Disclaimer: I don't own any ccs characters. :( They all belong to CLAMP.
Commerce was a beautiful planet, if living in the city was the kind of life you enjoyed because Commerce was a city planet. The first of its kind. In exchange for permission to turn the planet into a city, the Interstellar congress had mandated that a certain percentage of Commerce be kept pristine, in its original condition, and it was. But mostly, Commerce was a concrete jungle.
The ruling class, the Elite, of Commerce were a unique bunch; they were made up of a jumble of races and species, even mixed bloods. Most other planets had homogenous Elite. The Governor, Admiral Hiragizawa, prided himself on the fact that his planet was so diverse. That and his son, who according to all the Elite-stalking media was DROP DEAD GORGEOUS!
The Admiral had once told his boy, "Eriol, with your good looks, you can have any woman you want by just looking at her."
Eriol hadn't really been listening. He had always held his own council, like his mother. When Eriol was 15, his mother had gone off and betrothed him to some girl. The Admiral couldn't remember her name, but it didn't matter, Eriol would probably end up like most other Elite: get his wife pregnant once every few years and then canoodle around with a few mistresses.
Eriol wasn't sure what he wanted. He just knew that he didn't want to get married. He had never meet the girl and his mother had only mentioned the name to him once. His friends teased him that she would be ugly, but rich. Eriol shuddered. The last thing he wanted was a wife who looked hideous, but he wasn't free to choose. His mother had promised him to a girl five years ago. Since then, he hadn't heard a thing about the betrothal. He could only hope his mother had forgotten.
It was time to get away from his troubles. He sighed. Opening his door to make sure that no one was around, he snuck out. A cloak would hide his face until he got to where he wanted to go. There, no one would care who he was. He was just another face in a sea of people. He was going to the Underground.
There was a bar he went to, called the Jester. He drowned out his worries in cheap, watered down beer.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tomoyo Daidouji had just had an arguement with her mother. After five years, her mother brought up her engagement again. Tomoyo had not stuck around long enough to hear the name of her promised one. She didn't want to. He would probably be egotistical and leave her eventually with a dozen children and nothing else.
She left the house. Taking a seeminly random walk. Her mother employed spies; she would have to get rid of them first. It was a good thing she was wearing bland colored sweats. She could easily loose the spies in an alley way or side street. And she was agile too. Five years of work as a spy had made her quick on her feet and sharpened her senses. Besides, she always carried a few weapons, artfully concealed, on her person.
Once she was sure that she was not being followed, she made her way to the Underground district. She hadn't been there in a while. There was a bar she had frequented since she was 13. The owner had never questioned her age because she looked and acted older than she really was. She had an "office" behind the bar. She rarely used it now, but it was good to have.
The bar, called the Jester, was crowded and filled with smoke. Bits and peices of old broken down machinery cluttered the floor. In the corner of the room, an old vidcom sat, showing random pieces of different channels and blaring pieces of loud music, changing every three seconds.
Had she not been the notorious and well respected Phoenix, Tomoyo would have had trouble navagating the crowd to the counter. Tomoyo stood in the doorway for a moment, raised an eyebrow and cleared her throat softly. The crowd around her quieted, and their quiet spread throughout the room. Tomoyo slowly walked over to the bar. She allowed herself a small smile. She still commanded respect.
There was someone in her seat at the bar. "You're in my seat," she said quietly.
"Yeah? Buzz off la-" he turned around. "OH, oh, sorry, sorry, er, I'll be leaving now."
She followed him with her eyes. As she sat down, the bar slowly went back to it's normal sound level. She put her head down on the table. The bartender, Spiral, came up to her. "The usual?"
"Yes thank you."
"Bad day, Phoenix?"
"Don't get me started." She looked up gratefully as Spiral put down a glass of brown, fizzy liquid in front of her.
Spiral was generally a good natured man, shrewd too. He seemed to revel in the fact that he was the only one who had ever talked to Phoenix that had not been "tested" in someway. Tomoyo could also tell he enjoyed pretending that the Phoenix trusted him. Fool, she thought to herself. Phoenix trusts no one from the Underground.
Tomoyo sat, enjoying her drink, thinking about her uncertain future, when Spiral came up to her again. "There's a man over there who wants to get to know you, Phoenix. Should I send him on his way?"
Tomoyo finished her drink. Narrowed her eyes, ran her tongue over her teeth, and said. "No, no, send him here, and get me some more of this."
Spiral scurried along, refilling Tomoyo's drink and telling the man to come see her. She watched as Spiral talked to him. Dark eyes, dark hair, she couldn't check out his build because he was wearing a cloak. She would have to make sure he wasn't dangerous.
The man sauntered up to her and slid into a vacant seat next to her. "I've been here a lot, but I've never seen you before."
Eriol was impressed by this beauty. She too had dark hair and dark eyes. She was slim, curved in all the right places, and she had a commanding presence. Tomoyo barely looked at him, in fact, she looked annoyed. "What do you want?"
Eriol was surprised. For once his looks didn't get him anything. "Let me buy you a drink."
Tomoyo raised her eyebrows. "I don't drink."
"Ooookkkay then, what's your name?"
"Phoenix. If you're here so often, you should know me."
"Eli. Pleased to meet you."
"I wish I could say the same," Tomoyo sneered.
Spiral watched the interchange with amusment. He had to be ready to interfere if Phoenix decided to get rough.
"Why don't you take off your cloak?" Tomoyo asked.
"None of your business."
"Come back when you wear something that can't conceal a weapon so easily," she said dismisively.
"Paranoid little lady aren't we?"
Tomoyo didn't like his comment. "I'm not paranoid. Just cautious. You'd best be on your way before the Pheonix makes sure you don't show your face anywhere, ever again."
"Are you sure you didn't have too much to drink?"
"I drink root beer you fathead," she rolled her eyes and slammed her glass down onto the counter. "Get out of my way. I'm leaving."
Spiral walked over to Eriol, who was looking at the Phoenix's glass. Sure enough, it was root beer. "Trying your luck with the Phoenix, my boy?"
"Why would you care?"
"No reason. She must like you better than the others. You're the first one to approach her she hasn't tried to hurt."
"I'm flattered," Eriol said dryly. He put down some coins and left the bar.
Spiral watched him leave jealously. I'm going to have to watch this Eli kid. He might get in my way.
a/n: can you tell I think Eriol is a q-t-pi? hehe