Sakura: Knight of the Clow
Chapter 19
Clow Reed awoke in chains, bound to a wall. The air smelled unpleasant, and he surmised he was underground still.
"Release!" Clow attempted a spell.
The chains didn't budge, and he could feel an oppressive weight in the restraints. Clearly there were powerful counter spells to hold him there.
"Hey, boss? You up?" a voice asked.
Clow realized that one of the local talking rats was nearby. "Ah, yes," he peered down at it and guessed, "Yojimbo?"
"You remembered!" the rat Yojimbo noted, pleased.
"I don't suppose you could go get help?" Clow asked.
Yojimbo looked at him with a exasperated look as he asked, "How many folks are going to listen to a talking rat?"
Clow paused then conceded, "Point."
"That lady's scary, too," Yojimbo added, "I ain't crossing her."
"Did you see what happened to me?" Clow asked.
"After you tired yourself out with magic, she blasted you from behind," Yojimbo told him. "Then her goons dragged you here."
"Goons?" Clow asked.
"Cat and Bird looking types," Yojimbo said. He stiffened, "Gotta go."
Clow Reed sighed, slumping in his chains.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Yuki Lee was a reporter, and a collegue of Tomoyo's. Unlike Tomoyo she was almost exclusively a crime reporter, and had won awards for that.
(She was also faintly annoyed that she had been scooped on certain stories once or twice by Tomoyo. Mind you, the stories had all been ones that crossed over with local politics, but it still annoyed her a little.)
Today, she was at the Museum, looking into the robbery story.
"May I see your ID?" the security dude checked it, "Okay, please follow me."
"Were you on shift when the robbery happened?" Yuki asked.
"No. And the staffer who was is on leave," the guard noted.
'Interesting,' Yuki wrote the person's name down, planning to look them up later. It might be good to interview them.
"Good morning," the attractive if androgynous Director smiled.
"Director Akizuki? Nice to meet you. I'm Yuki Lee," she introduced herself.
"Please, just call me Nauru," they smiled charmingly.
"Nauru," Yuki nodded, "thank you for agreeing to see me."
Nauru shrugged as they calmly explained, "The robbery was going to be news, it's best to just get it over with."
Yuki nodded sympathetically. "Could you walk me through it?" she asked.
"About a week ago," Nauru said, "a number of Chinese artifacts were stolen overnight. Our security system was evaded somehow, and the police are investigating."
"And there's no video or any traces of the robber?" Yuki asked.
"You'd need to consult with the police on that," Nauru cautioned, "but apparently so. They are, of course, still investigating."
"Will the museum take a loss if they're not recovered?" Yuki asked.
"We are heavily insured, as far as that goes," Nauru said, "so financially we'll be fine. Of course, there is the historical importance of the items."
They discussed other details, and Yuki took lots of notes. "Thank you for your time," she said. "Could I also speak with staffers?"
"Certainly. I believe Prof. Kinomoto is in," Nauru said, leading her out.
Sakura Kinomoto was really, really cute. Yuki could almost instantly see how Tomoyo had fallen for her...
"Professor, it's a pleasure," Yuki shook her hand.
"Please, just call me Sakura," she chuckled, 'when I hear 'Professor' I think folks are talking to my daddy."
"I understand Professor Kinomoto the elder is retired?" Yuki asked pleasantly.
"Mostly. He consults on stuff a lot," Sakura admitted warmly. "Where did you want to start?" she asked curiously.
"Could I see the department that got hit?" Yuki asked.
"Certainly," Sakura agreed. As they walked through one section into another she said, "This whole area is our Clow Reed collection. The items taken relate to his rival."
"Now, supposedly Clow was a mage, right?" Yuki asked. "You don't actually believe something like that?"
Sakura hesitated, "I try to approach it as something the people in his era believed."
Yuki nodded, "Well, after the monster attacks and the Knight and all, our perspective kind of got expanded a bit."
"Exactly," Sakura nodded.
"So, I noticed the displays are all 'the rival' and 'the sorceress.' No name?" Yuki asked as they looked over the items.
"There are several sources on her name, several of which contradict each other," Sakura pointed to a poster that explained that, "until we get something that, in my opinion, verifies it..."
Yuki nodded slowly, "I guess that makes sense."
"The staff, robe and sword are, of course, replicas of the stolen items," Sakura pointed to the display, "they're highly accurate, based off digital records."
"You always take such exacting records?" Yuki asked.
"It's part of our check in process," Sakura explained, "as well as every step in restorations."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"It felt like that reporter didn't trust us," Yue noted as they were readying to close.
"Of course she didn't," Sakura shrugged, "she probably thinks it's an inside job."
"What?" Yue blinked.
"Well, it's the simplest explaination for what happened," Sakura said.
"Oh," Yue said faintly. They finished putting away a (fake) Clow Reed artifact, then headed to the enterance.
"Evening, Prof," the security man nodded to her. He added wryly, "Yue, your friend is waiting for you."
"Have a nice night," Sakura said cheerfully as she watched Yue once again get met by his roommate Caroline.
"Hi Miss Sakira," Caroline waved.
"Have a nice one," Sakura waved back as she climbed into her company car.
(Sakura's personal car had been destroyed in monster hunting, and she hadn't been able to afford to replace it. Her insurance company was being stubborn about paying out, apparently not buying her story that it had been stolen and torched.
Tomoyo had offered to use her mother Sonomi's money to buy her a new car. So far Sakura was resisting the idea... despite their being lovers, she didn't like being that much in their debt.)
Leaving work, Sakura took a slow-ish route through town. She could sort of sense monsters, if she was nearby. It wasn't totally reliable, but she had found them several times this way.
Using her phone Sakura checked the police band via a radio ap, and thankfully there were no alerts. She turned the car back towards Tomoyo's apartment, even as she made a note to check her old place tomorrow.
'How long has it been, I wonder?' Sakura thought wryly.
Sakura drove into the secure parkade, then collected her stuff before going up to their place. She unlocked the door, put her stuff in the office she and Tomoyo shared, then checked her messages.
"I'm going to be a little late," Tomoyo's voice said, "City Council meeting, relating to one of the corruption stories I wrote. I kind of have to be there. Have dinner, I'll see you later."
"Oh poo," Sakura sighed, though she wouldn't blame Tomoyo. Both women were career driven, after all.
Sakura checked the fridge and noted they had a lot of leftovers from last time they had takeout. She felt a tiny twinge of guilt, but still decided to take out two boxes, reheat them then go sit on the living room couch eating.
"Let's see what's on TV," Sakura muttered.
News, News, Infomertial, US Reality TV, News, Pretty Cure episode...
"Oooh, I haven't seen that one," Sakura noted, and settled in to watch.
To be continued...
Notes: Poor Clow is still tied up. Also following up on the robbery bit.
Chapter 20
Misaki Mei was going to be appointed head on Tokyo District monster hunters. She wasn't happy about it.
"Why not Sochiro?" Misaki sighed.
"He's your liason to other government agencies. You KNOW you hate dealing with them."
"Point," Misaki conceded.
"We'll also look into expanding your staff, though that may take some time..."
Misaki sighed, "Am I going to have to handle the press, too?"
"Afraid so."
"Oh JUST lovely...," Misaki sighed. She talked a little longer with her superiors, then hung up.
"How did it go?" Yuna Scarborough, her assistant, stuck her head in the office to ask.
Misaki made a face, "I've been promoted. Damn it."
Yuna looked at her sympathetically, "Sorry, boss. Do you want me to get some tea?"
"Please," Misaki sighed. Once Yuna returned with her cup she asked her, "Any luck with testing the blood samples?"
"It takes longer than that, you know," Yuna pointed out reasonably.
"And putting pressure on the reporter to give up the Knight is a no go," Misaki muttered more to herself than anything.
Normally, having the full weight of the government coming down on you would have a impact. But Tomoyo's boss was firmly behind her, More importantly, Tomoyo's mother was both crazy rich AND had political influence.
"Has the city determined how our division is going to work?" Yuna asked, having only seen some of the documents.
"We'll have a team of specially equipped police, to respond to monster attacks," Misaki said. "In theory, we'll have juristiction all over the city."
"In theory?" Yuna checked.
"Local PDs keep trying to handle incidents themselves," Misaki said flatly.
"And getting cops killed," Yuna frowned.
"I'm having a hard time convincing them regular tacts do NOT work," Misaki sighed.
Yuna looked thoughtful, "Maybe we can use that reporter to out advantage?"
Misaki looked at her, then smiled evilly.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
'Unneeded police casualties! Cover up?!' the headline read.
"I don't think your source intended THAT lurid a headline," Kaho noted, the Editor in Chief meeting with her top reporter.
Tomoyo shrugged, "It's accurate, and it should shame the smaller forces into not sending beat cops against monsters."
"And the headline sells papers," Kaho agreed. "Was Yuki annoyed with you?"
Yuki Lee was the main crime reporter, which usually included any police stuff. Generally speaking, reporters tended to defend their various beats from other reporters.
"She knew it was related to the Knight story," Tomoyo shrugged.
"No new monster attacks?" Kaho checked.
"Other than the one the police botched," Tomoyo sighed. "Half the cops involved died."
"Hmm," Kaho nodded.
"How is Lee's story on the Museum robbery going?" Tomoyo asked, curious. She had read her colleague's first instalment, which had mostly just summarized the case.
"The police are being shy about a official statement," Kaho noted, "but she'll nail them down eventually."
"Any leads?" Tomoyo asked.
"She thinks it's a inside job, but not sure who," Kaho noted. She added, "Probably not your girlfriend, of course."
"Ha ha," Tomoyo deadpanned, "very funny."
"I noticed Sonomi invited you two over for dinner," Kaho changed the subject, "stop trying to duck out of it."
Tomoyo groaned, "Oh come on, not you too..."
Kaho added seriously, "She's trying to bridge the gap you two have."
"There's not...," Tomoyo protested.
"SHE thinks there is," Kaho noted, and Tomoyo sighed. "Well?" Kaho pressed.
"I'll go, I'll go," Tomoyo gave in gracefully.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Mei-Lin didn't monster hunt solo, very often. It was dangerous, she had no reason to, and honestly she couldn't be bothered.
HOWEVER.
The request had come in from a powerful friend of her honored Grandmother. A friend, bluntly, whom debts were owed too. So when she revealed that they had a 'minor' monster issue, the task fell into her lap.
"Welcome, Miss," the gorgeous redhead smiled, dressed in slacks and a snug sweater that hudded her curves.
"Uh, hello," Mei-lin managed, slightly stunned by the woman's looks.
"I'm Nicole Flint, the Mistress' aide," the woman explained sweetly. "I'll explain the situation," she added as she lead her into the building.
"I understood there were sightings, but no actual attacks?" Mei-Lin checked.
"Correct," the woman agreed, "there are a series of access tunnels under the property. Workers have seen something several times now."
"Tunnels. Great," Mei-Lin sighed.
Nicole gave her a sympathetic look, "As I understand it, you are qualified to look into this?"
"My family has certain talents, yes," Mei-Lin said a bit evasively.
"Do you need to prepare? Otherwise I can just take you right to the tunnel access," Nicole said to her briskly.
"I'd like to change into my gear," Mei-Lin admitted, holding up a sachel she brought.
Nicole left her in a side room to change. The bodysuit was one of the ones Tomoyo had made for her, minus the mask. It was snug, light weight but was armored, fire proof and resistant to cutting. And the gloves were especially tough, in case of combat.
"Oh my," Nicole murmured as Mei-Lin came out. "You look very striking."
Mei-Lin wasn't sure what to say ro that, so she said, "All right, take me to the tunnels."
"I could accompany you," Nicole offered as they reached the heavy doorway.
"It's fine," Mei-Lin said firmly. "Where were the sightings?"
"To the north side," Nicole said, then Mei-Lin strode off into the semi-darkness.
The tunnels were well made, reinforced stone and were strung with overhead lights. They were also surprisingly dry, the base of the tunnel clear and clean. WEIRDLY clean.
"How often do they use these?" Mei-Lin wondered aloud as she warily walked along.
Having assisted Sakura and Tomoyo enough times, Mei-Lin had developed a sense when the supernatural was involved. That sense was going off strongly now...
'Though admittedly this whole thing feels off,' Mei-Lin admitted. She reached into her top, feeling the Water Card up against her chest. She'd rather avoid using that, but it was comforting to know she had it.
The tunel curved a bit, and up ahead a light was shining, a bit brighter than the background. Carefully Mei-Lin advanced, then peered around a corner.
The figure LOOKED like a extremely tall women... except for the horn out of her forehead. She had set up a small camp, with somewhere to sleep, and was cooking what looked like a rat over an open fire. A huge club leaned against the wall nearby.
"An Ogre?" Mai-Lin blurted aloud.
"Ack!" the woman jerked in surprise as she saw Mei-Lin. She grabbed her club but... seemed surprisingly non-hostile.
Making a snap decision Mei-Lin stepped into the light, "I'm not here to fight."
The Ogre tiled her head to the side, studying her warily. "You stink of magic," she accused.
"It's an artifact I carry," Mei-Lin said. She asked, "My name is Mei-Lin. Who are you? How long have you been down here?"
The Ogre put her club down, apparently taking her at her word. "Mara," she said as she checked her food, "a few months. Up above is too loud, and men shot stinging weapons at me."
Mai-Lin blinked, realizing someone had shot at her too. "You didn't hurt anyone did you?" she had to ask.
"No," Mara said sourly, "that makes samurai come with swords and bows."
"Hmm," Mei-Lin nodded, wondering how old this woman actually was.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Wait," Nicole blinked, "there's a OGRE living peacefully under the property?!"
"Pretty much," Mei-Lin sighed. "On the plus side, it's hunting any vermin that crop up down there..."
"The Mistress is NOT going to be happy," Nicole whimpered.
To be continued...
Chapter 21
"Awaken, Clow Reed," the voice ordered.
The woman shimmered as she stood in the twilight of the tunnels. Her appearance seemed to shift, her age flowing from what looked like a teen, then rapidly aging to a ancient crone. Then, suddenly, reverting back again.
"Who...?" Clow managed.
"You have forgotten, hmm?" the beauty asked coldly.
It TOOK Clow a moment, then he muttered, "Enchantress."
"Yessssss," she hissed angrily.
"How are you HERE?" Clow had to ask. "It's been centuries?!"
"YOU are here, Clow," she sniffed, "why would you think I would not?"
Clow decided there was no point arguing, "What do you want?"
Enchantress gave a very ugly grin, "REVENGE."
"Mistress," the redheaded woman emerged from the shadows.
"Yes, Ruby?" Enchantress asked.
"Those damn rats are sniffing around," Ruby reported, "I think they want to help Clow."
"Can Spinel catch them?" Enchantress asked flatly.
"I think he's insulted at being asked to be a mouser," Ruby snorted.
Enchantress sighed.
"Good help is hard to find?" Clow teased.
Ruby GLARED at him. "Can I kill him, Mistress?" she asked.
Enchantress casually clouted Ruby. "No," she said flatly, "his life is MINE."
Ruby bowed meekly, "Of course, mistress."
Enchantress advanced on Clow, lightning arcing between her fingers, "Now, let's see..."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Miss Kinomoto, Miss Tomoyo, welcome," one of the many good looking lady servants of Sonomi smiled.
"Uh, hello," Sakura smiled shyly.
"Natsuki, hello," Tomoyo recognized one of her mother's long time staffers. "How's the wife?" she asked conversationally.
"Shizuru's fine," Natsuki flashed a smile. She continued, "Miss Sonomi and Miss Kaho are in the drawing room."
"Thank you," Tomoyo nodded.
As they went into the mansion Sakura quietly asked, "Do you know ALL her staff by name?"
"Most," Tomoyo admitted, "Mom pays them very well, and they tend to be very loyal. Most of them have been around since I was a teen."
"Wow," Sakura blinked.
The two walked through the main enterance way, then down the hall where Tomoyo knocked on the door. "Come in!: Sonomi called.
"Afternoon, Mother," Tomoyo smiled as they entered.
Sonomi got up from the couch she was sitting on with Kaho, then swiftly hugged Tomoyo.
"Moooooom," Tomoyo sighed.
Sakura bit back a chuckle as she nodded to both older women, "Thank you for having me."
"Relax, please," Kaho chuckled.
"Something to drink, ladies?" a maid asked formally.
"Tea?" Sakura squeaked.
Tomoyo chuckled, "Yes, tea, Hazuki. And some cookies, too."
"Of course," Hazuki bowed and scurried off.
"Don't snack too much," Sonomi chided, "we're having dinner too."
"YES, Mom," Tomoyo teased.
"You DO sound like a Mom there, dear," Kaho noted.
Sonomi just pouted.
"Have the missing artifacts situation resolved itself?" Kaho asked Sakura. She added, "Off the record, of course."
"Of course," Sakura sighed. She continued, "No news, and the police seem to be stumped, as far as I can tell."
"Really?" Sonomi frowned. As a large donor to the museum, that tended to concern her a bit.
"Other than interviewing staff and accessing security cameras, they don't seem to have done anything," Sakura shrugged.
"Hmm," Kaho frowned.
They chatted awhile longer, then Sonomi's head chef announced dinner was ready...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"There's WHAT?" Sakura blinked at Mei Lin the next day.
"An female Ogre living under the Roan estate. As far as I know, peacefully," Mei Lin noted as they ate lunch.
"Seriously?" Tomoyo blinked.
The two listened as Mai Lin gave them her story, including her conversation with the monster named 'Mara.'
"Poor thing," Sakura mused.
"Huh?" Tomoyo blinked/
"She's living all alone, in dark tunnels, and eating rats to survive," Sakura noted. "That's pretty awful, really."
"... point," Tomoyo conceded.
"I have asked the owner's representative to look after her," Mei Lin admitted. She added, "I'd like you to meet the Ogre too, Sakura."
"Huh?" Sakura blinked.
"You're a good judge of character," Mei Lin shrugged slightly, "I THINK she's trustworthy, but I'd like you to see her too."
"I'm coming along too," Tomoyo insisted.
Mei Lin gave her a wry look, well aware that Tomoyo had a jealous streak, then shrugged. "Certainly," she agreed.
A bit more meekly Tomoyo murmured, "Thanks."
"Can we go after my work?" Sakura checked. "I'd rather not call in sick unless it's an actual emergency," she added.
"That's fair," both women agreed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Miss Sakura! Could I see you a moment?" Nauru Akiauki, the museum director, waved as Sakura checked in after lunch.
"Of course," Sakura said politely.
Nauru's office had mostly been cleared of the old director's stuff. It was more bright and airy, and had only a few diplomas and pictures as decorations.
"We've gotten several schools looking into us doing more informational tours," Nauru said cheerfully. "As I understand it, it would impact on your work?"
"Yes, I would be unable to examine artifacts and such if tour groups were going through," Sakura conceded. "However, I DO feel that encouraging students and such is also important."
"You're SUCH a sweetheart," Nauru declared.
Sakura blushed.
"Your assistant, Yue, can help with it too, of course," Nauru mused. They smirked, "And Yue is such a cutey, the lady teachers and students will just eat him up."
"Possibly literally," Sakura muttered.
"Ha!" Nauru smiled.
"Is there anything else?" Sakura asked politely.
"That's it, I wanted to ask rather than just springing something on you," Nauru admitted. "Thank you for your time."
"You're welcome," Sakura nodded.
With a quiet sigh Sakura headed back to her work area, even as she wondered how to break it to Yue that they might both be doing tour guide work...
"Something wrong, ma'am?" Yue asked curiously.
"Not wrong exactly but...," Sakura shrugged and explained.
To be continued...
Note: YES that's Natsuki and Shizuru from Mai Hime.