.
"Sorry miss, visiting hours for this girl are over." Said the guard strictly.
Meiling glared at him. "Boy, you better get off of your fat ass and let me in or let her out before I break this door down and make you wish you were never born!" she threatened. I could almost see the flames in her eyes. Now, where were those devil horns of hers.....ah, yes, there they were, right on top of her head as usual.
"Young lady, I can arrest you for that mouth of yours!" he warned.
She sighed fakely. 'Uh-oh, the fake sigh. What's she up to now?'. She looked up at him and smiled. "I guess I'll just have to" she pulled out 3 boxes of doughnuts from behind her back. "Eat these yummy chocolate covered doughnuts by myself."
The guard looked longingly at the doughnuts that Meiling was holding. "Well, I suppose I could allow you about 20 minutes."
"How about you let me stay with my best friend for the rest of the night? I promise I'll take the blame if you get in any trouble!"
"1 hour and that's the best I can give you."
Meiling cleared her throat and pulled a doughnut out. "Did I mention that they have sprinkles?"
The guard rushed forward and tried to grab it out of her hand. She pulled it away at the last minute. "Whole night, and I give you all 3 boxes. Deal?"
He eagerly nodded and opened the door. She stepped in and handed the doughnuts to him. He grabbed them and stuffed one whole into his mouth. She gave him a disgusted look and pulled up a chair in front of my cell. "So, how ya holdin up? Rika already told me what happened. Are you alright?"
"I'm just fine except for a few bruises."
"Yeah. You're already forming a black eye. So, do you already know what the evidence is to prove that you're innocent?"
"Yeah, the kid, his name is Shiro, saw me when I came to try to rescue him. Then he was knocked out, but he can still tell them that it was me who was trying to help him!"
Meiling looked at the ground uncomfortably and then slowly spoke. "Um....Sakura, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but the kid-Shiro, is in the hospital. I asked about him and they said that he's got amnesia. They say it's probably from being thrown into a hard surface so many times, but he doesn't remember his name or who he is. He won't be able to even go home for probably another 3-4 months. So, you don't have too much evidence to go on right now."
It took a few minutes for this to sink in. "Mei, does this mean?....."
"No, you won't be here for that long. They'll probably just make sure that there's someone there with you at all times. You'll still go to school, but it's very likely that you'll have to do an afternoon job for one of the companies here or in Tokyo as community service until you can prove that your innocent."
I blinked. "Really?" Meiling nodded. "Well, I guess that won't be so bad. Do I get to keep the money I make from this job?"
Meilings brow wrinkled in thought. "I think she said you'd get to keep about 25- 60 % if you're lucky."
"She?" I asked suspiciously.
Meiling smiled widely. "Your new lawyer! Did you really think I knew that much about what your punishment would be because I was a law genius? I hope not."
"I WAS wondering about that. Where do I get the money to pay this lawyer?"
"I'm paying for it!"
"Where do you GET this money anyway?"
"My family in Hong-Kong."
"I see. Are they rich or something?"
She nodded. "They're a pretty powerful clan in China, so if I need money for something that they think is important enough, they'll send me some!"
"I get it. So, tell me about this lawyer woman."
"Her name is Tomoyo Daidouji. She's won 9 out of 10 of all her cases. She's had about 200 at the moment. They say she's like a tiger when it comes to the courtroom. But she sounded very friendly on the phone. You'll meet her tomorrow around 3. You'll know who she is when you see her. It's easy to tell she's a lawyer."
"Did you already meet her?"
"No, I looked at a picture of her in this brochure from the law firm she works at. She said she loved the challenge of your case, so she gave me a discount! I like the woman already!"
I laughed. "Does that mean that you get to keep the rest for your own purposes?"
She grinned slyly. "Yep! Oh yea, one more thing, your lawyer even agreed that if I paid for it, she can get you out of here and take you to a nice place for dinner."
"Where are we going?"
"Um..I think it was this place called Zen Sushi. It's a small restaurant downtown. Sushi, Tempura, ya know, that kinda thing. It's so cute!" she squealed excitedly.
"I think you've told me about that place before. Does she have any idea where I'll be working?"
Meiling shook her head. "Probably not. I asked about that too. She says that the company you work at will have to actually offer the position. You probably won't get to choose your job unless they have more than one available. So, it's probably gonna be something completely random."
"Great. At least I can still go on living somewhat normally though."
"Yeah."
*SNORE* I jumped a little , then saw the guard fast asleep on his desk snoring with some drool on his chin.
Meiling smiled innocently and faked a baby tone. "Gee, I guess he musta been sweepy, huh?"
Then it clicked. "Mei, tell me you didn't....."
She grinned sheepishly. "Well, I figured it'd be a good back-up plan just in case he tried to trick me!"
I slapped a hand to my forehead. "I should've known."
*yawn* "I'm sleepy. You should try to rest too, Sakura, you go to court tomorrow."
I gulped. "I do?"
"Yep. It'll only be for about half an hour though. It's just to see what should happen from here."
"Oh. Well, good night."
"G'night."
A few minutes later Meiling was sleeping like a baby. Obviously not a very innocent baby, but still. I sighed and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. 'I guess all I can do now is hope. Oh well, Mei's right. I better get some sleep while I can.' I rolled over on my side and nestled into the stiff cot the best I could. I finally fell asleep (even though it was verrrrrrrrrryyyyyy difficult).
~~~~~The next morning~~~~~
"Hey, Saku, wake up!" whispered Meiling.
I groaned and rolled over. "Go away Kero, I still have 10 more frickin minutes, ya know."
Meiling snorted. "Oh no, you don't. It's 3 in the afternoon."
"3?!" I yelped, shooting out of bed.
She nodded. "Here, I dropped by your house and got some more....uh, ....presentable clothes for you to wear."
"Hehe..Thanks." I said sweatdropping while looking down at the dirty school uniform I still had on.
I looked at what she had brought me. "You didn't get a flashy halter top or anything for me to wear in court, right?"
"Why not? I'm sure you could win the judge over easily enough with the right outfit."
Then I heard a strong female voice behind Meiling. "I don't think so. It's highly unlikely that the judge for this will like an outfit like that."
Meiling apparently already knew who it was. "Why? Could he really be that much of a stiff?"
"No, actually, this judge is very nice, very relaxed."
"Just not perverted?"
"I wouldn't know."
"Shouldn't you be able to tell with the guy?"
"Well, for one thing, this 'guy' is a woman."
Meiling blushed a little. "Oops. Well, that certainly would explain a few things." She said laughing nervously.
I tried to peek over Meiling's shoulder. "Who is that, Mei?"
"Oh, this is, well, I assume this is, your lawyer, Daidouji Tomoyo." She stepped aside, revealing a stunning woman. She had an air of confidence about her. Meiling was right, you could tell she was a lawyer, even though her khakis and long-sleeved black T-shirt didn't match her air. But the way she held herself showed she was much more than a common woman. Her dark purple-tinted hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail. Her eyes were sapphire-blue and gazed at me with a calm, thoughtful look.
"Correct. Please call me Tomoyo. I'm not one for formalities. I assume you" she looked at Meiling. "Are Li Meiling?"
Meiling nodded. "Yep, that's me."
Then she turned to me. "Then you must be Sakura Kinomoto. I'll be representing you in your case. Meiling has already filled me in on the details."
"I'm sorry for not being very, uh, presentable at the moment. I haven't had a chance to change for a while."
"No problem. You can go ahead and change now if you like." She said, calmly turning her back to me. Meiling followed suit.
I quickly slipped into the jeans and cream-colored shirt Meiling had brought me and called out. "Okay, I'm done now. You can turn around."
They turned back around. Then I reached up and tried to smooth my hair down, with no luck whatsoever. Tomoyo fished through her purse and took out a dark blue brush. "You can use this if you like."
I quickly brushed out my hair and pulled it into the tightest braid I could manage, then handed it back to her. I liked her already. "Thanks."
"No problem. So, do you want to come out of your cell now?"
I sweatdropped when I saw that I was still standing in the middle of the cell, even though the door was wide open. 'You sure are smart, aren't ya, Sakura?' I said to myself.
I stepped out and extended my hand to her. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise." She replied, smiling gently and shaking my hand. "So, shall we get going?" she asked, picking up her purse and walking towards the door.
"Go where?" I asked, puzzled.
"To court. It starts in 15 minutes. It takes about 10 to get over there, so let's go." Meiling and I followed her out the door. She walked up to a sleek blue camaro and opened the door. "Hop in, ladies."
We sat down inside the car and admired the interior. We didn't have too much time for that though, because we soon learned that Tomoyo's driving was nowhere near as calm as she was. When we finally got to the courtroom, Meiling looked pale and was pressed against the back of her seat, and I was clinging to the head of the seat in front of me.
"God help us." Muttered Meiling shakily.
"I'll never take life for granted again." I replied.
Tomoyo looked back at us worriedly. "Are you 2 alright?"
"Tomoyo, where the hell did you learn to drive?" asked Meiling.
"My mother. Of course, she prefers a motorcycle to a car, so if you'd rather......."
"NO!" we both shouted at the same time.
She laughed. "Alright, alright. Let's go, shall we?"
We nodded and slowly got out of the car. Tomoyo and me started walking towards the courthouse, but then noticed that Meiling wasn't following us. We turned around and there was Meiling, kneeling and repeatedly kissing the ground.
"Yuck."
Tomoyo nodded. "Was my driving THAT bad?"
"I take the 5th amendment. I don't have to answer that question because I have the right to remain silent."
She laughed and gave me a lopsided grin. "Alright then." She turned towards Meiling and yelled "Oi! Meiling! We have to get to court now!"
Meiling stood up blushing from embarrassment and walked quickly towards us. "Uh, sorry bout that."
"I've seen worse" replied Tomoyo.
"Does Meiling have a twin sister or something?" I asked jokingly.
Meiling lightly punched me in the arm and glared at me teasingly. "Haha, very funny."
A few seconds later, we had entered the courtroom. It looked exactly like you'd expect it to. Brown wooden walls, 2 tables, and 2 rows of benches on both sides with the judge's booth in the middle. We followed Tomoyo to one of the tables and sat down nervously. There were only a few other people, my parents and close friends (who Mei went to sit with), and a few other people who I assumed were relatives of Shiro.
"All stand for the honorable judge Mizuki." Boomed a deep voice suddenly.
I jumped in my seat, then quickly stood up as a pretty middle-aged woman with long red hair and brown eyes walked in and sat down at the judges' bench. "Alright, let's just get straight to it, since I'm not one for all those formal starts, ok?"
A few people laughed and she just smiled gently. "Alright, now, you must be Sakura Kinomoto, correct?" she asked, glancing at me.
"Yes ma'am."
"Alright. You seem like a nice enough girl. We talked to some of your teachers and classmates about it. We got reports of skipping and pranks, but as far as we can tell, no drugs, sexual harassment, or violence that wasn't just joking around." She said authoritatively.
"So, I believe that you probably didn't do this, and Shiro's parents, after looking at your records, agree with me." She glanced at the table next to us where a gentle-looking woman with black hair and gold eyes sat next to their lawyer and a man with tan-gold hair and blue eyes who I assumed was her husband. They both smiled slightly and nodded. I smiled back.
"However, we can't find any evidence that you did or didn't do this. That's our problem. Shiro is the only person who can tell us anything, so until he's able to testify, or we get enough hard-core evidence to prove ANYTHING about this case, you'll be watched, but we can't keep you in jail or juvenile hall without actual evidence or reason, so, you get to go to school, and do all the things you normally do, but we'll have to keep an eye on you."
I sighed, but then found out it was too early to be completely relieved.
"Also, as a precaution, just in case you did for some reason do this, you'll have to get a job with a company that has a job offering and is willing to take you. There's only one company at the moment that's available, and that's the Li Company. Good news: Your job makes pretty good money and you get to keep 60% of all your profits."
I smiled happily. This wasn't so bad after all. She chuckled lightly. "Don't smile so soon. The bad news: your job is to be the personal secretary of the head of the company, Li Syaoran." Some of the females in the court looked at each other and started whispering.
"Okay..." I said hesitantly. The females that had been whispering started laughing, along with the judge.
She eyed me amusingly. "I'll get Daidouji-san to fill you in, ok? Alright, your all dismissed."
Everyone got up and started walking towards the door, chatting happily. I turned to Tomoyo with a questioning look. "Tomoyo, what were they talking about?"
"I'll tell you at dinner. Let's go ahead and drive over there now."
I turned to her in panic. "Let someone else drive! Please!"
"Fine, You can drive." She said, dropping the keys into my hands.
"Thank you!"
Meiling walked up to us. "Sakura, I'll see you tomorrow. I gotta get home. Bye!"
"Bye Mei!" I yelled as she ran off.
~~~~~~~~~At the Restaurant~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'll have the shrimp tempura."
"I'll have the bento box."
After the waitress had walked away to get our orders, I turned to Tomoyo. "So what's the deal with this guy, Li Syaoran?"
She snorted a little. "He's famous, or infamous, I should probably say, for playing a lot of women and using them for their looks. When you go into his office, you'll notice that almost all of his female workers are attractive women. He's rich, smart, and in truth, very handsome."
I nodded. "Gotcha. When do I start?"
"Tomorrow." She answered.
I almost choked on my food. "Tomorrow!" I managed to get out.
She nodded. "Yep. I've already been given the information you'll need to get there. There's a girl named Naoko Yanagisawa that goes to your school that works in his office also. She's agreed to meet you at the front of the school after your classes are over. She has-"
"Brown hair and wears glasses, right?" Tomoyo nodded at this. "Yeah, I know her. She's been my partner on a few projects and she's in my science class. She's really nice. What's her job?"
"She's the director of the information booth and the record keeper." Tomoyo replied.
"I see. Well, I guess I'll see just how bad this guy is tomorrow."
She laughed. "Good luck." And we clinked our water glasses together in a toast.
~~~~~Same Time at the Li Company~~~~~~~~#$Syaoran P.O.V.#$
"Oh, Syaoran.." Moaned a dark green haired girl who was in my arms.
"Hmmm...yeah?"
"You *kiss* are *kiss* so *kiss* good *kiss* at *kiss* kissing! *kiss*" she said.
"Yeah, *kiss* I know."
She giggled and pushed up against me. Then the door opened and my partner, Eriol Hiirigizawa, walked in. He had a very amused look on his face. "Sorry to interrupt your oh-so-important business, Syaoran, but your mother is on the phone."
My eyes widened. 'God help me.' "Put her on."
The girl pouted. "Syaoran, what about the rest of our night?"
I winked at her. "Sorry, babe, but we're over."
She stepped back from me. "Y-you mean you just used me for 2 days and your dumping me?!"
I nodded. "Yep."
"B-but you said that we could go out to dinner this Friday and then go on a romantic walk and so many other things! And they were all lies?!"
"That's right." I said matter-of-factly.
She sniffed as tears sprang to her eyes. "Y-you jerk! I-I don't believe you! H-how could you d-do this to me?!"
"Life's not fair. Get over it. Did you really think I'd make those promises if I'd just been dating you for 2 days? Ha! I hope not."
A tear rolled down her cheek as she turned and ran out the door crying. I just smiled, then turned to Eriol, who was still standing in the doorway. "I thought you were gonna get my mother on the phone in here."
Eriol smiled slowly. "I did."
"Hello, my dear son." Said a cold and serious voice over the intercom.
Now was a good time to panic. "Mother! I-I had no idea that you were there!"
"That's why I didn't say anything. Syaoran, I've had enough of your stupid relationships. None of them mean anything! Your already 20, you should find a nice young girl and settle down!"
"I have a few more years."
"I hope you mean a few more years to find the right woman that will last more than 2 days!"
"B-but-"
"You WILL find a suitable girl. I can't control it if you want to have meaningless relationships, but in 7 months, you WILL have found a nice young lady who could become a good wife and be approved by the clan. She has to WANT to marry you, not just be some girl you picked up 2 days before the deadline. If your relationship doesn't work out, you can find someone else, but no more of those stupid 2-days after this!" she said strictly.
"Yes, mother." I said, sinking into my chair miserably.
"Good boy. I love you, Syaoran. Now, be GOOD, alright."
"Okay. I love you too." My mother could be scary sometimes.
"Well, aren't you the lucky one?" said Eriol smugly.
"Your still here?" I groaned.
"Yep. I just got a replacement for your personal secretary."
"Really?"
"Yep. She has to get a job as part of a requirement from judge Mizuki."
"Mizuki Kaho?"
"Yep."
"Ah, yes. We've dealt with her before. She's cute."
"And too old for you, Syaoran. But the girl is only 18. Here's the report on the case so that you know what's going on." He said, throwing a folder on top of my desk.
I flipped through it. "Thanks. I'll look over it later."
"She starts tomorrow. Naoko's bringing her."
"Yanagisawa? Ya know, she's one of the only females who works for me that I can't get a date with. Stubborn gal, but a real hard worker."
"At least you only asked once. She probably would've quit if you had asked more than 2 times."
"Maybe. Oh well, I'll let her be. Well, I'm going home. See you tomorrow."
"You too. Syanora!"
~~~~~~Next Day at Kinomoto Residence~~~~~~~#$Sakura P.O.V.#$
*RRRIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGGG* "Go away" I mumbled at my alarm clock. Of course, since I was talking to an inanimate object, it didn't obey my command, the damned thing, and lucky lil me got to get out of the nice, warm, comfy, flu- *snore*
"SAKURA!!!!!!! I KNOW THAT YOU DIDN'T JUST GO BACK TO SLEEPIN YOUR BED!" yelled an obviously smug Touya from downstairs.
"Go to hell." I moaned to myself. "It's where you came from." I added as an after-thought.
I finally dragged myself out of bed and downstairs. "Morning." I said sleepily.
"Morning Kaijuu."
"Go away Baka-SAMA, don't you have something better to do?"
"Not right now."
"Shut up, moron."
"Monster."
"Idiot!"
"Squirt!"
"Dimwit!"
"Half-wit!"
"No wit!"
"No brain!"
"Mr. I-still-sleep-with-my-baby-blanket-and-purple-teddy-bear-from-when-I- was-5-years-old!" I yelled triumphantly.
He shut up and sat down, then slammed his fork on the table in frustration. Dad looked at him exasperatedly. "Touya, I keep telling you, don't slam your fork on the table!"
"Sorry." He muttered.
"Alright. Now be good and eat up!"
1 breakfast, 2 name wars, and 3 kicks in the shin later, I was ready to go...almost. "Uh, Sakura, is it wear your pajamas day or something?" asked Touya, obviously trying to hold in his laughter.
"Huh?" I looked down at what I was wearing. "Oops. Be right back." After I had run upstairs and changed, Meiling was already waiting outside to pick me up.
"Morning! Ready for your new life of payment for a crime you didn't do to begin?"
"It's too early." I replied grumpily.
"Tough luck. Let's go."
I dragged myself into her car and finally managed to wake up after listening to a few rock songs. When we arrived at school, everyone came rushing up to me.
"Did you do it?"
"Did you beat that kid up?"
"Are you gonna go to jail?"
"Are you getting sued?"
"MOVE IT PEOPLE, FRIENDS COMIN THROUGH!"
Thank god for Chiharu Mihara's occasional bossy nature. "Nothing to see here, keep moving!" she yelled ferociously.
People finally walked off chattering excitedly. "Thanks Chiharu." I said gratefully.
"No prob. Ready to go to class?"
"Yep. But first, I gotta take care of one thing."
"Alright, we'll wait for you."
"Thanks." After that, I ran off to find Naoko. I looked for a few seconds and finally spotted her chatting with a promising Track star named Rei that was a grade higher than me.
I walked up to them a little timidly. "Um.....morning."
They turned to me with surprised looks on their faces. "Morning Sakura- san!" greeted Rei smiling.
"Good morning." Said Naoko politely.
"Naoko, you're the one who's showing me the Li Co. , right?"
She nodded. "Yep. It'll be good to finally have a girl my age that's not some stupid big-chested bimbo working there. I'll meet you in front of the school after classes, ok?"
"Sure. I just wanted to check and make sure that everything's in order."
"Alright, well, we'll see you later."
Then I ran back to Chiharu and Meiling, who were tapping their feet. "Finally!" said Meiling in an annoyed tone.
"Sorry."
"What were you talking to Yanagisawa for?" asked Chiharu curiously.
"I had to ask her if she was the on showing me around the workplace."
"That's right, she works there too, doesn't she?"
"Yep."
*Ring* We all checked our watches. "Not again!" I yelled and sped off to class.
~~~~~~~~After School~~~~~~~~~
I walked up to Naoko, who was waiting patiently by the front door. She turned to me smiling. "Ready?"
"I think so."
"Good. Now, let me tell you about Li. He's nice, in a flirty, somewhat annoying way. He's a very hands-on worker when it comes to his female workers. Very cute, but don't let that fool you. The longest relationship he's ever had, according to his partner, was 1 week and a half."
"He has a partner?"
"Yep, his name is Hiirigizawa Eriol. He's much nicer. His personal secretary is a few years older than us, but she's nice. Kinda hyper though. He's pretty cute too, and he's nowhere near as bad as Li when it comes to women. He thinks their cute, but he rarely dates one. You'll probably like him more than Li."
"Probably."
We took a bus to Tokyo, where we got off and walked to a huge building that had "Li Company" on the side in tall, shining, silver-ish letters.
"This is it, Sakura-san." Said Naoko.
I stared for a few seconds, then followed Naoko into the building. We took the elevator to the 10th floor and got off. "This is were you and me will be working. You won't usually have to go to any other floor, so don't worry about them."
"Naoko!" said an energetic female voice behind us. I turned and met 2 brown eyes that sparkled with interest. The girl appeared to be a few years older than us, and a few inches taller at that. She had long, dark brown hair down hair back with one lock of it braided and tied with a pink bead that was flipped to the front of her shoulder. She also had mid-face length locks of hair on both sides of her face. She was wearing a light blue business suit and had a stack of papers in her hand.
"Hey Nakuru! This is Sakura Kinomoto, Li's new secretary."
"I see, you must be that girl I heard about. Nice to meet you. Sorry I don't have more time to talk, but if I carry these papers much longer, I think my arms are gonna fall off!"
"Then we'll see you later!" I called as she walked off.
Naoko turned to me. "That was Hiirigizawa's secretary, Akizuki Nakuru. The one I told you about earlier." Then she started walking again. She pointed to a few other women and told me who they were, but I didn't really pay attention, I just nodded at whatever she said, but I was really thinking about what my new 'Boss' would be like.
We finally reached a large dark wooden door with "Li Syaoran-Company President" printed on a golden nameplate. Naoko knocked on the door and I heard a deep, smooth voice answer. "Yes?"
"Mr.Li, your new secretary is here." Said Naoko.
"Show her in, please."
Naoko opened the door and I stepped in to meet my new boss.
THE END
Kalli: Sorry to leave a cliffhanger, but remember, the more reviews, the faster I update (That's usually the case anyways.)
Kira: *pinching Spinels cheeks* Awww..you are just so CUTE!!!!!!!! *squeals*
Spinel: Help meeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!
Kalli: You? Help ME!
Spinel: ME!
Kalli: ME!
Kira: POCKY! ^.^
Spinel + Kalli: Eh? *sweatdrop*
Kira: Pocky!
Kalli: I'm just gonna give the preview now. Here it is:
Sakura meets her new boss, and it's irritation at first sight! Well, actually first pick-up line, but newayz, Sakura is waiting for Syaoran to get off the phone when she finds a very familiar looking picture of him and a girl when they were about 5 years old that gives Sakura an extreme control over her now boss-turned-grumbling-servant. Wait and see next time exactly what the picture holds in Chapter 2: 'The Picture of the Past Days of Li!'
Kalli: Well, that's all for now, and don't forget to REVIEW!!!!!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO THE PEOPLE WHO DO!!!!!!!!! *sniffs* Please review?! I'll be your best friend! Haha, j/k! Ja for now!