A/N: Hi everyone! I thank you so much for the reviews! I have to tell you I'm so glad the large-ness of these chapters doesn't bother you guys.
Hopefully nothing much will come up that will postpone my updates.
Again, thank you so much!
Summary: Meet Sakura Kinomoto; idealistic office worker in the Tokyo Journal Company, who's life starts getting complicated just for the simple trouble of delivering a termination notice to the company's loved sweet-maker. And who's needed when there's an unfair situation to handle? The one and only; Syaoran Li, lawyer. And what will develop between those two who are obviously made for each other? SxS
Genres: Humor, Romance, little Drama.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Card Captor Sakura characters at all, and the plot of the story isn't mine either, except some parts I'll go changing or some ideas I'll drop here and there.
b o y – m e e t s – g i r l
c h a p t e r – n i n e
Sakura's Point of View:
I'm in trouble. BIG trouble.
Oh my God. Oh my God, I don't understand any of this. Syaoran says it's nothing, but I think he's just saying that to make me feel better. It's not nothing. It's clearly not nothing. I mean, my boss just accused me of being a liar. How can that be nothing?
And I can see how from her point of view it would be more beneficial for me to be perceived as a liar, than, you know, her. Which is basically what she is. I mean, ONE of us is lying, and if it's not me, it has to be her. Because I certainly never wrote that letter, and I certainly never had Ms. Mizuki sign it.
So who did?
At least I have Ms. Mizuki to back me up. She says she didn't sign it either.
Except…
I'm sorry, Ms. Mizuki is very sweet, but she's not the most reliable witness. I mean, she definitely has an agenda, which is getting her job back. Mine is apparently that I want to get back at MIDORI, but for what? I mean, it's true we call her the A.D., but how did she find out? Tomoyo's going to freak out when she hears Midori knows, and the last thing I want is to freak out Tomoyo, she's got enough problems as it is with the fertility thing and—
OH!! I've got to get control of myself. Think about something other than Xing Huang Li. Think about kittens and rainbows… Oh yuck, that won't work. Think about the Travel Channel… Yes, the Travel Channel, teal blue seas and yawning blue sky overhead, little huts on stilts above the water, like in Bali…
Oh my God, I can't believe my boss basically accused me of being a liar in front of Syaoran Li, the one person in the world I wanted to impress with my cool professionalism. So far I've blathered about chicken in garlic sauce to him, had my ex-boyfriend THROW chicken in garlic sauce on him, nearly gotten sick in front of him, had my ex sing ballads in front of him, and now my boss is calling me a liar in front of him…
Syaoran says all I have to do is go back to my office and find the e-mail Midori sent me—the one telling me to skip the written warning—and forward it to him. Also forward him the draft of the letter I was writing to Ms. Mizuki but never finished. He seems to think this will make everything alright.
But how will it make everything alright?! Sure, it'll prove I didn't have anything to do with that letter. But it won't help the Journal win Ms. Mizuki's case against it. And isn't Syaoran supposed to be on the paper's side, not Ms. Mizuki's? I mean, isn't the Journal paying his fees?
But it's like… it's like he wants Ms. Mizuki to win. Like he set up this whole thing to make Midori look like the big, fat liar she is.
Which is fine, except that…
Midori KNOWS we call her the A.D!! She KNOWS!!
I mean, that's not going to make working with her slightly UNCOMFORTABLE or anything…
Oh, WHY did we ever start calling her that? Other than the reason that it's true… but we ought to have kept it to ourselves. It isn't nice to call people names, even if they deserve it. All human beings have worth and dignity, like Professor Hiroshi always said. All human beings have worth and dignity…
Except maybe for Nazis. And Al-Qaeda. And authoritarian despots…
STOP IT, SAKURA!! Midori is not as bad as Hitler! She hasn't killed anyone.
THAT WE KNOW OF!
I will never call her the A.D. again. I will never call her the A.D. again. I will never call her the A.D. again. I will—
Oh, God, my cab is a block away from the office even as I analyze all of this in me. Please God, don't let Midori be there when I walk in. Please let me get to my desk and forward the e-mail and the draft and get my stuff and go home sick for the rest of the day… Please please please please please…
Don't forget to send the A.D. a reimbursement form!
Wait… Why is the security guard standing in the door…?
"Hello, you've reached the voice mail of Tomoyo Daidouji-Hiiragizawa. Sorry I can't take your call right now. At the tone, please leave your name and number, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
"(Beep)"
"Tomoyo? Tomoyo, where are you, it's Sakura. I'm in the lobby downstairs. They won't let me up. They say I'm PNG'd. I told them there has to be some kind of mistake, but they say there's not, and they even showed me the damn Persona Non Grata notification! It says I weigh a hundred and twenty to a hundred thirty pounds. Do I really look like I weigh that much? I only weigh one seventeen. I'll bet Midori wrote this! That would explain it… Do you know what's going on? I'm… Oh, wait, she's holding a box of my stuff. That's my Disneyland snow-globe from on the top of my computer monitor… Why does the A.D. have my Disneyland snow-globe? Oh… my… God…!"
'This letter serves to inform you that as of today's date, your employment at the Tokyo Journal has been terminated. Your belongings from your work station have been terminated. You are to be escorted from the premises by Security, and have been listed as Persona Non Grata at this location. Should you need to speak to anyone regarding the termination of your position at the Tokyo Journal, you will need to do so by telephone. Your initials below indicate receipt of this letter.
Midori Hasaya
Director, Human Resources'
Well, it's official. It happened. I'm fired. I'm actually fired!
I've never been fired before. Even when I was the salad-bar attendant back in Tomoeda, and my manager said I was the worst salad-bar attendant they'd ever had, because I picked the cauliflower out of the dressing canisters instead of stirring it to the bottom, and I still never got fired for it.
Until now.
How could this have happened? I don't understand how any of this could be happening. This morning I had a job. This morning I had no boyfriend, or place of my own to live. But I still had a job. I had a job that I even sort of liked.
And now I have no job. I have no boyfriend, I have no place to live, and I have no job.
Oh my God, I'M HOMELESS!
It's true! Except for the fact that I'm sitting in a penthouse suite (that doesn't actually belong to me), I have become a statistic—one of Tokyo's many unemployed homeless…
Oh God! Soon I'll be living in a cardboard box! What am I going to do? I mean, seriously. I have no job to go to, no place to live… SERIOUSLY WHAT AM I TO DO?!
…I guess I could ask Koji for a loan. He just came into millions. Or however much they pay members of bands that have just been signed to a major label.
But if I ask Koji for a loan, I'll actually have to talk to him. And I don't want to talk to him. Not after the chicken-in-garlic-sauce-on-the-Spiderman-tie incident. Plus, he'll just feel all superior—Oh, she couldn't make it without me.
Ditto Mom. She just wants me to take responsibility of myself, like my brother—who, I have to say, I almost forgot about. And besides, she'll just tell me to go back to Koji again. I swear; she'd be prouder of me if I followed Koji and the bad around wearing nothing but a hand-knitted poncho than she'll ever be over my having a job or my own place to live.
Tomoyo? No, I can't go to Tomoyo, she has her own problems. I can't keep running to Tomoyo every time I suffer a financial or emotional setback.
Syaoran? Syaoran? How can I even think about going to Syaoran?! I mean, this is his entire fault, anyway! He KNEW Midori forged that letter! He knew she forged it, and he wanted Ms. Mizuki's lawyer to see that, because for some reason Syaoran is on Ms. Mizuki's side and not on the paper's. Which is all well and good, since Ms. Mizuki is a sweet lady and all, and none of this is her fault, anyway.
EXCEPT THAT NOW I HAVE NO JOB!! Is that what he wanted? For me to get fired??
No wait. Syaoran is a reasonable person. A decent person, even. A reasonable, decent person would never get a girl fired because her ex threw chicken in garlic sauce on his pants.
I should have just quit my stupid job in the first place in protest over what happened to Ms. Mizuki. Seriously, this is like karma, or something. Because I didn't quit my job, as I knew I morally should have, my job has been taken away from me.
And hey, don't I get severance pay? Or at least unemployment? I should AT LEAST get unemployment. Why didn't I read the personnel handbook more closely? Let's see, I'm administration, not staff, so that means I get… two weeks pay as severance? Or is it four weeks? WHY couldn't I have been union? Then the A.D. wouldn't have dared fire me without issuing both a verbal and written warning first…
Let's see… unemployment for someone who was making 40,000 dollars a year is…
Oh, Skiboy just walked in, "Dolly told me to meet her here after work."
"Oh."
"We're going to some benefit dinner, or something."
Doesn't Skiboy look nice in a tux? Yum. Not as nice as Syaoran Li, but…
OH MY GOD, I CAN'T BELIEVE I WROTE THAT!! I am never thinking another kind thought about Syaoran Li again. THAT GUY GOT ME FIRED!!
"What are you doing here in the middle of the day, anyways?" Skiboy asked.
"I was fired on account of standing up for my convictions at work." I replied tensely and unemotionally.
He seemed impressed, "Let's call for a celebration."
Really, if I think about it, I really SHOULD celebrate. I am free of the oppressive rule of the authoritarian despot! I don't know where I'm going to find a new job, let alone scrounge up first and last month's rent, plus a security deposit for a place of my own while living on unemployment checks, but I'm free! Liberated! Why shouldn't I celebrate by drinking a vodka and tonic in the middle of the day?
"Yeah, we should celebrate!" I just told Skiboy, who's already braking out the Grey Goose now.
Things aren't SO bad, after all… are they? Yes, I have no job, no life, no place to live, etc. And I can't even move back home with my parents, because my mom and dad are traveling across Asia, or whatever…
But I have what few are given—ooh, Skiboy makes nice strong drinks—I have what you called the greatest gift of all: the opportunity to make a whole new start in life. Really, I could be anything. I could be a doctor—well, if I could get the money for med school. And if the sight of blood didn't make me feel all sweaty. I could be a politician—really, I'd be very good at that, you know, because I know what it feels like to be trod upon and broken, like the people of Jersey City of wherever. I could be a lawyer—
Oh, no, belch, a lawyer, never! I never want to be like Xing Huang Li. I HATE him. As much as I have Midori Hasaya. The two of them deserve each other. I hope they both enjoy their country-club wedding and their Sandals honeymoon and their house WestSomewhere and their 2.1 kids and no dog because of the kids' allergies and their gas-guzzling, environment-destroying—"Yes, thank you, Skiboy, a refill would be lovely."—SUV, and their two weeks in Manila and their summer on the Cape and their JP Tods (whatever that is) and their Tse cashmere sweaters on their two-year-old, and preschools that cost ten grand a year for two mornings a week and then the right elementary school because God forbid Junior doesn't get into the right college so he ca get the right job so he doesn't end up like ME, A BIG FAT HOMELESS UNEMPLOYED FREAK THAT NO ONE LOVES AND WHO IS GOING TO DIE PENNILESS, BITTER, AND ALONE…!!
Okay, one more drinkie, then I have to hite the pavement, becauge I am a woman her me rihatibgrmvn—
Normal Point of View
Other E-mails Meanwhile:
To: Meiling Rae
From: Tomoyo Daidouji-Hiiragizawa
Subject: Sakura
Meiling, something AWFUL has happened. Sakura's been fired! Midori gave her the old heave-ho right before lunch. I don't know what went down at the meeting they went to this morning, but Midori came tearing in here with SECURITY, cleaned out Sakura's desk, confiscated her computer, and that was that. I haven't been able to reach Sakura—I don't even know where she is. She left a message a little before noon, but since then…
Meiling, you've GOT to talk to Takuya about this. Sakura is a GOOD employee. If she's been fired—and like this—it must be a mistake. It probably has to do with Ms. Mizuki. PLEASE PLEASE ask Takuya to look into it.
And if she shows up at your place, can you ask her to call me? I'm really worried about her.
Tomoyo
--
RE: Sakura
From: Meiling Rae
Darling, don't worry. I just called home, and Sakura's safe with Skiboy. He says he's taking good care of her.
Of COURSE I'll talk to Takuya, only you know he flew to San Francisco this morning to check on his vineyard. I mean, I'm happy to see if I can do anything to help our poor little Miss Moppett, but I'm not sure Takuya's going to be able to be of any help until he gets back.
Tell you what, though, if it makes you feel any better, I'll call Syaoran Li. He'll know what to do. After all, from what I hear from Sakura—and it's hard to tell, with all the slurring—he's the one who got her fired. He can damn well get her hired back.
Got to run—so many new designs, so few adjectives to describe them…
XXXOOO
Meiling
"Hola, darling! It's me, Meiling! I'm no home at the moment—or possibly I am, but I'm… indisposed. Anyway, leave a message, and I'll get back to you just the second I can. Ciao!
"(Beep)"
"Sakura? Sakura, it's me, Tomoyo. Meiling says you're home. How come you're not picking up? Sakura, come on, pick up. I know you're upset—hell, I would be, too. But this is not over, okay? Meiling and I are going to get your job back, don't you worry. We're not going to let that fucking A.D. win. We're all in this together, Sakura, and we're going to get your job back. Did you hear me? Well, call me as soon as you get this message. I'm really worried about you, Sakura.
"(Click)"
--
"Hola, darling! It's me, Meiling! I'm no home at the moment—or possibly I am, but I'm… indisposed. Anyway, leave a message, and I'll get back to you just the second I can. Ciao!
"(Beep)"
"Sakura? This is Syaoran Li. I just heard. Look, I am so—I don't even know how to begin to say how sorry I am. I had no idea—I mean, I suspected she was up to something, but I never in a million years thought that she'd stoop to—Listen, I am not going to let them do this to you. All I need is that e-mail Midori sent you and a draft of that letter you wrote, and we have them down, okay? I'll get your job back in no time. If you can just get one of your coworkers to forward those documents from your computer, we're golden. Sakura…? Are you there? If you're there, pick up. If not… well, call me as soon as you can. You have my numbers. Just… God, I can't believe she did this. I'm so sorry. Call me.
"(Click)"
To: Xing Huang Li
From: Syaoran Li
Subject: Sakura Kinomoto
Well, I hope you're satisfied. Your fiancée, obviously acting under your instructions, just dug her own grave. That's right, Xing. Because I am going to bury Midori for this. Bury her. I hope this won't interfere with your wedding plans too much. Don't worry, she'll probably still marry you, since she's going to NEED to change her name by the time I get through with her. She won't be able to get on a guestlist in town with the name Hasaya.
Oh, and tell her from me—she doesn't know the meaning of the word fucker. But she will, shortly.
Syaoran
--
To: Meiling Rae
From: Syaoran Li
Subject: Sakura
What do you mean, "Not to worry, she's home safe with Skiboy"? What the hell is a Skiboy?
Syaoran.
Sakura's Messed Up Point of View:
Vodka tonic is good. I loves my vodkja tonic!! I love Skiboy for mkiokhin vosah toinc!! Syorna dna Motoy cllad…
Har hahr
Back to E-mails
Normal Point of View:
RE: Sakura Kinomoto
From: Xing Huang Li
Hey, don't blame ME for the fact that your little girlfriend got her ass canned. If she doesn't know how to play the game, she shouldn't be playing with the big kids now, should she? Besides, the only person you SHOULD be blaming for what happened is yourself. You're the one who brought up that stinking letter, friend, not me, and not Jeri.
The real question is…
Why'd you do it? Was it really out of some vestigial White Knight desire to see that Mizuki woman get her job back? Or were you just trying to make Midori look bad? Are you really so jealous of my having found a woman so perfect that you can't stand to see me happy? Is that it, Xiao Lang?
Well, hope you're satisfied. That Mizuki bitch isn't getting her job back, Midori's probably going to get promoted over this, and your little brunette is going to have to head on down to the food-stamp line.
Good times, bud. Good times.
"Xingy"
Xing Huang Li, Senior Partner
Li Company, Attorneys at Law
"Hello, you've reached the mobile phone of Xiao Fang Li. I'm on the links at the moment—or maybe at the bar—and can't get to my phone. But leave me a message, and I'll be back to you in a flash.
"(Beep)"
"Dad, it's Xing. You have t come home. I mean it. I know you're probably enjoying yourself, and God knows, you deserve a vacation, just like the rest of us. But Xiao Lang is out of control. I really mean it. I'm worried he actually might do me—or worse, my fiancée—bodily harm. Dad, I've had to barricade myself in my office because just now in the hallway—right in front of Izumi—right in front of the receptionists—he actually took a swing at me. A swing at me, Dad. He tried to physically strike me. You HAVE to do something. Call me tonight, I'll be home.
"(Click)"
--
"Hello, you've reached the mobile phone of Xiao Fang Li. I'm on the links at the moment—or maybe at the bar—and can't get to my phone. But leave me a message, and I'll be back to you in a flash.
"(Beep)"
"Xiao Fang, it's Yelan. You know I would never deliberately disturb you when you are on one of your interminable lost boys' retreats. But if you would deign to check your messages once in a while, you would see that all hell was broken loose back home. Xiao Lang physically assaulted Xing Huang—assaulted him!—in the hallway. I understand that law enforcement was not called in, but only because Xing didn't want the reputation of the firm tarnished by controversy. You've GOT to do something, Xiao Fang. Oh, and your daughter Fei Mei hasn't been any joy to live with these past few days either. You might want to give her a call, too, and tell her that drugs kill! THAT's why I violated her privacy. Because I don't want HER to end up like Xiao Lang. You do know he smoked marijuana when he was in Thailand, don't you? I swear it's residual THC that's making him behave this way. Oh, for God's sake, Xiao Fang, put down the highball and come HOME!
"(Click)"
--
"Hello, you've reached the mobile phone of Xiao Fang Li. I'm on the links at the moment—or maybe at the bar—and can't get to my phone. But leave me a message, and I'll be back to you in a flash.
"(Beep)"
"Dad, it's Feimei. Seriosly. I'm going to kill her. If she comes in my room one more time, I won't be held responsible for my actions. Also, Xing's girlfriend is a tool. That's all.
"(Click)"
--
"Hello, you've reached the mobile phone of Xiao Fang Li. I'm on the links at the moment—or maybe at the bar—and can't get to my phone. But leave me a message, and I'll be back to you in a flash.
"(Beep)"
"Hi, Daddy, it's Shiefa. Look. You might be getting some messages… I'm not saying I really understand what's going on, but if I were you, I'd just ignore them. It's just Xing, being a jerk. How's the weather? The girls say hi, and so does Little Shoji. Love you.
"(Click)"
E-mails again:
To: Syaoran Li
From: Shiefa Li-Matsumoto
Subject: Sakura
Okay, okay, slow down. I could barely understand your message. Apparently, you've left the office now, and you aren't answering your cell, so I'll try Blackberrying you. So you had a meeting with Xing and his girlfriend and the ever-attractive Sakura this morning, and then Midori apparently fired Sakura, and now you can't find her (Sakura) because she's run off with someone named Skiboy?
Well, really, Syaoran. She doesn't sound as if she was all that stable to begin with if she's hanging out with people named Skiboy. Maybe you're better off.
Although it was mean of Midori to fire her. Why'd she do it, anyway?
Little Shoji said his first full sentence today, in case you're interested. It was, "Up yours, dickhead." Apparently, he heard it from his "Unca Syao," who said it to his "Unca Xi" last Saturday. So thanks for that.
All my love,
Shiefa
--
RE: Sakura
From: Syaoran Li
Thanks, got your message. Don't worry, though, I found her. Well, "we" found her, actually—I ran into Sakura's friend Tomoyo in the lobby of Meiling Rae's building. Apparently, she was as concerned as I was about Sakura, and we both came rushing over here, in separate cabs. We finally convinced the doorman to let us up, since no one was answering the intercom.
Thank God he did, too. Apparently "Skiboy," Meiling's latest "friend"—not Sakura's—got Sakura completely plowed on vodka and tonics. He doesn't seem to see what the problem is, being pretty well sloshed himself. But he's not the one we found facedown on Meiling's bearskin rug.
Good thing they're both still fully dressed, or I'd be wiping the smarmy grin off his face.
By the way, his real name is Kazuma. He doesn't know why everyone seems to call him Skiboy.
Anway, Tomoyo and I are currently trying to sober Sakura up, although she is not being very receptive t o this plan. Tomoyo's been trying to get her to down some Vitamin B right now.
Sorry about the alarming phone call—I guess I just needed to talk to someone sane for a minute. But this Tomoyo girl seems surprisingly lucid, for a human-resources type.
I'm just going to ignore that little barb of yours about Sakura being unstable.
Oh, and congratulate Tai for me. I'll be proud as a punch the day MY boy first uses the word dickhead in a sentence.
--
RE: RE: Sakura
From: Shiefa Li-Matsumoto
: Good thing they're both still fully dressed, or I'd be wiping the smarmy grin off his face. :
You like her, you like her, you really, really like her.
Sorry. I was momentarily transported to second grade there.
So. You're in love with the instable little lush, aren't you? It's okay, you can admit it to your big sis. You always did have a bit of a rescue complex where girls were concerned. You just LOVE rushing in to play the big hero.
But do you really think you can get her job back? I mean, no offense, but you're not the one engaged to her boss.
And, uh, just a word of warning: when she sobers up, she might not like you anymore. You DID get her fired, from what I understand.
Shiefa
P.S. I am so getting you back when you have kids of your own. Their first words are gonna be "I love my uncle Xing."
--
RE: RE: RE: Sakura
From: Syaoran Li
Re: your accusation that I have some sort of "rescue complex" when it comes to choosing my romantic partners: I must disagree. Admittedly, there have not been many, but the women I have chosen to date have all been fiercely independent, with very definite goals and lives of their own. Even the flight attendant you mentioned—the one in Kuala Lumpur—aspired to own her own gym someday. Her body was important to her, and she worked hard to keep it trim, and longed to help other women do the same…
Sorry I'm being flippant when I meant to be serious. The fact of the matter is, Xing's girlfriend really pulled a number on us both. Sakura and me, I mean. Well, mostly on Sakura. I suspected, but wasn't sure, that Midori falsified a document—and forged Sakura's name on it. I will admit that I hoped to force Ms. Hasaya to own up to it at the depo today. I figured I'd rub Xing's nose in the fact that his future wife isn't the innocent young flower he'd like all of us to believe she is. You know, make him admit Midori's capable of calling me a fucker, and all of that. In fact, I was hoping I could get her to do it in front of him.
But damned if Ms. Hasaya—with Xing's help—didn't turn the tables. I've seen dirty dealing in my day, but even some of the pimps I've defended in the past couldn't have held a candle to those two for pure subterfuge. Midori's now saying Sakura is the one lying about it, and used that as grounds for firing her.
Thing is, Midori seized Sakura's computer, so the chances of proving Midori wrong are slim to none. Still, the urge to see justice done is pretty strong, considering the whole damn thing's my own fault—and where there's a will, there's a way, and yadda yadda yadda…
You know us rescue-complex types. We're all the same.
Hey, did you talk to Xing at all? I almost got off a good one right in his face, but I tripped over one of those damned potted ferns Dad's got all over the lobby. Then he barricaded himself in his office and wouldn't come out. Big baby.
Better go, my battery needs recharging, and Sakura seems to be coming around…
The Fucker
A/N: Who! There. Sorry if there are any mistakes of grammar in content… I wanted this up fast, and sorry I couldn't update earlier! My laptop was gone to get a new windows installed because of some Trojan horse virus or whatever.
Anyways… before I start on blabbering… You got the fair chapter, though it's not as long as the others… hope you'll enjoy it enough.
Pretty uneventful, isn't it? Sorry about that, but well, I want to save you the anxiety. Will the dinner date still be on, now that Sakura's mad at Syaoran for getting her jobless? How will they come through for justice and at the same time sort out their feelings for each other?
Stay tuned and find out. (Gawd I sound like a TV commercial host)
PLEASE REVIEW AND MAKE MY DAY!!
