Chapter 22 French Embassy
Summer. It came bring this feeling of relief. The first morning of summer, Sakura woke up and smiled. She felt this freedom that she hadn't been feeling in quite awhile. It had been over a month since she last talked with Shaoran and she wasn't hiding anymore the fact from him that she was indeed avoiding him. It felt like a breath of fresh air. She really looked forward to summer. What made her smile more was the fact that she was going to start her internship at the French embassy. She had been looking forward to that since her birthday.
Sakura readied herself. It was going to be her first day at the embassy. She was told that it was going to be an orientation day. She wore a very simple yellow summer dress and brought a white collared jacket so she could wear over to be a little formal in attire at the embassy. She combed her hair and ties it in a ponytail. She looked at herself at the mirror and gave one last approval before she got her ID. She then headed downstairs. It seemed that their father hadn't arrived the night before. She figured that he was still at the university for work. There wasn't any sign of Touya around. Sakura thought it weird. She decided to look for him.
"'Nii-chan? 'Nii-chan?" Sakura called out. She listened. There seemed to be no answer. There wasn't any note at the kitchen or at their schedule board. Sakura decided to check up on his room. She knocked and entered. "'Nii-chan?" She said. She then saw Touya trying to get up. Sakura quickly went to his side. She felt his forehead. He had a high temperature.
"Oh 'nii-chan…" Sakura said as she sat next to him. "Let me make you some soup and some fresh juice. I'll be right back." Sakura said.
Touya held her arm and said, "You start at the French embassy today. Go." Sakura looked at him. He had a stern expression.
She then said, "I won't be late. Let me get you something. I'll be home before lunch. It's just orientations today."
Touya let her go and laid back down. "Do what you want." He said.
Sakura knew that her brother was definitely sick. He didn't even argue with her. Sakura quickly got an apron and started to prepare soup for her brother. While she waited for the chicken to boil, she prepared fresh orange juice for him. Sakura continued to do the cooking and after awhile, she brought the tray up to her brother. She smiled a little. She couldn't even remember the last time she had done this for her brother. Usually it was the other way around. She knocked again and brought the food in. Touya sat up.
Sakura sat there by his side and waited for him to finish. "Look. You're going to be late. If it makes you feel better, I'll just leave the tray outside the door when I'm through. Just get to the embassy already." Touya said.
Sakura didn't move for a moment. "Alright then. I'm off, 'nii-chan. I'll be back before lunch." Sakura said before she finally left. She got her handbag and headed for the door.
When she left the house, she got her cell phone and dialed Yukito's number. After a few rings, Yukito picked up. "Good morning, Sakura. Big day ahead of you." He greeted.
Sakura couldn't help but smile. Yukito always knew how to make her smile. "Hey Yukito-san. Um listen…'nii-chan is sick. Is it ok if you cover for him at work just for today?" She said.
"Sure, no problem. Is he ok?" He asked.
"Yeah. He's eating breakfast now and I told him to rest afterwards. I'll be back before lunch. They said that it's just orientation today. I've called 'tou-chan and says that he'll be back early today too." Sakura said.
"Hmm…alright then. I'll call him to tell him not to worry about his work. I can cover for him. Thanks for telling me Sakura. You really are a great little sister." Yukito replied. Sakura couldn't help but laugh.
"I'll be passing by Marie's Sweet Cakes shop later. I was thinking that 'nii-chan might like to have some of his favorite blueberry cream pies. Would you like some strawberry tarts too? I'll come by there later before I head home. I thought I might bring you some as well." Sakura then said.
"Sure. That would be great, Sakura." Yukito replied.
Sakura smiled and said, "Ok. I'll meet up with you later then."
"Alright. Have a great time at the embassy, Sakura." Yukito said.
"Thanks, Yukito-san." Sakura replied before she hung up.
Sakura then headed to the embassy. "Bonjour, monsieur. Je suis Sakura Kinomoto, le nouvel interne. Je ne suis pas sûr où je vais aller. Je recherche Mlle Valenti. (Good morning, Sir. I am Sakura Kinomoto, the new intern. Um, I'm not sure where I'm going to go. I'm looking for Miss Valenti)."Sakura said to the guard after she went through the security check and showed the guard her ID.
"Bonjour, mme. Kinomoto. Je vous porterai à où Mlle Valenti est maintenant. (Good morning, Ms. Kinomoto. I will take you to where Miss Valenti is now.)" The guard said. Sakura bowed and thanked him.
As the guard showed her to where Miss Valenti was, he said, "Je suis étonné que vous pouvez parler français très bien. (I'm surprised that you can speak French very well.)" Sakura smiled.
"Merci, monsieur. J'ai pratiqué beaucoup parce que ce fait partie de mon rêve. J'ai su que ce serait un jour utile. (Thank you, Sir. I've practiced a lot because it's part of my dream. I knew that it would be helpful one day.)"
"Bien, manque, c'est certainement des capitaux. Bienvenue à l'ambassade française. (Well, miss, it certainly is an asset. Welcome to the French embassy.)" The guard said as he opened the door to a room as Sakura smiled at him and entered.
Sakura then saw a woman sitting behind a desk look up at her. Her features were strong and she possessed this aura of erudite woman in her forty's with much confidence without being overbearing or overly confident. She was tall but fit. "Bonjour, Mlle Valenti. Je Suis Sakura Kinomoto. (Good morning, Miss Valenti. I'm Sakura Kinomoto.)" Sakura greeted and extended her hand. Miss Valenti smiled and shook her hand.
"Nice pour vous rencontrer, Sakura. Vous avez une commande très gentille de Français. (Nice to meet you, Sakura. You have a very nice command of French.)"Miss Valenti commented. Sakura smiled and thanked her. Sakura noticed that Miss Valenti's accent was a little different. She didn't have to wait long for an explanation.
"Vous pourriez vous interroger sur mon accent car ce n'est pas Français typique. Je suis réellement italien. J'ai été emballé à Rome jusqu'à ce que j'aie eu huit ans jusqu'à ce que ma famille se soit déplacée en France. Mon mari et beau-père sont les diplomates français ici et ainsi je travaille ici aussi bien. (You might be wondering about my accent as it is not typical French. I am actually Italian. I was raced in Rome until I was eight until my family moved to France. My husband and father-in-law are French diplomats here and so I work here as well.)" Miss Valenti explained.
Sakura fond it odd. "Ma'am, si je peux... n'est pas Valenti par nom italien? (Ma'am, if I may...isn't Valenti an Italian name?)"
Miss Valenti smiled and replied, "Oui. J'emploie mon premier nom. Mon nom marié est DeCuir. Je suis la belle-fille de l'ambassadeur. Ce n'est pas un mystère ici dans l'ambassade mais j'emploierais plutôt mon premier nom en faisant face au travail parce que je ne veux pas que les personnes pensent que l'ambassadeur me donne quelque chose des frais supplémentaires parce que je suis sa belle-fille. Il a convenu que je peux employer mon premier nom pour ne montrer aucune favoritisme parmi son personnel. (Yes. I use my maiden name. My married name is DeCuir. I am the Ambassador's daughter-in-law. It is not a mystery here in the embassy but I would rather use my maiden name in dealing with work because I do not want people to think that the Ambassador gives me something extra because I am his daughter-in-law. He agreed that I may use my maiden name to show no favoritism among his staff.)"
Sakura noticed that Miss Valenti was very motherly in a way she spoke. She could feel this kindness from her. But Sakura knew that business was business.
"Je vous dis ceci, Sakura, parce que tandis que vous êtes ici, pensez svp à nous en tant que famille. Vous travaillerez sous moi comme mon aide et moi veulent que mon personnel sache que je ne cache rien d'eux. Je ne parle pas japonais très bien qui est pourquoi je suis soulagé pour rencontrer finalement une jeune femme en tant que vous-même pour être très à l'aise dans le Japonais. Quand votre ami est venu me donner votre application, la plus grande considération est venue du fait que vous parlez français. Mais honnêtement parlant, je ne me suis pas attendu à ce que vous soyez ceci fluent. (I'm telling you this, Sakura, because while you are here, please think of us as a family. You will be working under me as my assistant and I want my staff to know that I hide nothing from them. I do not speak Japanese very well that is why I am relieved to finally meet a young woman as yourself to be very fluent in Japanese. When your friend came and gave me your application, the greatest consideration came from the fact that you speak French. But honestly speaking, I did not expect you to be this fluent.)"Miss Valenti commented.
Sakura smiled and replied, "Je comprends parfaitement, Ma'am. C'est un grand honneur à choisir et pouvoir travailler ici. Si je peux dire ainsi, je peux également parler italien, bien que j'apprenne toujours l'espagnol. J'espère que je pourrai être utile à vous d'une manière quelconque. (I understand perfectly, Ma'am. It is a great honor to be chosen and to be able to work here. If I may say so, I can also speak Italian, though I am still learning Spanish. I hope that I may be of help to you in some way.)"
Miss Valenti smiled and seemed amused. She then nodded. "Parlate italiano? (You speak Italian?)" Miss Valenti asked in Italian.
"Sì, Ma'am. Il mio padre lo ha pensato il più bene che imparassi l'italiano con il francese perché mi ha detto che le lingue fossero molto simili. Quello è inoltre perchè mi aveva chiesto di imparare lo Spagnolo anche. (Yes, Ma'am. My father thought it best that I learn Italian with French because he told me that the languages are very similar. That is also why he had asked me to learn Spanish too.)" Sakura answered in Italian.
This impressed Miss Valenti a great deal. It was very rare to find a Japanese girl fluent enough with French. It was even rarer to find a girl in Japan who could speak Italian alongside French fluently. "Très bon, Sakura. Nous obtiendrons le long de l'amende juste. (Very good, Sakura. We will get along just fine.)" She then got up and motioned Sakura to follow her.
"Venez. Laissez-moi vous montrer autour et vous présenter à certains qui travaillent ici. Maintenant, que vous le travail sera fondamentalement soyez mon aide. Vous aiderez des documents de dossier, des appels de réponse, et des choses comme cela. Vous aurez Genevieve ici pour vous aider. Elle a travaillé avec moi pendant plus d'une année. Elle prendra soin de vous. Si vous aurez des problèmes, n'hésitent- pas à lui dire ou à me dire, ok? (Come. Let me show you around and introduce you to some people who work here. Now, you job will be basically be my assistant. You will help file documents, answer calls, and things like that. You will have Genevieve here to help you. She has worked with me for over a year. She will take care of you. If you will have problems, don't hesitate to tell her or to tell me, ok?)" Miss Valenti said as she introduced Sakura to Genevieve, her other assistant. She then went on to shop Sakura around, told her the rules, how things were done and everything. Sakura was really grateful for the opportunity.
When Sakura left the embassy for the day, she couldn't help but feel really happy. Her dream was coming true. This was going to be a great learning opportunity. She had wanted this ever since she was a little girl. Her thoughts then drifted back to Yukito. He had gotten her this opportunity.
When Sakura went to Marie's Sweet Cakes shop, she bought the blueberry cream pies for Touya and the strawberry tarts that Yukito loved so much. She then bought an almond chocolate cake for Yukito. She knew that he liked it too. It was the least she could do for giving her that chance to grab her dream. She smiled as she took the cakes and headed to the coffee shop where Yukito worked part-time.
When she got to the coffee shop, Sakura sat at the counter and was immediately greeted by Yukito. Sakura handed him the tarts.
"Thanks, Sakura. But it was truly unnecessary." Yukito said.
Sakura smiled at him and replied, "It's nothing, Yukito-san and here." Sakura then gave him the cake. "This is for the opportunity to work at the French embassy. This is just a small token of gratitude." She said. Yukito smiled at her warmly and accepted it.
"So, how was the first day?" He asked.
Sakura gave him a big smile and replied, "It was wonderful! Everybody is so friendly and helpful. I know it's going to be hard work from here on end but it doesn't matter. Just being there gives me this feeling like I'm on top of the world. It truly is awesome. I can't thank you enough for giving me this chance, Yukito-san." Yukito smiled at her again. He then gave her a small package. Sakura was a little surprised.
She opened it and it contained a delicately sewn pouch bag. Sakura smiled and looked up at Yukito. "It's beautiful, Yukito-san. Thank you."
He smiled at her and replied, "I made it for you because I thought you might like it." Sakura gave him a hug and thanked him again. After a few minutes of talking, Sakura finally said goodbye so she could get back home and help Touya. She couldn't help but smile. Almost everything was making her smile that day. Now she really liked that summer vacation. It was simply perfect.
As Sakura walked home, she bumped into Ryu, Kenishiro and a few of their friends. She smiled at them and greeted them.
"Hey Sakura. I thought that you start at the French embassy today?" Ryu said.
She smiled at him and replied, "Yup. I just came from there. It's just orientation today. The real work starts tomorrow until the end of summer."
"You want to grab something eat with us?" Kenishiro asked.
Sakura smiled again and answered, "I'd love to guys but I can't. I've got to get home. 'Nii-chan is sick and 'tou-chan is not home. I need to help him out. Sorry guys. Maybe some other time." R
yu and the others grinned. Even if Sakura and Touya teased each other a lot, it was still clear that they cared about each other very much. They really took care of one another, especially when the other was in trouble or was sick. They said their goodbyes and watched Sakura leave.
Kenishiro laid his arm by the elbow on Ryu's shoulder. "Looks like Sakura even bought some cakes from Marie's Sweet Cake shop for Kinomoto-san. I wish I had a younger sister like that. I can only imagine though what Kinomoto-san would do to you if you hurt Sakura. Not only that…there's Tsukishiro-san and even Shaoaran." Kenishiro then patted Ryu on the back and said, "I sure hope you know what you are doing?" Ryu smirked and said nothing.
(to be continued…)
Special thanks to Amli who helped in editing the French translations. Hehe. ^_^ Sorry. I'm still not good with French and I still have a lot to learn ^_^ C'est la vie ^_^
Also thanks to an angel from darkness who offered to edit as well ^_^ thanks! ^_^
First day of summer. First day of changes. Be careful not to expect too much because I can tell that the next things that will happen might just shock you. Hehe. Thanks for reviewing and reading until this chapter. I hope you continue to send in what you think. Thanks.
Michiko