Sakura: Knight of the Clow
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Yue Susanoo eye's widened slightly as he took in his boss. Even without the now fading bruises he would have known she had been hurt from the psychic traces. Surprisingly part of him wanted to find the monster that had hurt her and deal with it, even though he knew Sakura had probably killed it herself already.
'It seems I'm becoming more attached to her than I planned,' Yue admitted to himself. "Are you all right, Sakura?" he asked her gently.
"I'm fine," Sakura smiled, the faded bruises around her throat looking weeks old, not days.
"I rather doubt that," Yue said gently, "but I won't press." Briskly he offered, "Did you want to get back to work?"
"Please!" Sakura smiled as they went back through the museum to the small workroom.
The work in a museum was often dull and repetitive, yet Yue found it oddly fascinating. What had begun for him as a means to monitor Sakura had become a enjoyable occupation, one in which he learned new things everyday.
The back room was full of items to clean and study, each protected from the elements in different ways. Crates were set up along the walls with uncatalogued items, while other artifacts were sent via secured shipping to be examined. It was a busy yet efficiently organized place, much like Sakura's own lifestyle.
"All right," Sakura said briskly, "what's on today's agenda?"
"We heard back from the consults on the Clow tablet we were studying," Yue said calmly, "the general consensus is that it's legitimate." He added wryly, "Bearing in mind they were just studying pictures of course."
"Of course," Sakura chuckled. She smiled at Yue, "Always keep in mind that archeologists will always cover their asses in this situation. The only way I'd get a unabashed yes would have been if I flew each expert here in person."
"Have you ever been flown in for a consultation?" Yue asked curiously.
"Once or twice," Sakura admitted. "I went to New York to study one artifact, and London another time. It's pretty rare though."
"I see," Yue nodded.
"We need to clean and photograph several more items," Sakura mused as she took off her jacket and pulled on a protective overcoat over her casual clothes, "and we need to prepare the tablet for display. That'll take a few hours, so we'll do it after the cleaning."
"I'll look forward to helping you with it," Yue said respectfully.
"Good," Sakura pulled on a set of rubber gloves with a snap as she said, "let's get to work."
Lunch arrived in the form of Caroline, Yue's friend. Her brassy blond hair and cheerful manner were a nice counterpoint to Yue's own serious manner. At times Yue wondered if Clow had created them that way deliberately, but he wasn't sure he really wanted to know.
"Hey, Sakura!" Kero waved, "How's working with grumpy here?"
Sakura laughed, "He's not that bad."
"Yes," Yue said dryly as he took the several food packages from Kero, "I only really have to be grumpy around you."
"Hey!" Kero protested.
Sakura chuckled warmly. "Thanks for picking up our lunch," she told her, "want to join us?"
"I'd love to," Kero grinned.
Sitting around the break room they got out paper plates and split up the food, digging in eagerly. As they ate they talked, mostly about books or TV shows Kero had seen. Sakura rarely got out to see such things because of her busy schedule, and Yue wasn't as interested.
"Did either of you hear the stories about the clock tower?" Kero asked at one point.
"No, what?" Sakura asked innocently.
"There seems to be odd things happening around it," Kero said eagerly, "at least according to the rumors I've heard. People get unnerved around it, and no one can walk the stairs all the way up."
Sakura leaned forward intently, "Really?"
Yue watched them, for once wishing Sakura wasn't quite so innocent. He could easily tell Kero was leading the woman into investigating the tower, but he suspected Sakura was quite unaware. It was almost sad manipulating someone so innocent.
"You don't think it's something dangerous?" Yue asked Kero thoughtfully.
"I've heard that some people have vanished too," Kero admitted.
'And that was the final hook,' Yue thought as Sakura's eyes narrowed intently. The woman seemed completely unable to ignore people in trouble, and hearing that people were disappearing would be sure to get her involved.
"I see," Sakura bit her lip, deep in thought even as Kero shoveled food away.
Yue felt the need caution her, "You aren't going to do anything rash, are you? You aren't fully recovered from whatever happened to you, Sakura."
Sakura neatly reached up to the now fading bruises, but stopped herself. "I won't do anything too foolish," she promised.
Silently Yue resolved to be near the Tower the next few nights, in his transformed form 'And I'll bring Keroberos with me too,' he decided. They may not be able to do much, but he was determined to do what he could for the young lady.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Tomoyo Daidouji smiled at Sakura as the two women met at a small restaurant not far from the museum. The black haired woman frowned curiously as she repeated, "The old clock tower?"
"Yes," Sakura said as she leaned close, smiling. The woman added, "I got a tip there might be something interesting there."
"I can do some digging at the paper," Tomoyo offered, "though I don't remember anything off the top of my head."
"I'd like that, please," Sakura said.
"When are you going to check it out?' Tomoyo asked thoughtfully.
"Not until tomorrow at least," Sakura admitted, shaking her head. "I'm still too sore from last time I went out..."
"Are you feeling better?" Tomoyo asked gently.
"Just stiff," Sakura smiled back. She sighed ruefully, "I shouldn't have let myself be surprised like that..."
"Uhm," Tomoyo looked sheepish, "I told my mother about it."
"Is that good or bad?" Sakura had to ask.
"Good, pretty much," Tomoyo smiled, "she sent me a new type of armored cloth, I'm going to use it to make your next uniform with."
"Really?" Sakura asked, surprised. "What's it like?"
"I did some experimenting with it, it's fairly comfortable," Tomoyo told her, "I even made the skirt I'm wearing out of it."
Sakura looked at the knee length navy blue skirt thoughtfully, "Can I touch it?"
Tomoyo gulped, feeling a slight blush color her cheeks. "Sure, go ahead," she offered warmly.
Sakura reached out to stroke the fabric, not incidentally touching Tomoyo's legs. She rubbed the cloth between her fingers as she mused, "It doesn't even feel any thicker."
Tomoyo shivered faintly at Sakura's touch, blushing again. "It's a kind of space aged material," she said, "I don't entirely understand how it's made myself."
"I appreciate the help," Sakura smiled. She looked a bit sheepish, "Could I ask you or Yukito for a ride tomorrow night?"
"No problem," Tomoyo smiled warmly, covering Sakura's hand with her own.
They ate their dinners then walked out to the parking lot, talking quietly. The light of sunset gave Sakura a almost supernatural glow, reminding Tomoyo of some kind of ancient goddess.
"Sakura," Tomoyo smiled as they reached her car, "would you like to stop by my house? I have a costume I'd like you to try on."
"I'd like that," Sakura beamed. Before they got in the car Sakura carefully peered inside, frowning slightly.
'That close call is going to stay with her,' Tomoyo mused as they climbed in. "I should be more careful too," she noted aloud.
"I don't think you're in too much danger," Sakura admitted, "but I'd feel better if you were on guard too. Just in case."
"Hmm," Tomoyo agreed as she pulled out of the parking lot. "How do the monsters hold up against electricity?" she asked curiously.
"They don't like it," Sakura looked at her curiously, "why?"
Tomoyo smiled slightly, "Because my mother makes a kind of 'shock baton' for security services. It's a policeman's club with a built in taser function, triggering on impact."
"That sounds pretty impressive," Sakura admitted.
"I'll talk to her about it tomorrow," Tomoyo resolved, "maybe she can get one sent to me by courier," She looked at Sakura, "I'd like to be able to help you more, if you'll let me."
"You help me a lot already," Sakura smiled, taking her hand as they pulled into the parking lot of Tomoyo's building.
Tomoyo squeezed her fingers back, only letting go reluctantly. She parked the car and they went inside, Sakura nodding a sheepish greeting to one of Tomoyo's neighbors. "What's that about?" Tomoyo murmured softly.
"She's the one who let me in your building last time," Sakura admitted,
"I'll have to thank her then," Tomoyo grinned as she let them into her apartment. She showed Sakura the new costume, then poured each of them a mild drink.
"Tomoyo, could I ask another favor?" Sakura asked softly. "I'm still nervous after last night... could I stay here?"
"Of course you can," Tomoyo told her gently, "Stay however long you like."
To be continued...
