Sakura: Knight of the Clow:
Twenty Two
Kaho Mitsuki smiled slightly as her secretary brought the documents in. "Why does Tomoyo insist on giving me a print out now?" the tall, brown haired older woman wondered out loud as she took the papers from Mei-Lin, "She could always email it to me."
"I don't know," Mei-lin answered diplomatically, the Asian girl smiling sweetly as she waited a moment for further orders.
"Don't give me that," Kaho gave her a skeptical look.
Mei-lin shrugged as she admitted, "I think handing you a printout reduces the temptation to edit her copy."
"Heh," Kaho smiled, "she forgets I'm a old fashioned reporter. I can edit her work with a pen as easily as on my computer."
"You can edit by pen?" Mei-lin teased, blinking her eyes innocently as if the idea was completely new to her.
"Get back to work," Kaho mock growled at Mei-lin as she bent over the papers, "before I have to spank you."
"Yes ma'am," Mei-lin smiled as she turned and headed back out to her desk just outside of Kaho's door.
Chuckling to herself Kaho read through the papers, nodding at times in approval. Tomoyo had done a good job tracing a scandal in city hall, following the money right back to the public works manager. The only annoying thing was that the trail stopped there. Kaho's instinct told her it went higher still, but proving it would be another matter.
Quickly, Kaho opened up a email on her computer. "Tomoyo," she wrote, "am approving story, but keep nosing around. I feel certain there's more too it than just the manager."With a nod she sent it, then sat back and drank her cold coffee.
'I wonder if I should pull Tomoyo off the Clow case?' Kaho mused, 'She might be losing her edge for the city related stories.' With a sigh she shook her head, 'No, Tomoyo is our best source on this. No way Sakura would let anyone else get as close as we are.'
"Chief," Yukito stuck his head in the door, the photographer smiling slightly, "a group of us are going to lunch. Want to come?"
"Am I paying again?" Kaho asked, remembering the last time she had been stuck with the bill. Yukito, not to mention the other reporters, ate like starving wolves.
"We're doing Dutch," Yukito smiled as he quickly added the important detail, "and my section gets figured separately."
Kaho chuckled as she rose, "Then yeah, I'll join you."
"I'll mind the store," Mei-lin said as Kaho walked by then called to the leaving reporters, "but someone please order me some take out!"
"Right," Tomoyo nodded as she held the door for Kaho, her look just a bit wary.
There had been a bit of tension between the two of them since they had both been at Sonomi's birthday party. Kaho had said she forgave the young lady for holding back on the Knight of the Clow's identity, but clearly Tomoyo wasn't sure she believed her.
'And I suppose Tomoyo's right about that, in a way,' Kaho silently admitted. The truth was she did feel angry towards Tomoyo, angry and disappointed. She had believed Tomoyo to be a good, devoted reporter, and discovering that Tomoyo could willingly withhold key facts from a story was rather surprising.
"Here we go," Rika smiled as the group reached a small café nearby the paper's offices, a usual hang out for the staff.
"Thank you," Kaho smiled to her as they entered. "Someone grab the corner table," she ordered as a few others headed to the counter.
Within a few minutes several orders of soup, sandwiches and other items were ordered and on their way as the reporters took over their usual corner spot. They sat down and dug in, even as conversation also began to flow.
"Nice job of the corruption story," Chiharu Mihara noted, the assistant editor munching on a roll as her usual twin ponytails bounced on her shoulders.
"Thanks," Tomoyo smiled, "though I have to confess to getting lucky, too. If I hadn't been out chasing the Knight story, I'd never have seen the bribe exchange with the city director of public works."
"At least you were sharp enough to spot it," Rika noted.
"And to do the digging to find out what was going on," Kaho agreed.
Tomoyo blushed charmingly. "Anyway," she waved that off, "how deep do you think his honor the mayor is in on this?"
Chiharu sighed, "Yamazaki is a habitual liar, was since school." She paused, "I still find it hard to believe he got elected."
Rika cleared her throat and gave Tomoyo a pointed look.
'Oh, they were school friends,' Kaho suddenly remembered. All three of them, Rika, Chiharu and the mayor Yamazaki had gone to school together, only separating in high school. There were also rumors around the office that Yamazaki and Chiharu had been more than just friends, too.
"So," Yukito changed the subject a bit, "Have any of you read Naoko Yanagisawa's new novel?" He smiled even as he filled his face with food, "I really liked it."
"Hard to believe out daydreaming friend could become such a good novelist," Chiharu agreed brightly. "I don't usually like fantasy but I got pulled in."
"I heard she got a good quote from Nenene Sumerigawa," Tomoyo noted, "and she's infamous in not giving out quotes."
"I've never tried it," Kaho admitted, "what's it about?"
"A girl finds a magic book that brings her dreams to life," Rika explained, "but things turn out much more messy than she expects."
"I can imagine," Kaho admitted.
"I'll lend you my copy later," Tomoyo offered cheerfully.
Kaho nodded, "Thanks, I may take you up on that." As she spooned up some soup she reflected, 'I wonder if Tomoyo and Sonomi are talking more? They actually seemed to be getting along a few days ago...'
If anything good had come out of that disastrous birthday party, it had been a thawing of the ongoing cold war between Sonomi and Tomoyo. The attendance at the birthday party and the attack of the Water had been messy, but after the food fight in the back yard Sonomi and Tomoyo had nearly seemed friendly.
'Of course,' Kaho thought as she polished off her sandwich, 'I can't arrange a disaster at each event I get the two of them to attend.' She smirked, 'Though I suppose I could ask Sakura to pull something...'
"You have the most evil smile on your face, boss," Chiharu noted, "you aren't planning something bad at work, are you?"
Kaho fought back a blush at how transparent her expression must have been. "Would I do that?" she asked with a smile.
"In a minute," both Chiharu, Rika, Tomoyo and Yukito chimed together.
Kaho scowled, "Just wait till raise time, you'll regret that."
"Don't worry," Yukito said quietly, "the day before we'll convince Sonomi to do something nice for you, so you'll be in a VERY good mood."
"Sexist," Tomoyo slapped him on the arm, "Just because things work like that between you and Toya does not mean it works that way for Kaho."
"Are you implying that I'm easy?" Yukito tried to look offended but his smile sort of countered that.
"You said it," Rika snickered.
'My staff is crazy,' Kaho thought as they got the bill from a amused waitress, 'but damn are they entertaining.'
To be continued...
Sakura: Knight of the Clow:
Twenty Three
"Water!" Mei-lin yelled, the black haired young woman unleashing the water card to sweep across the flames.
"Thanks," Sakura grinned, the flaming figure looking startled as the brown haired woman readied her battle staff. "Spark," she cried, "return to your power confined!"
The shimmering figure fought a moment, then willingly surrendered as it flowed into a simple looking card that dropped into Sakura's hand. On the front was a young woman holding a small flame cupped protectively in her hands.
"It's pretty," Mei-lin admitted as she looked it over.
"Yes, it is," Sakura agreed as she tucked the card away, "it's the minor incarnation of the fire element."
"Minor incarnation?" Mei-Lin blinked.
"We'll have to face the full power of Fire later," Sakura confessed. Pushing back her hood she grabbed Mei-lin's hand, "We'd better hurry before someone comes."
"Calm down," Mei-lin said, though she was clearly not bothered by Sakura holding her hand. "Just walk slowly away from the scene," she advised, "panicked fleeing just draws more attention to you."
"You're right," Sakura admitted as they left the side street, glad that this neighborhood was mostly quiet over night.
Mei-lin kept a firm hold of Sakura's hand as she carefully guided them to a spot she knew, feeling a slight thrill at the contact. "Do you need to get back home?" she wondered, her simple red dress swirling around her legs.
Even with her cloak on Sakura looked more boyish, having chosen pants and a basic shirt to wear for their quest to bring in a Clow Card. Despite the fact she chose clothes for practicality, Sakura still managed to look cute. "Well, I need to sleep for work tomorrow," Sakura admitted, "but other than that..."
'Good,' Mei-lin thought, 'she didn't mention going home or to see Tomoyo...' Aloud she said, "Do you want to get something to eat?"
Almost on cue Sakura's stomach growled softly. "Sorry," she blushed faintly, "I'd love something to eat."
"Come on then," Mei-lin tugged on Sakura's hand as she said, "we're near Shinjuku and I know just the place!"
"Don't tug," Sakura laughed, following.
It wasn't too obvious that there was even a club there as Mei-lin led them up both up a flight of stairs a few blocks later, both of them a bit out of breath from tonight's exertions. Tucked away in a high rise with a kareoke box and a manga store was a sign for Lily's, up on the third floor and at the corner of the building.
"This is...?" Sakura looked at her questioningly.
Mei-lin smiled gently as she opened the door and repeated, "Come on."
Inside was a small room, but carefully arranged for the maximum space. Along the inside wall was a bar, lined with people looking at them curiously, while up against the windows small tables looked out at the glittering city.
"Hoeee..." Sakura murmured softly as they passed by the eyes of the women who filled the little club.
The blue haired woman at the bar smiled, her gestures smooth and elegant. "Good to see you, Mei-lin," she said then dropped her voice, "who's your cute friend?"
"This is my friend Sakura," Mei-lin smiled, "Sakura, this is my friend Umi, who runs this place with her girlfriends Hikaru and Fuu."
"Do you have to tell about my girlfriends?" Umi complained cheerfully, "It completely spoils my chance to pick up unwary girls."
"She's joking," Mei-lin reassured the mildly stunned Sakura.
"She's right," Umi agreed, "I'm pretty much harmless." She turned to the assortment of drinks, "What can I get you?"
"Beer for me," Mei-lin said, then looked questioningly at Sakura.
Sakura frowned slightly, "Rum and coke, easy on the rum."
"Coming right up," Umi used the fountain to pour a drink for Mei-lin then poured a bit of rum in a glass and added coke.
"Thank you," Mei-lin said, "put it on my tab." She lead the way to a window seat, where they looked out over a busy road. "I hope I haven't surprised you," she said quietly.
"Sort of," Sakura smiled slightly as she said, "but mostly because I was expecting some little café, not this..."
"Oops," Mei-lin blushed. 'Damn it,' she thought, 'I pushed her it seems.' She looked at Sakura, "So you're not shocked?"
Sakura actually chuckled softly as she took a drink, "I work in a museum. I deal with gay and lesbian artists all the time."
"Good," and with that Mei-lin reached over to take her hand.
Sakura met her eyes questioningly, "Mei-lin?"
Giving into the urge Mei-lin leaned forward a bit, gently pressing her lips to Sakura's in answer to her question. To her dismay she felt Sakura stiffen up then pull back, and both sat there awkwardly a moment in silence.
"I'm sorry," Mei-lin finally said.
Sakura was blushing furiously, "Mei-lin, I didn't realize..."
'God she's innocent,' Mei-lin sighed, realizing that Sakura had been entirely unaware of Mei-lin's feelings towards her. "It's all right," she made herself say, even though she felt like she had been punched in the gut.
Sakura sighed softly, "This time I'm sorry." She looked up, "How long...?"
"Have I had a crush on you?" Mei-lin finished. She shrugged, "A few weeks."
"I feel very stupid right now," Sakura admitted.
"Not your fault," Mei-lin said as she smoothly finished her beer. Noticing that Sakura was done her rum and coke she rose, "Wanna get out of here?"
"Can we get a sandwich to go?" Sakura asked plaintively.
Mei-lin had to smile, "Sure.
"Leaving so soon?" Umi asked, her expression sympathetic.
"Yeah," Mei-lin shrugged uncomfortably as she put in a order for two sandwiches to go.
Handing the bag over a few moments later Umi softly said, "Don't be a stranger, I'm sure Hikaru and Fuu would love to see you."
They went down the stairs in silence, then Mei-lin unwrapped the sandwiches and passed one to Sakura. "Thanks," Sakura said as she took a bite, "do you know Umi well?"
"We've been friends for a while," Mei-lin admitted as she munched her own food. She looked at Sakura hesitantly, "This isn't going to stop you from working with me, will it?"
Saukra reached out and squeezed Mei-lin's shoulder as she promised, "Of course not."
Mei-lin was good at reading people, and she was glad to see no nervousness or fear in Sakura's eyes. "I'm glad," she smiled.
To be continued...
Sakura, Knight of the Clow
Chapter 24
"Well, that was interesting," Kero staggered away, the winged lion collapsing weakly before shimmering into her human form. The slightly battered woman looked up through golden hair, "Why did we do this again?"
Yue sat down beside her, his blue hair flowing gracefully as he made his wings disappear. "I wanted to see if the barrier still existed," he sighed as they looked up at the old clock tower, "and it appears it still does."
"Way to go, Mr Obvious," Kero sighed. She sat up tiredly as she asked, "You think the artifact is in there?"
"The barrier and the artifact go together," Yue reminded her, "it's in there."
"So how do we get at it?" Kero asked. "It's mostly immune to our powers," she thought to herself out loud.
"But the powers of others might work," Yue nodded thoughtfully.
Kero smiled, glad their thoughts were running in the same direction, "So how do you want to maneuver her?"
"Oh," Yue rose before offering Kero his hand to help pull her up, "I'm sure we can think of something."
Meanwhile, Tomoyo Daidouji took off her coat, the black haired woman frowning as she tried to digest what she had just learned. 'Damn that Mei-lin,' she thought as she strode through her apartment, 'how DARE she...?!'
Of course, what really annoyed Tomoyo was how Mei-lin nearly got the drop on her, taking out Sakura on a date like that. Thankfully Sakura wasn't interested in her the same way, but it still stunned Tomoyo that the other woman could be so aggressive.
"I suppose I should have expected it," Tomoyo said to herself as she sat down with a sigh, "Sakura is so cute anyone would be tempted." She smiled as she thought of Sakura's many fine qualities, from her lovely hair to her shapely body...
The ringing phone was a unwelcome interruption, and part of her was tempted to let the answering machine get it. But it could be a tip or a message from one of her confidential sources, and one of them likely wouldn't leave a message...
"Tomoyo Daidouji speaking," she picked it up, making her voice sound brisk.
"Hey Tomoyo," the quiet voice answered, as usual sounding like he was whispering through a paper bag.
Tomoyo sat up in her seat, quickly reaching out to grab the notepad she kept by her phone. While her contact always disguised his or her voice, the information that this particular contact had provided her was almost always accurate. "Hey," she answered cautiously, "what do you have for me?"
"His honor the mayor is pretty upset," the voice answered quietly, "I think he's taking your corruption story personally."
"Then he should be keeping his hands cleaner," Tomoyo answered dryly. The fallout from her recent corruption story in city hall was still being felt on the council, and the mayor's approval ratings were terribly low. While so far nothing had stuck to him directly, most citizens felt he either was involved or should have known about it and stopped it.
"Maybe," her source conceded as he continued, "but since he doesn't dare take a shot at you directly, he's been pulling strings to target someone associated with you."
"Oh?" Tomoyo frowned.
"The head of the museum owes him some favors," the voice said grimly, "the mayor is trying to get your friend Sakura fired."
Tomoyo jerked up in surprise, "Son of a bitch!"
"His honor's certainly that," her contact agreed. "I'll try to get more information to you, but I can't promise anything," and with that Tomoyo heard just the dial tone.
With a grim expression Tomoyo put the phone down, her own thoughts racing. While she had expected the Mayor to bear a grudge against her, she hadn't expected him to do something like this. 'And I should have,' Tomoyo admitted silently, knowing how dirty the last fight for the mayor's office had been.
With a few phone calls to other reliable sources Tomoyo quickly confirmed that yes, the head of the museum was a close personal friend of the mayor, and that a review of Sakura's position at the museum was coming up. A few more calls to people that Tomoyo knew on the museum's board let them know what the mayor was up to, and she hoped they'd act to help protect Sakura from a unjust review.
'There's only one person I haven't called,' Tomoyo put her hand on the phone, hesitating before making herself dial.
"Sonomi Daidouji's office," the perfectly professional secretary answered crisply as she asked, "how may I help you?"
"I'd like to speak with Sonomi," Tomoyo answered, noting that it seemed to be a new girl. 'Or at least I don't recognize the voice,' she thought.
"May I ask who's calling?" the secretary asked, her tone of voice implying that unless you were the Prime Minister of Japan, you were not getting through.
Fighting back a smile she answered, "This is her daughter, Tomoyo. Is Sonomi in?"
"Oh," the tone of the secretary's voice changed completely, "I'll see if she's in."
"I'd appreciate that," Tomoyo smiled faintly as she waited.
"Here you go," the secretary paused a moment, "And I wanted to say I'm a big fan. I've been following your career, and your writing is brilliant."
Tomoyo blushed, "Thank you."
"Who are you," Sonomi sounded very amused as she came on, "and how did you charm my new, normally frightening secretary?"
Tomoyo had to chuckle softly, "She likes good writing?"
"I suppose I'll let that go," Sonomi said, a smile evident in her tone of voice.
'My goodness, I think we're actually getting along,' Tomoyo thought to herself wryly, wondering if her mother had changed or if she had possibly grown up a bit.
"So," Sonomi said after a moment, "to what I owe the pleasure of this call?"
Tomoyo felt her usual reluctance to call on her mother rise up, and firmly squashed it. "I have a problem," she admitted, "and I need your help."
"Oh?" Sonomi actually sounded a bit surprised.
"It's complicated," Tomoyo admitted as she sketched in the mayors reaction to her story and his possible move against Sakura.
"That son of a...," Sonomi cursed softly, her fury visible even over the phone. "I know politics can be dirty, but this is too much," she said flatly.
"Agreed," Tomoyo said to her mother quietly, "I've got his opponents on the museum board primed to fight this if needed, but I was wondering if you know of any ways to pull his teeth in a more... direct way?"
Sonomi thought about it, "I never contributed to his campaign, so I can't threaten him with that, but I think I know who did."
Tomoyo leaned forward in her chair, "And you think they'll...?"
"The president of CLAMP University would be most upset by this," Sonomi reassured her, "trust me, once I talk to her he's in serious trouble."
"Good," Tomoyo said as she relaxed again.
Sonomi paused for a moment then added in a much quieter tone of voice, "Thank you for asking, Tomoyo."
"Eh?" Tomoyo blinked.
"You haven't asked for my help very often," Sonomi said to her daughter simply, "it feels nice to help you for a change."
Tomoyo almost wanted to snap at her mother, but she understood it was more reflex than anything. "I'm glad you could help," she answered honestly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Sonomi answered. She paused then added teasingly, "I don't suppose you could warn me, next time you find a scandal at the company?"
Tomoyo felt herself smile, "Oh I'll think about it."
Sonomi chuckled, "I'll believe that when I see it." She paused then added with some annoyance, "My overly efficient secretary just reminded me of a appointment, I have to go."
"Then I'll let you go," Tomoyo paused before deciding to add, "but I'll call you later."
"I'd like that," Sonomi agreed before they said their farewells.
As Tomoyo set the phone down she sighed, sitting back in her chair. It felt good, fighting for Sakura like this, and hopefully the lady would never know Tomoyo had needed to do it. At least, Tomoyo hoped her innocent friend wouldn't find out, she didn't need to know about scum like the mayor.
"I feel like celebrating," Tomoyo mused as she looked out at the evening sky, "maybe I'll call Sakura and see if she wants to share dinner?"
To be continued...