Disclaimer: I don't own any ccs characters. :( They all belong to CLAMP.
Tomoyo strolled down the streets, of the Underground district. Finding a secluded spot, she transformed into a bird and flew around. It was exhilerating to be up in the air, looking at all the people, and as long as she kept to the housing districts, she would have no problem navagating. She had seen all of this before. Whenever she fought with her mother, she would leave and come back as a bird.
Today, she did not want to go back yet. She wanted to stay free, in the wild, and not return to the sordid farce that was the Elite class. Her thoughts turned to the engagement. Her mother had only said "your engagement" and Tomoyo started getting angry. Maybe she should have given her mother a chance. But then that would have made her mother think she wanted to go and get married, which was completely untrue.
She went back home anyways and put on a dress and brushed her hair. Tomoyo went and found her mother. She sank into a low curtsy. "Forgive me for my impertinence this afternoon mother."
"No need to beg forgivness child. The fault was mine. It seems the boy is not ready either. Your future can wait." Her mother, Sonomi, smiled. "I suggest you change into something different, we're going to Helen's house for dinner."
"Oh, no, not Helen," Tomoyo moaned.
Sonomi raised a perfect eyebrow. "Do you have a problem with Helen?"
"No, it's not that, it's just that, Helen always turns these dinner parties into media affairs."
Sonomi blinked slowly. "The media, my child, thrives off the Elite. You must learn to accept that since you are an Elite."
"Mother, must I go?"
"They will question when you are not present with me," she responded, purposely not specifying who the "they" was.
"It shall be as my mother wishes," said Tomoyo.
When she got back to her room, she sighed inwardly. "Well, since this is going to be publicized, I might as well give the public something to talk about." Throwing open her closet, she walked in and went to a part of the closet she used rarely. Here were the outfits that she had bought or requisitioned in defiance of her mother's wished. None of them were particularly scandalous, but then again, none of them were what you would wear to a dinner party. Unless you were Tomoyo Daidouji and you were trying to shock everyone around you to death.
Tomoyo tried on several outfits. By the time she found one to her liking, did her hair, and put on make up, her mother was knocking "Tomoyo, it's time to go."
"Coming mother," Tomoyo called. She took one last look at her appearance, smiled, and threw on an overcoat and kid-gloves, running to catch up to her mother.
"What are you wearing?" Sonomi asked. Tomoyo shrugged and got into the limo. Sonomi was used to surprises from her daughter, who struggled against the rules and restrictions of the Elite. She could only hope that whatever Tomoyo had on under the coat was not too inappropriate. Tomoyo reminded her of herself; when she was younger, she too had been like Tomoyo, flashy yet shy, demure yet cunning. That was how she got the attention of Tomoyo's father. Shape-shifters had a tendency to be a jumble of opposites.
He had tired of her quickly, though, and soon left to find his amusements elsewhere. So the first chance Sonomi got, she betrothed her daughter to the son of a highly placed official, knowing that if they ever separated...well, knowing that they could never separate for fear of scandal.
All too soon, they arrived at Helen's flat. One hundred feet up in the air, the limo docked. The height of the docking field did not stop the reporters. They had their own little hover pods and armed with their camera and recorders, they swooped in on the limo. When Tomoyo and her mother stepped out, they were greeted by a flurry of reporters. As they moved forward, the crowd parted and let them pass.
The first set of doors led to an ante-room, only a few privileged journalists were allowed here. The coat boy asked for their coats. Tomoyo and Sonomi gave their coats to the boy. As soon as Tomoyo removed her coat and turned around, cameras started flashing. Sonomi's eye's widened briefly before she regained her composure.
Tomoyo was wearing what would have been a nice over coat if it had sleeves. It was lavender and zipped up from her waist and the tail of the coat reached to the heels on her boots. The back of the coat had a phoenix rising from it ashes embroidered in brightly colored thread. Her black leather pants were almost completely covered by leather boots, emblazoned with her trademark phoenix emblem near the top. Tomoyo called the coat boy back to give him her gloves, revealing nails that were acrylic and had a rhinestone design on them.
Sonomi smiled and whispered to her daughter, "Any other surprises?"
Tomoyo responded, smiling as well, "Absolutely none."
They walked into the huge dining room. Helen rushed over. "Sonomi! It's so good to see you again," she said kissing both her cheeks. "And Tomoyo," Helen stopped for a moment, taking in her liberal appearance. "Interesting ensemble you have there."
"Why thank you, I rather like it myself," she said before she was swept away by a crowd of younger Elite.
The next day, Sonomi brought up the news reels of the day using her vidcom. Tomoyo was on the front page. "Trend-setter extrordinaire" was the head line. Sonomi wasn't sure whether to laugh or be ashamed. She knocked on her daughter's door. "Tomoyo, did you see the news reels today?"
The door opened, Tomoyo must have just gotten up. "No, why?"
"You're a head line."
"Well, that was my intent. Are you angry?" she asked tentatively.
"I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry, child."
"Decide later. The phone's ringing." Tomoyo shut the door.
Sonomi turned around and walked briskly to the phone. "Hello?"
Tomoyo evesdropped on her mother long enough to see what they were talking about. "Edith!.....yes....we didn't see you last night....yes...yes....I suppose that was what she meant to do...." They were talking about her.
Tomoyo called up the newsreel her mother was reading. Yes, yes, it had done a wonderful job of describing her. She skimmed throught the article. "...new age beauty...excellent blending of old and new...like her mother..." Mother?! Tomoyo stopped reading there. Sonomi had never told Tomoyo that she had also made head lines in her youth.
Tomoyo called up another news reel. This one was the complete opposite of the last one. "Shame of the Elite...disgraced all...even her mother registered shock...will cause scandal." Tomoyo could have laughed out loud; she loved opposites. So, she passed her morning, reading new reels about herself, some boasting her as a glamour queen and some denouncing her as a shame.
The Elite had no newspapers of their own, so Tomoyo had no way of knowing exactally what fellow Elite thought, but since the two major new reels carried conflicting opinions, she had a feeling that the phone would be ringing for a very long time.
a/n: You know, it's kinda deflating not having your story reviewed, so review, review! (or else i'll have to pull out the chopsticks of doom and beat you. ;) j/k, j/k!) just review, ok?