Cherry: Oh my God! It's chapter 3 already! Where has the time gone!? Pretty soon I'll be an old lady! NOT! AHAHAH! I SAW A FLOCK OF MOOSEN! Lol, my friend quoted that from something, I'm not sure what. Anyway… on with chapter 3! I'm hoping that you will realize something with this chapter… as I'm going to put it in plain sight. Hopefully you are bright people and will see it right away.
Disclaimer: I don't know why it always takes forever for people to get donuts. It's like a huge burden has been placed on them. I don't know how the donut ladies can stand it, either, always being yelled at. I think they handle it by getting back at you by counting how many donuts you are getting to make you look stupid in front of the other customers. I don't own Card Captor Sakura. Perks given to whomever wrote this... I don't know who did.
Chapter 3: Double Timing
Taichi Himeko was standing in front of a tall building, gazing up at the menacing sky that was raining down on him.
Was it a sign? Maybe, he was going to see his father, to discuss the happenings of the day.
How was he to explain his actions that caused him to be replaced by the cold, amber-eyed, Li Syaoran?
Li, that name seemed familiar; his father or his grandfather had mentioned that name before.
"Oh well," he shrugged and pulled the heavy metal door open
The cool, air conditioned air blew across his face as he entered the building. Upon entering the clerk and the desk picked up the phone.
"Mr. Himeko, your son is here," she said into the phone.
The woman nodded. "Yes sir."
She hung up the phone and turned to Taichi.
"You may go right in to see him," she said and gestured towards a door to her right.
He took a deep breath and walked over to the door. He held his hand on the knob for a moment before turning it and entering the room.
"My boy how was your day at work? Do you have any news to share with us?" a large, burly man well into his forties asked.
Taichi's body began to tremble and he sat down near his father. There were about six other men in the room, all armed and dressed in ugly, rich, suits. His eyes darted back and forth between the nearest guard and his weapon. It looked like a .45 semi-automatic Colt pistol.
"Father, I have some…unpleasant news to share with you," Taichi began.
This was probably not the best way to start out the conversation, but what other choice did he have? He could not lie to his own father, could he? No, not after everything he had given him.
His father's features darkened and the atmosphere seemed to get a bit denser. Taichi felt the eyes of every person in the room fall on him. He gulped and pulled at his tie.
"Go on," his father's deep voice commanded.
Taichi jumped slightly.
"Well," his voice squeaked and he coughed. "Well, I've…"
"You've what? Taichi, do not make me get angry with you," his father warned.
Taichi looked up to his father with wide eyes.
"I've been replaced. Wait, before you say anything, I haven't been fired and you haven't been figured out yet. I've just had to switch partners," Taichi explained quickly.
"Will you still be able to work with the FBI's top agent?" Mr. Himeko asked.
"Not directly, but I can drop some things onto her desk that will lead her astray if she get any leads to your whereabouts," Taichi replied.
Taichi's father seemed to contemplate what he said for a while. His face twisted this way and that as if he was debating with himself whether or not he believed his son.
"Yuri," a very old and wrinkled man said to Taichi's father.
Yuri turned to the man.
"Yes?" he replied
"Your son's new position may prove helpful. Since he is not working directly with the FBI's top agent, what was his name again?" the man asked and looked to Taichi.
"Her name is Sakura Kinomoto," Taichi replied.
"Since Taichi is not working directly with Kinomoto he gets to spend more time in the office building leading other teams off track if anyone gets wind of our operation," the man finished.
Yuri nodded in agreement.
"Taichi, one more question before you head home to your mother," Yuri said.
"Yes?" Taichi asked.
"Kinomoto's new partner, what is their name?" Mr. Himeko asked, his eyes darkening.
"Some guy named Syaoran Li," Taichi replied.
Suddenly, both his father and the other man started laughing.
"So the little whelp wants to follow in his father's footsteps!" the older man exclaimed.
Taichi turned to him quickly.
"What do you mean grandfather?" he asked.
"I shot and killed his father in Hong Kong," the man replied bluntly, almost gloating.
Taichi's eyes widened. Li, Shouji Li. His grandfather told him a story about an FBI agent he had shot and killed after he had sprung in on a deal they were making with a client from Beijing. So that was the father to the amber-eyed man he met today.
"Taichi, go home now, your mother would kill me to know if you were still out this late," Yuri said.
Taichi stood up and bowed to his father and his grandfather.
"She'll want to know if you'll be home tonight," Taichi said.
"I'll be home, just very late. Tell your mother not to wait up for me," Yuri replied.
Taichi nodded and left the room. The clerk and the desk stopped him before he walked out of the building.
"Young Mr. Himeko, your mother called. She would like you to stop by the store on the way home," she said with a confused look on her face.
Taichi smiled at the clerk.
"Thank you," he replied.
The clerk nodded and returned to her desk.
Taichi grabbed one of the many umbrellas near the door and walked out of the building, back into the pouring rain. That was when two figures ran passed on the other side of the street followed by a group of men. He gave it now second thought and headed to the store to pick up his mother's groceries.
"Dad better come home tonight, mother's been very worried," he said to no one and kicked a rock down the street.
The rain steadily grew worse and Taichi finally had to call for a cab. As he slid into the seat of the taxicab he got the feeling that he was going to do something he was going to regret. Of course, he did not believe in that sort of thing and dismissed the feeling almost instantly. The taxicab pulled up in front of a store and Taichi paid the man to wait.
He went in and got the groceries his mother had called in earlier and headed back out to the taxi. The rain had not lightened up; if anything, it came down harder and harder.
"Where ya to kid?" the taxicab driver asked.
He was a big burly man; over weight, tired, grungy, it looked as if this had been his only job his whole life.
"602 West Yuki Drive," Taichi replied.
The man driving pushed a large red button on his dashboard and sped off down the road.
The part of town in which Taichi lived in was rich. He was rich, though, sometimes he wished he did not know how they got their money. He sighed. When his father got too old, he would have to take over the business. He did not really mind, but to do so, he would have to give up his day job with the FBI, and he would have to give up seeing Sakura.
He had had a crush on the auburn haired girl since he first saw her. Yes, a little childish, but he could not help it. He could not tell her that he liked her; it was not like he could ever take her out without her finding out about his father's business. So, for the year he had been trying to find other girls to like, girls that knew about his father's opium business, and girls that did not object. Of course, this was very difficult to do, as most girls did not want anything to do with an opium distributors son.
The taxi drove up into the driveway of a large two-story mansion. The white marble lined house was amazing. Each room on the upper floor had a small balcony and there was a large porch in the front. A small path led you around the side of the house to the back where there was a large pool and tanning area.
The pool was shaped in a large, elongated oval with a black and white checkerboard pattern of tile on the bottom. The pool itself was spotless, the colors shown through as if it was brand new, just placed there the day before.
The taxicab driver stared at the amazing house, not really knowing what to do next.
Taichi tapped his shoulder. "How much do I owe you?"
The drive turned and stared at him before stuttering out the amount. Taichi climbed out after paying him and walked up the pathway to his door. It was open slightly. Carefully he pushed it open with his back.
"Mother?" he called into the house.
"Master Taichi," a maid exclaimed, rushing over to him to relieve him of the burden of groceries he was carrying. "You should not be carrying these, it is a maid's job."
"Mother asked me to stop by and pick them up, I have no problem with it," he replied.
"Taichi! My child," a voice called from the top of the spiral staircase.
He looked up into the face of his mother. Her hair was long and dark hair and bright blue-silver eyes. She was tall, elegantly slim, and held an aura that gave off an appearance of a proper childhood.
"Hello mother," Taichi replied. "Father said he was going to be late and that you should not stay up to wait for him."
Though it was small, you could see disappointment flash across her face for an instant before it disappeared.
"I should have known as much. Thank you Taichi, for doing what I asked of you," she said.
Taichi nodded.
"But come, tell me of your day," his mother said and slowly walked down the stairs.
As she came closer, she seemed pale and sickly.
"Mother, are you alright?" Taichi asked, stepping towards her and offering his arm.
"It is only a small cold," she replied. "Nothing for you to worry about. Now come. How was your day?"
"Not as well as it could have been mother. I was reassigned partners today."
"Oh you poor thing. That must have made you very upset. You were so attached to your last partner," his mother replied, and patted his arm comfortingly.
They walked into a large, spacious room and sat down on the couch as Taichi recounted the day's events, including what was said at his father's office.