Sakura: Knight of the Clow
Part Nineteen
"All right," Sonomi Daidouji demanded as they stood in her beautifully decorated library room, "how long has this been going on?" The books lining the shelves, fireplace and all the soft chairs would have normally given the room a cozy feel, but Sonomi's intense manner rather killed that effect.
"I think that's my line, love," Kaho Mitsuki pointed out mildly, the newspaper editor standing beside her simmering lover.
"Sorry," Sonomi actually smiled slightly as she said, "but she's my daughter first, your reporter second."
"I don't know if I'd agree with that," Tomoyo said dryly from where she was sitting on a couch to one side of the room, meeting her mother's eyes with a flash of resentment.
Sonomi winced at that shot.
"Tomoyo," Sakura Kinomoto put a hand on her arm, squeezing it gently. "This is all my fault," she looked away from her friend to meet Kaho and Sonomi's eyes as she lied boldly, "I made her conceal my identity."
"She did not," Tomoyo frowned.
"But..." Sakura started.
"Don't try taking all the fault on yourself," Mei-lin Li added from where she was sitting in a chair nearby.
"You're involved with this too?" Sonomi frowned.
"Hold it," Kaho raised a hand. Looking at both of them she said, "Could someone please start at the begining?"
"It's a long story," Sakura sighed. With some help from Tomoyo and Mei-Lin she sketched in the ongoing fight to capture the Clow cards, as well as hunting the monsters that seemed to haunt Tokyo.
"You said you inherited this," Sonomi gave Sakura a searching look, "does that mean your mother Nadesico did this, too?"
"Yes, she did," Sakura confirmed, deciding to mention that she had died in action. She rather thought Sonomi wouldn't want to know.
"And exactly how long were you planning to sit on this story?" Kaho coldly asked after a few moments, hands on her hips as she stared down at Tomoyo.
"I wasn't sitting on it," Tomoyo answered her with just a little smile, "just... leaving out certain facts."
"Those are pretty big facts," Kaho bit out.
"The problem is," Mei-Lin noted calmly before they could say things they might regret later, "would people believe it anyway?" As everyone looked at her she continued, "As it is there are a regular stream of letters coming in claiming all our Knight stories are just a hoax." She spread out her hands, "What are they going to do when we reveal that she's really a young woman who is a hereditary monster slayer?"
"They'd never believe it," Sonomi admitted after a second.
Kaho looked like she had a headache coming on. "That doesn't mean we aren't obligated to report it," she said.
"How about journalistic responsibility?" Sakura countered. "The only thing revealing the full truth will do is cause a panic as people discovers that there are real monsters out there, ones that only someone like me can stop."
"And has anyone tried shooting at these things?" Sonomi asked curiously.
"According to the stories my Grandmother did when she was knight," Sakura paused, "she was mauled so badly her leg never recovered."
"Lovely," Mei-Lin winced.
"Revealing the truth will do nobody any good," Tomoyo met Kaho's eyes in a silent plea, "all it will do is make Sakura's job even harder."
"All right," Kaho finaly gave up with a sigh, "we'll sit on the information on Sakura being this Knight." As everyone was looking relieved she added, "But, if the situation escalates I am not making any promises."
"Fair enough," Sakura nodded.
"Well, it looks like the party's finished," Sonomi sighed, then smiled wryly. In the chaos of Water's appearance the guests and staff had fled, leaving a disaster outside with toppled tables, spilled food and wrecked decorations.
"Is there any sign of your catering staff?" Tomoyo asked, quite willingly accepting the change of topic.
Sonomi shrugged, "I assume they headed for the hills with everyone else."
"Well," Sakura got up, offering Tomoyo a hand as she said practically, "maybe we should try to clean up a bit?"
"Why not?" Tomoyo agreed, willing to seize on any opportunity to get away from her mother, not to mention her annoyed boss.
"I'll help too," Mei-Lin joined them, casting a wary eye at her boss.
"Thanks for not jumping in to the argument to protect Sakura's identity." Kaho said as they watched the three young ladies righting tables and carefully using utensils to scoop up the ruined food.
"I was tempted," Sonomi admitted. She gave Kaho a ghost of a smile, "But I figured that with three to one odds, they'd do pretty well."
Kaho laughed, "True enough." Thoughtfully she added, "Sakura... she seems to inspire a fierce loyalty in her friends."
"I know," Sonomi said, "she has a innocent sort of charisma."
Just then Sakura took a splat of potato salad to the side of the head. Tomoyo tooked mortified, then stunned as Sakura beaned her with a dinner roll. She successfully ducked the sandwich Tomoyo tossed but poor Mei-Lin didn't dodge in time. Within moments a full on food fight was going on, the ladies ducking behind tables as they rooted about for ammo.
"And on the other hand they're ordinary women, too." Kaho laughed softly, "Do you want to go break them up?"
Laughing too Sonomi lead they way, "Break it up, I thought you were going to..."
Splat!
"Oops," Mei-Lin dropped the spoon, the bowl of rice sitting beside her.
"Why you," Sonomi snatched up a fish and joined the fray.
"I think I'll just sit over here and watch," Kaho quietly backed away as the four way food fight continued on.
To be continued...
Sakura, Knight of the Clow
Twenty
Yukito looked across the cafe's corner table at Tomoyo as he asked, "My god, how did the boss take it?"
"Just about as well as you'd expect," Tomoyo said while she drank from her cup of coffee, her black hair flowing back from her face. "And Sonomi wasn't too happy either," she added glumly.
"Huh," Yukito nodded, drinking too.
"So, any tips on how to smooth this over with the boss?" Tomoyo asked the older photographer quietly.
Yukito shrugged slightly, "Bring Kaho a scoop, that always cheers her up."
Tomoyo snickered softly at that, "Yeah, true. Problem is I don't have any scoops on hand right now."
"How about that historical research you were having Rika do on the Knight?" Yukito asked her as he had yet another cookie.
'That's what, his tenth? Where do they go?' Tomoyo thought with amusement. "It's interesting," she admitted as she munched on her own cookie, "but most of what I've found is useful for background, not a full story."
Yukito paused a moment, "You have that 'I know something you don't know' look on your face. What's up?"
"The Clow card, Water," Tomoyo smiled slightly grimly, "it chose to go with Mei-lin."
"Ah," Yukito nodded, "the competition is getting more serious."
"We're not competing..." Tomoyo started, then trailed off under Yukito's amused gaze. "I guess so," she conceded after a moment, "and I find myself wondering if Sakura even realizes she was two girls fighting over her."
"Have you officially asked her out?" Yukito took another cookie.
"Well, no," Tomoyo admitted with a sigh, "we have had a dinner earlier, but it was back when we first met."
"So," Yukito shrugged casually as he said, "why not take her out on a real date? Flowers at the door, a nice dinner, some dancing... I think the Locket has a good atmosphere and it's also pretty non-threatening."
"It's not as easy as you make it sound," Tomoyo blushed.
"Hey," a tall, dark brown haired man walked up to the table, dressed in a waiter's outfit. "You going to order anything other than snacks?" he asked wryly.
"Sorry Toya," Yukito smiled. "Oh," he gestured towards Tomoyo, "I'd like you to meet Tomoyo Daidouji, Sakura's friend. Tomoyo, this is Sakura's big brother."
"Oh," Tomoyo blushed slightly, looking up at the older man.
"So you're the one," Toya gave her a thoughtful glance. "Sakura talks about you a lot," he noted with a little smile.
"Really?" Tomoyo brightened.
"Yup," Toya nodded. His expression became serious as he added sternly, "She likes you a lot, so if you hurt her I'll be... annoyed."
Tomoyo gulped at the unveiled threat in the man's eyes. Toya seemed kind, but there was steel beneath his gentle surface.
"Toya," Yukito elbowed him gently, "stop scaring the lady, please."
"It's all right," Tomoyo smiled at Yukito before looking up at Toya. "I will do everything I can to avoid hurting your sister," she vowed.
"Good," Toya nodded firmly before taking their orders and leaving.
"Don't mind Mr. Grumpy," Yukito said with some amusement, "after what happened to
their mother he tends to be a bit over protective."
"I can understand that," Tomoyo gently agreed.
"Do you think we could have seconds?" Yukito asked after he finished off his second order of cookies.
"Oy," Tomoyo sighed.
Meanwhile, Sakura Kinomoto smiled to herself as the brown haired woman delicately ran a cloth over a rounded piece of clay, carefully removing the dust from the inscription. "All right," she moved back, "can I get a photo, please?"
Yue Susanoo stepped up with the digital camera, steadied it carefully then the blue haired
young man took the photo. "Dr. Kinomoto," he asked curiously, "why the photos?"
"It's Sakura, not Doctor," she reminded him wryly, wiping the dust off of her hands with a damp cloth.
"Sakura then," Yue smiled.
"Well," Sakura tucked the cloth into a pocket of her lab coat as she explained, "these artifacts are highly fragile, so handling them must be kept to a minimum. A digital photo can be studied at our leisure, and I can even use my Mac to manipulate the image in various ways to try to determine meaning."
Yue nodded, feeling just a bit foolish at not considering the uses modern technology might have. 'Then again, I haven't been active in this era too long,' he smiled. "So, what's next on the list to examine?" he asked.
"I'd like to study the Sumeragi tablet," Sakura stretched tiredly, "but I think we'd better stop for today."
"Certainly," Yue agreed as they carefully set the artifacts on the work table before covering them with a protective sheet.
The two headed out of the museum and Sakura blinked in surprise as she saw the redhead who was sitting on the steps. "About time, Yue," the woman got up, "I thought I was going to starve waiting for you."
"Kero," Yue sighed, "you didn't have to wait, you know.
"I got bored," Kero shrugged.
"Friend of yours?" Sakura smiled as she gently teased her assistant.
"Caroline," Yue improvised quickly, "but people usually just call her Kero."
"Pleased to meet you," Kero smiled sweetly. After a moment she turned to Yue, "Hello, food please!"
Yue sighed. "Excuse me," he turned to Sakura, "I'd better feed her before we have a riot on our hands."
"Have fun," Sakura smiled as the two walked away.
"I really wish you hadn't done that," Yue murmured as they walked away.
Kero frowned, "What? I just wanted to get a close look at her."
"Not that," Yue sighed, "she's a curious young lady. I don't even want to think of the assumptions she's going to make about us."
Kero laughed softly, "You're going to be teased?"
"I'm certain of it," Yue sighed glumly.
"Could we worse," Kero said as they walked on.
"How so?" Yue gave her a wary look.
Kero smirked, "I was going to kiss you hello, to maintain our couple act."
"Ack," Yue winced, "I'd never hear the end of THAT."
To be continued...
Sakura: Knight of the Clow
Twenty one
"Tomoyo," Sakura said tentatively as the feathered cape swirled around the reddish brown haired woman, the bright pink costume glittering in the setting sunlight, "I really don't think this costume is suited to monster hunting."
"All right, the sequins might be a bit much," Tomoyo conceded, the black haired woman studying Sakura fondly.
Sakura smiled wryly as she asked her, "Well, do you have something else I could try on?"
"Come on," Tomoyo said cheerfully as she lead Sakura over to the car where several uniforms were in garment bags on the seat.
"This is your hobby, I take it?" Sakura teased as she picked up a mostly black and sky blue colored costume.
"Yup," Tomoyo agreed readily as she said, "and I've always liked seeing a beautiful woman in lovely clothes."
Sakura blushed charmingly as she unwrapped the pants, top and other pieces of gear. "Could you...?" Sakura made a turning gesture, thankful that the alley they were in would provide enough cover for a quick change.
"Of course," Tomoyo turned, her simple pant suit blending into the slowly spreading shadows of the evening. She was careful not to tell Sakura that a dirty window just in front of Tomoyo made a pretty good mirror on Sakura's changing.
Sakura took off the bright colored cape first, folding it respectfully, then pulled up the top, her bra-less breasts bouncing a bit as she moved. Gracefully she hooked her fingers into the tight pants and tugged down, revealing pink underwear in a frilly design.
'Damn,' a flushed Tomoyo squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, feeling a little bit of guilt and the beginnings of a nosebleed coming on.
Finally dressed Sakura walked over and tapped Tomoyo on the shoulder, blinking when Tomoyo turned and she saw the trickle of blood from the other woman's nose. "Are you all right?" she asked Tomoyo worriedly.
"I'm fine," Tomoyo promised as she took a hankie from her breast pocket and wiped her nose. A smile, "I think that costume suits you."
Sakura smiled back, now wearing the black pants and shirt, all designed with a light blue trim. The gloves and boots matched, with flared cuffs for style, and a high collar on the shirt to give it a almost pirate air.
"Not bad," Sakura tried a few jumps, pleased to see how easy it was to wear.
'Not bad at all,' Tomoyo thought, watching Sakura move. Shaking herself she asked, "Do we have any leads tonight?"
"Some odd sightings," Sakura confirmed, "not far from here."
Tomoyo readied her digital camera, wishing that Yukito was here. However, he had quite reasonably put his foot down and insisted on a night out with Toya, so what was she to do? "Monster or Clow Card?" she asked curiously.
"Not sure," Sakura admitted as she made sure her necklace was easy to get at, in case they encountered trouble.
"Well," Tomoyo said after making sure the car was locked up, "let's go."
A few softly chanted words transformed the key she wore around her neck into a staff, then Sakura drew forth a card from a pouch on her belt. "Fly!" she cried and struck the card with her staff, invoking it's power and summoning white wings that soon stretched from her back. "Shall we?" she offered Tomoyo her hand.
"Please," Tomoyo agreed as she stepped close to Sakura and gently wrapped her arms around her. 'This feels so nice,' she mused.
"Hup," and with a jump Sakura threw them into the air, the soft beat of her wings drawing them up into the darkening sky.
Tomoyo tightened her arms around Sakura, feeling her firm breasts pressed against her own, then forced herself to relax a bit as she swept the slightly run down section of the city with her eyes. The dark alley's and streets stretched around them, only a few people lingering here and there in the shadows.
"The city is kind of pretty, at least when seen from way up here," Tomoyo noted a bit breathlessly.
Sakura nodded as they soared along, "You're right, I..."
"AIEEEEEE!" the voice pierced the darkness.
"Sakura, over there," Tomoyo pointed wet even as Sakura changed direction in mid-air, her wings beating faster.
"I see it," Sakura answered grimly.
Sweeping back down to the dark streets Sakura and Tomoyo raced to where a young woman lay sprawled on the ground, her long black hair fanning around her. Above her a mysterious light shimmered, swirling and changing.
"What do you think?" Tomoyo murmured, her camera filming the beautiful apparition, it's colors strangely hypnotic.
"I..." Sakura trailed off, swaying slightly as her eyes widened.
Almost instinctively Tomoyo pulled Sakura back, then frowned as the other woman just looked at her blankly. "Sakura?" Tomoyo shook her gently, but the other girl seemed completely entranced. 'I hate this,' she thought then slapped her, hard.
"Ahh," Sakura jerked in surprise, looking at Tomoyo in shock.
"You all right?" Tomoyo asked her tenderly, glad to see that Sakura's eyes were clear once more.
"I think so," Sakura admitted, "I saw my mother..."
"I thought she was dead?" Tomoyo blinked.
"She is," Sakura's eyes hardened with anger as she clutched her staff.
"It wasn't a... ghost, was it?" Tomoyo looked just a bit nervously at the shining light still dancing in mid air.
Sakura saw the fear in Tomoyo's eye and smiled, for a moment shedding her anger. "No," she said, "I think it's a Clow card."
"Oh good," Tomoyo whipped out her camera, "ready!"
Sakura sweatdropped. "Right," she turned to the light, raising her key-staff at the ready position. Over the years she had done a lot of research, as well as exchanged information with Li, and with that she had a good guess what she was dealing with.
The light shimmered, shifting, but this time not into her mother. Instead a image of Tomoyo appeared, but not the usual version. Naked she extended a hand in invitation, her breasts rising and falling as she gave Sakura a seductive look...
"No," Sakura shoot off the spell, summoning her will. "Illusion card, return to your power confined," she yelled as she struck with her staff, "Illusion!" The woman flickered a moment, her dress sparkling, then with a wordless curse swirled into the form of a card and dropped into Sakura's hands.
"Oooh, very nice," Tomoyo said as she put the camera away. She gave Sakura a curious look, "It seemed like she tried her illusions on you again, what did you see?"
Sakura blushed beet red. "It was nothing," she lied.
"Oh really?" Tomoyo raised a eyebrow as they started back to the car. "Tell," she insisted.
"No," Sakura shook her head.
"Please?" Tomoyo batted her eyes.
Sakura fought back a laugh, "Still no."
"Aww, come on!"
"No, no, no."
"I'll give you a cookie?"
"Tomoyo!"
To be continued...