Sakura: Knight of the Clow
Thirty Four
The streets of the city were loud and crazy as the things boiled up from the sewers. The creatures seemed to be composed of some sort of solid muck or slime, but could move forward reasonably quickly. Worse whatever they touched began to bubble, burn and melt.
"They're acid slimes from a video game," Sakura blinked, mildly amused as they watched the chaos unfold from a nearby rooftop.
"But they're more active," Tomoyo noted.
Mei-lin watched the things swarming up from the sewers as she sighed, "Enough commentary, what do we DO about it? There are police and reporters everywhere."
"The police can't even hurt them," Sakura shook her head, "I have to try to stop them, even if it's in public."
"Actually, I think I have a solution," Tomoyo offered.
"You're kidding me," Mei-lin noted as she took in the newest costumes to come out of Tomoyo's demented mind.
"Why superhero costumes?" Sakura blinked. Though admittedly the one for her was only sort of super hero.. it had ruffles, for instance.
"I will concede I was watching the X-Men films when I designed them," Tomoro conceded, "but the mask should help keep Sakura from being recognized."
"Why do one up for me?" Mei-lin had to ask as she looked critically at the plainer one colored in red and black.
Tomoyo clasped her hands together, "Every hero needs a sidekick!"
Mei-lin just GLARED at her for a moment, but then grabbed the costume. "Okay, okay, let' get changed," she sighed. "Nothing to lose but our dignity."
"We had dignity?" Sakura asked wryly as they changed.
Tomoyo laughed softly as the reporter used her camera to get a few shots of the creatures melting a car. They were joking mostly to cover up how serious this all was. Up until now they had managed to keep the monsters contained, pretty much. Now they were out in the open, and who knew what would happen next?
"Yukito?" Tomoyo phoned her trusty cameraperson and asked, "You okay?"
"So far," Yukito answered her dryly. "I'm on street level, getting some shots of the police in action," he explained.
"Don't get too close," she cautioned, Tomoyo frowning as the car just turned into a bubbling mass, "these things are dangerous."
"Maybe, but have you noticed... they haven't actually hurt anyone yet? Machines & stuff, yes. But no melted people," Yukito pointed out.
"Huh, you're right," Tomoyo agreed, watching the things advancing. Mind you, they were not fast and people were keeping ahead of them, but still... "I'll tell Sakura," she told him.
"Be careful yourself," Yukito added before hanging up.
Tomoyo turned, her eyes widening as she took on Sakura. The body suit was tight, a kevlar derivative, and hugged Sakura's slim, athletic form. Her pert breats were very evident, and if Tomoyo was slightly more evil minded, she'd probably be having a nosebleed right then.
"Wipe your mouth, you're drooling," Mei-lin snarked, wearing a similar outfit.
Tomoyo glared at her, but also wiped her chin, just in case. "How does moving in it feel?" she asked professionally as Sakura's cloak swirled around her.
"Very comfortable," Sakura admitted. "Why a full hood?" she asked, pulling it up so it hid her hair, leaving just eyes and mouth exposed.
"Your face has been in the press a few times," Tomoyo said wryly, knowing some of that was her fault. "I'd rather give people as few cues to recognizing you as possible."
"Your so smart, Tomoyo," Sakura smiled warmly.
Tomoyo did her best not to blush as she waved that off. "You have your gear?" she addressed Sakura, then looked at Mei Lin. "Do you want to borrow my tonfa?" she asked, referring to the charged combat baton she used.
"Should be fine, I think," Mei-lin said.
As Sakura and Mei-lin moved to jump off the edge of the ceiling Tomoyo called, "You two be careful, please."
"Always am," Sakura said as they jumped.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Windy," Sakura yelled as she grasped the card, "ease our fall!"
Sakura felt a surge of relief as Windy manifested, the air spirit creating a powerful updraft that slowed their fall to the street. The wind deposited them lightly, then the spirit lingered by her side as they hurried down the alley to the street.
The acid slimes were advancing up the street, while the police were doing their best to clear the streets and set up a defensive line. There were a lot of damaged cars and property, but thankfully no bodies. Yet, anyway.
"Water card!" Mei-lin drew out the card she had been given, the water sprite forming from liquid to stand beside her.
"Greetings, Mistress," Water purred, then kissed Mei-lin's cheek.
"Hoee?" Sakura blinked.
"Later," a faintly blushing Mei-lin told her quickly.
"Hey, you two!" one of the cops called worriedly, "This ain't a cosplay convention! Get out of here, it's dangerous!"
"Do you have a plan?" Mei-lin asked, ignoring him.
"Not really," Sakura conceded, "I thought I'd try Windy, see if I can catch these things. If that doesn't work, I'll try something else."
"All right," Mei-lin nodded, "try that first."
"Windy!" Sakura cried as she gestured, "become the chain and bind my enemies!"
To say that stunned the cops into silence was a understatement as they watched the wind creature sweep down the street towards the creatures. She waved a 'arm' and slashed across one slime, cutting the thing in half! Even better, the critter seemed to dissolve, melting into the earth.
"That went better than expected," Mei-lin noted. "Water," she commanded with a gesture, "sweep them away!"
Water and Windy struck at the slimes, each one destroying them with surprising ease. However there were a LOT of the critters, and it took time to destroy each one. Finally, they managed to get rid of the last and send the cards away as well.
The cops cheered, then began to advance on the two heroines. "I do NOT want to try explaining this to the cops," Mei-Lin said seriously.
"Probably NOT a good idea to stick around," Sakura agreed as she drew another card out. "Fly!" she commanded.
"Oof," Mei-lin grunted as Sakura carried her aloft, the two women disappearing into the sky as the cops watched in awe.
From the street, Yukito snapped ff a few more shots, smiling slightly. "This is gonna look great in tomorrows paper," he noted, then started plotting how he'd slip by the police lines.
Up on the roof Tomoyo watched Sakura varrying Mei-lin and had to firmly stomp on her initial, jealous response. And honestly, she couldn't see how else Sakura could carry her, using fly. Well, a bridal carry could work, but that would have made her MORE jealous than just hugging.
"Are you two all right?" Tomoyo asked as she hurried over to where they landed.
"I'm fine," Mei-lin said dryly as Tomoyo inspected Sakura top to bottom.
"You don't need to fuss," Sakura blushed but looked kind of pleased by the attention.
"That was kind of anti-climatic, really," Mei-lin noted with a sigh. She looked thoughtful, "I wonder what that was all about?"
Sakura made a face, "I wish I knew. It didn't feel like a Clow card, at least..."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Clow Reed was very disappointed at how all this had turned out. Disappointed, and actually a bit disturbed too. The now blond haired, blue eyed mage made his way from where he had been covertly watching events unfold, heading up the street past the oblivious cops.
Clow had leaned from his earlier encounter with Sakura. He had carefully layered a transformation spell with concealing veils. He would not be recognized, AND the magics were largely invisible. The only problem is that he occassionally got mistaken for someone called 'Ichihgo.'
With a sigh Clow headed towards one of the city's many parks. He thought better, surrounded by greenery. He had summoned the creatures from the depths to test the card user, and they SHOULD have been a difficult test. They were creatures that, when he was younger, he would have had trouble with. Not a LOT of trouble, admittedly. But trouble.
But somehow the two women defeated them with ease. It shouldn't have been possible, but it happened.
"Hey mac," the rat asked, "you gotta peanut?"
Clow looked down at the rodent, blinking. "No," he answered, shaking his head.
"Fair enough," and the rat scampered off.
Clow sighed. This modern world was strange. Anyway... either the cards were more powerful, or the two women were. Either way, he would have to find something more powerful to test them against...
To be continued...
Notes: Yes, I like the talking rats. They'll keep cameoing for a bit.
Sakura: Knight of the Clow
Chapter 35
It hit the newspapers and the TV news, though honestly that wasn't that surprising. The 'Knight' had been in the news before, mostly in Tomoyo's stories, but so far they had only photos to prove she was real. Now she, and the monsters she fought, were splashed on the nightly news.
"Oh no," Sakura whimpered as she saw the video get reused again. The silly jump off the building, her skirt fluttering embarrassingly...
"I think you look fine," Tomoyo patted her on the arm as they sat watching the news in her apartment. 'GOD Sakura looked hot,' she thought dreamily.
"The costume is lovely," Sakura said diplomatically, not wanting to hurt her lover's feelings, "but I look ridiculous."
Tomoyo smiled wryly, "No, Mei-Lin looks bad. You're fine."
"Well, look on the bright side...," Sakura sighed, "no one is going to question your stories about me any more."
Tomoyo made a face at that comment. "Don't remind me... apparently several TV stations want to interview me," she sighed. Pouting she added, "I cover the news, I don't want to BE it."
Sakura hugged her, but didn't remark that it had been Tomoyo's choice to write stories about her in the first place. It would be mean, under the circumstances. "If the reporters get too pushy, you could always ask Kaho to handle it," she suggested.
Tomoyo snickered softly, "I bet she'd enjoy it too."
In fact, Kaho Mitsuki WAS enjoying dishing out a little payback. The Times had faced a certain amount of ridicule for running the Knight stories, and several news services in the city had openly mocked them. They were not mocking them now that the heroine had been caught on the news, live and in colour.
"No, I will not offer you and exclusive," Kaho noted, sitting back in her chair, feet resting on her desk, "why?" She smiled coldly, "You DO remember the opinion peace you published on 'Tomoyo's fantasy' right?"
Mei Lin watched with some amusement as her boss clearly enjoyed herself.
"Yes, I nurse grudges a long time. How? Tough nipples. Bye bye," and Kaho hung up on him with a loud thump.
"Who was that, if I may ask?" Mei Lin wondered.
"A Chinese based broadcaster who ragged on Tomoyo," Kaho shrugged. "I will pass on the message to her, though."
"Oh?" Mei Lin asked.
"Apparently there are monster sightings over in China too," Kaho noted. "Might relate to our local problem."
Mei Lin raised her eyebrows. "I'll contact my family, they might have additional leads," she offered politely.
"We'd appreciate it," Kaho nodded. She smiled impishly, "That was a cute costume you were in, by the way."
Mei Lin rolled her eyes, "Your reporter is nuts, you know that?"
"We prefer calling her eccentric," Kaho laughed.
"Either way...," Me Lin laughed. "Anyway, I'll put in some calls. If things are getting crazy in China, it could be big news."
Kaho picked up the phone, dialing smoothly. "Tomoyo?" she asked.
"No, this is Sakura. May I ask who's calling?" the amused voice noted.
"Doctor, my apologies," Kaho started, then laughed. "I think you picked up Tomoyo's phone, miss." she noted.
There was a moment's silence then Sakura sheepishly replied, "Oops. I'll put her on."
A few seconds later Tomoyo came on, "Yes, boss?"
"We're fielding a lot of calls for you," Kaho came right to the point, "and there are news crews parked in front of the building."
"Crap," Tomoyo sighed. "Sorry boss."
"Hey, more publicity equals more newspaper sales," Kaho shrugged. She continued, "I would suggest you lie low a few days until the heat dies down. Have they hit your home yet?"
"I lease via a third party, so my name isn't listed publicly," Tomoyo shrugged, having learned the value of privacy as a young woman. "But I expect they will figure it out eventually, and I have a retreat set up if needed."
"Occasionally, you worry me," Kaho joked. Somewhat more seriously she continued, "You should also work out a story about how you met the Knight, for interview purposes."
"I...," Tomoyo started.
"And don't tell me you won't do interviews," Kaho cut her off, "we both know you'll have to do one eventually. So be prepared."
"Yes mother," Tomoyo drawled mockingly.
There was a pause. "Considering I'm dating your mother, that was just a bit creepy," Kaho sighed. "Which reminds me, have you phoned her lately?" she asked.
"She's nagging you again?" Tomoyo sighed.
Kaho laughed, "I will neither confirm or deny that, as I value my continued health."
"I promise I'll call her," Tomoyo gave in gracefully.
"And now I'll let you get back to whatever lewd things you were doing to your girlfriend," Kaho teased.
"We were not..." Tomoyo started, but Kaho hung up on her.
Kaho smiled to herself cheerfully. It was always fun to rile up Tomoyo, she was way too serious at times. Still, there was work to be done, including a editorial she had to write. Possibly a comment on noble perseverence in seeking the truth no matter what anyone else said.
Kaho smirked. It was good to be editor...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The man who called himself Yue Susanoo was nervously pacing the front enterance way of the museum. "Where IS she?" he muttered.
Caroline, real identity Keroberos, hurried up the steps. "Sorry," she apologized, the attractive young woman's breasts bouncing as she ran.
"You rally should wear a bra," Yue sighed.
Caroline looked amused, "The men I deal with clearly enjoy the view."
Yue ran a hand through his hair tiredly. "Let's just get out of here," he said as they hurried down the stairs and away.
"Had any luck sniffing out Clow Reed?" Caroline asked quietly once they were away from the museum and any co-workers of Yue.
"Nothing," Yue shook his head, "I tried using the real artifacts in the museum to track him, but no luck."
"And I can't pick up his trail from the tower," Caroline grumped, "It just... isn't there."
"So he's either hiding from us, or we're much less sensitive than we thought and can't find him," Yue concluded grouchilly.
"Why would he hide from us?" Caroline complained. "We're his allies! We even sent Water to that woman's party, just to make sure she awakened."
"Being reincarnated may have changed his mind," Yue sighed. "Either way, we can't rely on him to be friendly."
"Well, crap," Caroline muttered. She looked thoughtful, "Should we offer our assistance to Sakura?"
Yue looked at her in surprise, "Are you insane?"
"We know how bad it got last time," Caroline noted, "And if Clow refuses to help... we may HAVE to turn to her."
Yue shuddered visibly. "We'll see if she can even capture the remaining cards," he said, "besides, we could still contact Clow."
"Let's hope," Caroline sighed.
To be continued...
Note: Misaki Mei and Sochiro are from the manga and anime Ghosttalker's Daydream. You do not have to read that to understand this chapter, and I haven't decided if they will be ongoing characters. I have one one other fanfic on the series, but it's not for younger readers.
Sakura: Knight of the Clow
Chapter 35: Going Public
The news reader continued, "The supposed 'Knight' was caught on live TV showing what appeared to be supernatural abilities."
The now aired many, many times clip of the cloaked figure commanding a wind spirit to bind the sludge monsters aired. The way the cloak worked it made it impossible to see the woman's face, though you could see the bird-staff and get a sense she was female from her general body shape.
"While there were rumours that it way merely sa publicity stunt for a new film, reports from police and emergency services confirmed it actually happened," the news reader added. He sounded just a bit annoyed, since this station was one of the ones that had run the 'faked' stories.
Clearing his throat he added, "The Japanese Government has released a official statement on these events."
A stiff looking official appeared on film, looking very uncomfortable. Clearing his throat he said, "In light of recent events, the police and security services will be re-opening unsolved cases and what were considered 'crank' reports."
"Have you contacted The Times for information?" a reporter called.
The older man looked like he was gritting his teeth. Clearly they did NOT like the idea a newspaper reporter had gotten the jump on them. He replied, "Yes, we will be working closely with the times, and their staff, in this matter."
There was a barrage of more shouted questions, including "Will the government officially recognize the supernatural in general?" but the segment cut off there.
"Of course," the news reader briskly continued, "we will update this story as more facts become available."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"So, we're going to have a meeting with government spooks?" Tomoyo asked wryly, sitting with her boss in the editor's office.
"Apparently," Kaho agreed, "two folks from the Living Envirnoment Division. Seems they've used that agency to look into similar stuff before now."
"That's an odd name," Tomoyo blinked.
"I suspect they didn't want anyone knowing what they actually were doing," Kaho noted cynically.
Before Tomoyo could answer Mei-lin buzzed the intercom. "Your one thirty appointment is here, ma'am," she said formally.
"Send them in," Kaho ordered, mildly amused.
The pair that entered the office were both as expected and unexpected. The man came across as a typical salaryman, and appeared to be in charge. Identifying himself as Soichiro, he seemed polite but serious as he sat across from Kaho.
The woman, however, seemed entirely unsuited to government work. She was an albino, interestingly enough, with white hair, pale skin and the oddest red eyes. She was also in a dress that was VERY tight and short.. quite inappropriate for a government type.
"Misaki Mei," the woman introduced herself, "professional medium."
"Verging on small," Tomoyo noted impishly.
Misaki snickered. "I get that alot," the short woman shrugged.
Sochiro cleared his throat. "You received our credentials, ma'am?" he asked Kaho politely.
"I did," Kaho conceded, "but it doesn't actually explain what you do very well."
"Because admitting on paper that you're ghost busters tends to make people give you odd looks," Misaki noted.
"Makes sense," Tomoyo agreed. "So how do you...?"
"Functionally I let the spirit control me, we find out why it's lingering and convince it to go," Misaki summarized.
"That's got to be frightening," Kaho offered.
Misaki shrugged, "You get used to it."
"That doesn't sound too useful against the sorts of monsters that are turning up," Tomoyo observed.
"Oh no, we're not fighting them," Sochiro said quickly. "We're just at the data gathering stage, our superiors will assess the next step."
"Somehow I'm not filled with confidence," Kaho noted as she passed copies of their files over. They were keeping the originals, of course.
"I'm hurt," Sochiro sighed.
Misaki ignored that as she reviewed the files on some of the creatures they knew had turned up, as well as historical stuff they couldn't solidly prove. "Nasty stuff," she noted mildly. "Are there any hints on how to fight them?" she asked.
"Police reports and other sources seem to show conventional guns are ineffective," Tomoyo told them, "and against the slug things last week, guns did nothing."
"Do, just swords and medieval weapons," Misaki concluded. "That's gong to suck. And our bosses are NOT going to be happy."
"I know conventional pistols don't work," Kaho noted, "but had anyone tried military grade weapons? A machine gun might do it."
Tomoyo tried to remember if Sakura had mentioned anything like that. She thought not. "It might be worth a try," she agreed.
"Anyway, thank you for the information," Sochiro bowed slightly as he added, "we'll contact you again, I'm sure."
"If this goes public, we want first dibs," Kaho warned as they left.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Father is going to have a fit," Misaki noted as they headed out to the car.
Misaki's father was a powerful Japanese politician, and he was NOT going to be happy seeing these reports. His fellows were expecting a 'easy' solution to this monster situation, but just looking at the news reports they could tell it wasn't going to be that. And these files made it look even worse.
"They aren't going to expect US to fight these things, are they?" Sochiro asked as they reached the car and their waiting driver.
"No, though we might end up supervising things," Misaki noted thoughtfully.
"Oh joy," the normally cowardly Sochiro sighed.
"Mr Sochiro," their driver got out and opened a door for Misaki, "and Lady Misaki. Things went well?"
"Fairly well," Sochiro got into the passenger seat up front.
Misaki climbed in the back as she grumbled, "DO you HAVE to call me Lady?"
The attractive blonde winked as Haruna Tamura added fake innocently, "Would you rather I call you mistress?"
Misaki growled as Sochiro chuckled. In Misaki's side job, she worked as a professional dominatrix. Why? Because it paid substantially better than government work, and she found she had a knack for it. Amusingly before she started out as Sochiro's assistant, Haruna had been a customer of Misaki's. And now teased her a bit about it...
"Where to?" Haruna asked as she started the car.
"Back to the office. We'll need to write up a summary then pass the reports up the chain of command," Sochiro decided.
"Aye aye," Haruna said cheerfully and they drove off.
"What do you think, will your father successfully recruit this 'Knight?' Sochiro asked Misaki, both aware of their boss's plans.
"I really, really doubt it," Misaki said honestly.
To be continued...
Notes: Short chapter is short. Sorry. Will pick up on Sakura next chapter...
I was originally thinking of using Phantom Quest Corp as the government supernatural group, but in the series canon PQC is VERY publically known and has been involved in many newsworthy incidents. So I would have to explain why they hadn't turned up in the story earlier.