Sakura: Knight of the Clow
Chapter 22
"Blood tests came back?" Misaki Mei asked, the attractive albino sitting in her new office.
"The blood matches samples found at other monster attacks," Yuna Scarborough reported, "but is otherwise not in our system."
"Shit," Misaki swore quietly.
Yuna shrugged, "We knew it was a gamble."
"Just for once it'd be nice if things were easy," Misaki grumbled.
There was a brisk knock on the office door, and Misaki straightened up, trying to look dignified.
"Come in," Yuna called.
"Misaki," Sochiro, the official she had worked with before getting THIS job, nodded respectfully. He LOOKED like your typical office worker, and actually was. He was also chucken about the supernatural, amusingly...
"Sochiro, what do you want?" Misaki sighed.
"We've been researching OTHER monster hunters in Japan... I have good news and bad news," Sochiro said.
"Hit me," Misaki sighed.
"There's actually been several family lineages of monster hunters, but it appears they've been tarfeted and mostly killed off," Sochiro explained.
"Seriously?" Yuna blinked.
"Well, makes sense. We know some of the monsters are smart," Misaki said. She had talking to and argued with some spirits, after all.
"So the bad news is they're all gone?" Yuna asked.
"There ARE a few left, and I contacted one, but..." Sochiro trailed off.
"What?" Misaki asked.
"Hi everybody!" Yohko Mano, the legenday Devil Hunter, burst in on cue.
"WHAT," Yuna and Misaki blurted.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Rawwwr!" the goblin roared as the creattures boiled up out of the sewer.
"SHIELD!" Sakura yelled as she used a card to craft a barrier and delay the things.
"Ooof!" Tomoyo grunted as she clobbered one, splattering brains on the pavement.
"oh, ick!" a cop yelped.
"Nightsticks!" the lead cop yelled. "Club them down and support the lady!"
The gpblins weren't THAT tough, but there were a LOT of them. And they smelled horrifically awful, too.
"I'm gonna puke," one cop muttered.
"This is awful," Sakura agreed, striking out with her sword.
The gross, smelly wave of monsters eventually ebbed, finally leaving the group in a battlefield strewn with blood and gore.
"Anyone hurt?" Tomoyo checked. "You do NOT want any of these things fluids in a wound. You'll get VERY sick."
"Right, right," several cops splashed medical alcohol into their wounds.
"Miss ... Knight?" the lead cop addressed Sakura. "You know there's a arrest warrent on you?" he asked.
"What," Sakura blinked.
"I'm not going to do it, you saved us after all," the cop continued, "but you should get out of here before my commander arrives."
"Thank you," Sakura used FLY and took off.
"There's a arrest warrent?" Tomoyo demancded.
"Well, we're supposed to bring her in for questioning," the officer conceded.
Tomoyo nodded, "Can I get the official order? I intend to cover this..."
"Uh, right," the officer agreed a bit warily.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"POLICE CHARGE HEROIC KNIGHT" was on the front page next morning.
Sonomi Daidouji read the headline with amusement and pride of her darling daughter. "Yes, Mr Mayor, I saw the headline," she agreed.
"Can you get your daughter to back off a bit?"the interm Mayor asked, filling in for the one who ran out with city funds.
"Why?" Sobomi asked, "She got you dead to rights."
"We just want to bring in the Knight to ask some questions," the Mayor growled.
"By force," Sonomi noted. "Instead of, I don't know, publically asking them to come in? Put a request in the paper."
The Mayor sighed.
"I'm aware it's coming from the feds," Sonomi added, "but it's still stupid." She changed the subject, "I called about the armor for city staff situation."
"You want us to pay to equip utility staff with your gear?" the Mayor said dubiously.
"They are the ones most likely to run into monsters, at this point," Sonomi pointed out.
The Mayor grunted.
"AND it would look bad if it got out I offered the armor, and you turned it down," Sonomi added mildly.
"Are you BLACKMAILING us?"
"Blackmail is such an ugly word," Sonomi noted mildly.
The Mayor sighed.
"Yes?" Sonomi drawled.
"I'll put it towards city council," the Mayor said. "I can't ram it through on my own."
"Thank you for your time," Sonomi said cheerfully as the man hung up.
Chie Harada, Sonomi's secretary, took notes. "Should we put that down as a confirmed, ma'am?" she asked.
"Get me the numbers of a few other City Councilors," Sonomi mused, "I want as many votes as we can secured."
"Understood. I can get the fundraisers to call in too," Chie offered.
Sonomi donated a lot of money to election campaigns, for various officials on a local and federal level. While she did not expect them to do things for her in return, most politicians knew they owed her and would repay it.
"No," Sonomi decided, "hold off on that for now."
"Right," Chie nodded.
Sonomi sat back, "We have a bigger problem anyway." She sighed, "Kaho and I have decided on the wedding date..."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Congradulations, Miss Kaho!" the newsroom chorused.
Kaho rolled her eyes, "It's in two months. Leave me alone..."
Mei Lin, her secretary, looked amused.
"You KNOW we need to cover it," Tomoyo noted mildly. Briskly she added, "And more than a note in the back pages."
Kaho just scowled.
"Anyway...," Tomoyo continued, "we got a break in the city works kickbacks story. But it's not ready to run."
Kaho frowned, "Why?"
"Because I don't think we have everyone, yet," Tomoyo admitted.
In addition to her \Knight' stories, Tomoyo had been investigating rumored city contracts being awarded to companies in exchange for kickbacks to ploticians. It had started under the previous, corrupt, Mayor, but seemed to be continuing with members of the current city council.
"Seriously?" Kaho asked.
Yuki Lee, who worked the crime beat and was working with Tomoyo on this, nodded. She pointed to the pages on Kaho's desk as she said, "We've followed several parties to meetings, but there's more going on. I feel it in my gut."
Kaho nodded, "Do you think the cops know?"
"No," Yuki said.
"Maybe," Tomoyo corrected. "I think there might be undercover cops in the mix," she admitted, "the dude posing as the sanitation rep is too slick."
"Or he's so crooked he's turned out that way," Yuki offered, the two clearly having argued over this before.
"Possible," Tomoyo shrugged.
"All right, we'll hold off for now," Kaho said, "but we can't wait TOO long."
"Right," both women chorused.
To be continued...
Notes: I have NOT forgotten poor Clow. He'll be in next chapter. I also need to decide how Sakura will run into the new villain.
YES, that's Devil Hunter Yohko. Need to decide what other anime monster hunters are still around... I do plan to avoid Phantom Quest Corp, tho.
Chapter 23
Ruby Moon left the hidden tunnels, the figure shimmering in a scarlet dress and shining butterfly wings. She glowed, body shifting, then a familiar figure emerged.
Nauru Akiauki, the museum director, adjusted their business suit. It clung to their androgynous form, and looked really good. They smiled slightly, taking the hidden route into the museum itself.
'I wonder how the police would react to knowing I 'stole' the artifacts to return them to Mistress?' they mused. Thankfully magic, and their access as the head of the museum, had allowed them to wipe all evidence.
"Miss Sakura! Here early?" they asked winningly.
"Morning," Sakura smiled brightly. "Yes, I wanted to get some work done before the first student tours..."
"Keep up the good work," Nauru smiled.
Nauru was, of course, aware that there was SOMETHING supernatural about Miss Kinamoto. The problem was, telling what it was exactly. There was LOTS of ordinary people with occult potential, it might be that. Or something more...
That, and Nauru got an instant 'bad vibe' off Yue. WHY they didn't know, but something about Yue just bugged them. Odd.
"Director! The mayor is on the line," their assistant said.
"What, again?" Nauru asked, sighing.
"I think the city is still balking over the budget," the perky young man admitted.
"Got it," Nauru nodded, "clear a hour from my schedule. We'll probably be talking awhile."
"Aye aye," the man waved.
Nauru sighed, wishing their Mistress hadn't required them to go under cover HERE. The paperwork was such a pain...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Clow Reed was annoyed.
In theory, Clow was one of the most powerful magicians in the world. But he had recently realized he was MUCH less powerful than he had thought. Maybe it was inhabiting a new body, maybe it was the years that had passed, but any way he was much weaker.
"Stop struggling, Clow," the voice scolded.
The huge winged panther emerged from the shadows, studying Clow with contempt. He was at least as huge as Kero, but unlike the friendly cat this being seemed ready to kill.
"Well, hello, Mr...?" Clow asked.
"Spinel Sun," the panther replied gruffly.
"There's no reason to hold me," Clow tried.
"The Mistress wants you, so you will remain," Spinel Sun replied flatly. "But TRY to escape, I will happily bring you back."
Clow studied the cat thoughtfully, "You're a construct, like my Yue and Kero."
"I AM NOTHING LIKE THEM," Spinel Sun,roared.
"Prove it," Clow challenged, "set me free, like a creature with it's own will."
Spinel Sun hesitated, then said, "Clever, Clow Reed. I nearly did it."
"Can't blame me for trying," Clow shrugged eloquently.
"Hmph," Spinel Sun stalked off.
Clow sighed. He once again tried to summon up some magic, but his chains limited him...
"Clow Reed, my old enemy," Enchantress sighed, "still trying to free yourself?"
"We weren't always enemies, remember?" he tried.
"Silence, fool!" and she zapped him with lightning, again.
'Ugh...' Clow slipped into unconsciousness again.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The Clow Cards lingered as a problem, of course. The issue was until something triggered one, they were apparently undetectable. Worse, their powers seemed very unpredictable.
"MRQW!"
"It's a GIANT KITTEN."
"IT'S SO CUTE!"
"RUN AWAY BEFORE IT STEPS ON YOU, IDIOT!"
"Awwww," Sakura murmured as she used Fly to bob above it.
"Can we keep it?" Tomoyo asked, safely watching from a nearby rooftop.
"Seriously?" Yukito asked, the photographer taking shots.
"Okay... what do we DO, though?" Meilin wondered aloud.
"Lightning?" Yukito suggested.
"We can't HURT IT," Tomoyo looked at him, appalled.
"YOU MONSTER," Meilin agreed, scowling at him.
Yukito sighed. Apparently all girls were vulnerable to extreme cuteness.
Sakura landed on the kitten, then used her hand to scratch it. The rumbling purr nearly knocked her right off.
"AWWWWW," Meilin sighed happily.
"Ok, yes, it's cute, but...," Yukito said as the cat started gnawing on a car. It was soon mangled by huge cat teeth...
"Okay, yes that bad," Tomoyo conceded as the cat dropped the wreck. If it decided to chew on a person, they'd die.
"Maybe use Windy to bind it?" Meilin suggested.
"Worth a try," Sakura agreed, drawing out the card. "Windy! Bind the big Kitty!" She paused, "GENTLY, please!"
Windy gave her a dubious look, but the air spirit weaved itself around the cat.
"Clow Card! Return to your true form!" Sakura bopped the cat with her staff.
The Card seperate from the giant Kitten, then with a surprised 'mew' the cat shrunk down to normal. Shaking itself, then cat scampered off, one assumed home.
"Aww, I wanted to keep it," Sakura murmured as she tucked the Card away into her uniform shirt.
"KNIGHT OF THE CLOW," a voice boomed, "WE WANT TO SPEAK TO YOU."
"Eeep," Sakura yelped.
"Film them!" Tomoyo ordered, seeing a government issue car with a women beside it, using a megaphone to be heard.
Sakura hesitated, then flew down to where they were.
"Why isn't she flying away?!" Meilin growled.
"She's a responsible Japanese citizen," Tomoyo muttered.
"In other words, a sucker," Yukito noted.
"Yup," Meilin sighed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Misaki Mei, looked up, her slightly grey-white hair falling into her eyes. She fought to keep how impressed she was off her face...
Her driver and aide, Yuna Scarborough, was clearly surprised. "I really didn't believe the reports she could FLY," she muttered.
"Yeah," Misaki agreed, her red eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
The woman had a hood that concealed her face somewhat, AND a mask too, with lenses that hid her eye color. Clever design. The bodysuit was a bit weirdly frilly though... who designed a combat suit to look cute?
(Nearby, Tomoyo sneezed suddenly.
"Someone's talking about you," Yukito teased.
"Shut up," Tomoyo muttered, watching the goings on via binoculars and reading lips.)
"You're the Knight, correct?" Misaki said as the woman landed.
"That's what they call me," the Knight replied mildly.
'She's using a voice changer device... clever,' Misaki thought, unaware that Tomoyo had built it into Sakura's costumes. "Misaki Mei." she introduced herself, "I work for the Agency overseeing monster hunting in Japan."
"Wow," Knight said mildly.
"Which is, admittedly, me, my assistant and a few others, so far," Misaki admitted.
"Oh," the Knight blinked.
"Ma'am," Yuna sighed, "she did NOT need to know that."
Misaki shrugged slightly.
The Knight cleared her throat, "So... why did you want to see me?"
"We had questions," Misaki admitted, "do you know why monster sightings are up?"
"It appears they rise in response to increasing magic," the Knight said, "it's returned, so more monsters."
"What," Yuna blinked.
Misaki blinked, "Can we stop it?"
The Knight hesitated, "I don't know."
'She's lying,' Misaki thought, 'she knows SOMETHING. Interesting.' Aloud she said, "Can you meet with us?"
Before the Knight could answer police ran over, weapons drawn.
"Wait..," Misaki ordered them.
"FLY!" the Knight waved a card, sprouted WINGS again and was gone.
"Crap," Yuna sighed.
To be continued...
Chapter 24
"WHAT THE HELL," Yuna Scarborough yelled at the surprised cops.
"Ma'a, there's a warrant out for her arrest," the lead cop, a burly older dude, quickly defended himself.
"We were TALKING," Yuna looked like she wanted to hit him.
"Easy," Misaki Mei sighed, then showed the cops her ID.
"Oh hell," Officer Benten sighed.
"We... humble apologize," Leona Ozaka added, bowing.
"That REALLY doesn't help, ma'am," her partner, Al noted.
As Misaki watched, she had to hide her amusement at Yuna, this was a side of her she hadn't really seen before. 'She's cute when she's angry,' she mused.
"Argh!" Yuna finally groaned.
"Uhm... do you want us to put out an updated All Points Bulletin on her?" the lead cop asked them sheepishly.
"Not that it'd help at this point," Misaki noted, "as she can fly."
Yuna nodded glumly, "Do the police have a helicoper?"
"No, thought we could request it from a larger city nearby...,"
"Whoa, whoa," Misaki jumped in, "we do NOT want to try chasing her through the air. No, best we let it go, for now."
"Right," Yuna conceded meekly.
Misaki addressed the cops, "Next time please do not draw weapons on this woman. We need to talk to her, not arrest her."
"Yes ma'am," Al nodded.
After the paperwork was done, Yuna drove them off back to headquarters.
"She looks... maybe late twenties, thirties?" Misaki mused aloud.
"I'd say so," Yuna agreed, looking at her curiously.
"Well, I'm glad she's an adult," Misaki admitted, "I was worried she was some sort of magical girl or something."
"I'd be bothered asking a kid to fight monsters," Yuna agreed.
"Yeah. Anyone who did that would be scum," Misaki agreed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Kero sneezed.
Luna sneezed.
Artemis sneezed.
The animal companions of Pretty Cure sneezed.
Mokona from Rayeath sneezed.
Yuuno from Lyrical Nanoha looked as guilty as a ferret could manage,
Kyubey over in Madoka Magica felt no guilt whatsoever. However, the cabbit-thing was a little asshole. Ignoring that, it hurried off to turn more innocent kids into Magical Girls to power it's alien interests...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Did you just feel the fourth wall break really weirdly?" Sonomi Daidouji asked, frowning.
"It's a Shanejayell fic. You get used to it," Kaho Mitsuki noted.
Deciding to stop that, Sonomi continued, "I see my daughter Tomoyo is causing trouble. Again."
MUNICIPAL CORRUPTION read the banner headline. Tomoyo and Yuki Lee had finished their latest story, with photos by Yukito, that appeared to show actual cash exchanges, along with evidence the payoffs were covering up sloppy work or jobs not done at all.
"They were making up everything 300%?" Sonomi noted.
"And overcharging supplies and time," Kaho agreed. "Mind you, a certain amount of padding on city works is actually expected, but this much... no."
"How bad are the complaints from the city government?" Sonomi chuckled.
"There's a LOT of threats to call in lawyers," Kaho agreed. "Though the key figures are being VERY quiet."
"They don't want to risk incriminating themselves," Sonomi agreed with her. She asked, "Have the police reacted?"
Kaho laughed dryly, "The police have asked for all Tomoyo and Yuki's records, and they claim to be investigating."
"Claim?" Sonomi asked.
"It LOOKS like they've been caught by surprise," Kaho noted, "the chief is scrambling."
Sonomi chuckled darkly.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The next days passed, and eventually a group of women visited a certain property.
"So, little one," the huge female ogre rumbled, looming over her.
"Eeep," Sakura breathed out at the woman.
"Mara, meet Sakura and Tomoyo," Mei Lin introduced them.
"This is SO COOL," Tomoyo breathed out.
"You stink of the heretic, Clow Reed," Mara addressed Sakura thoughtfully.
"You KNOW Clow?" Sakura blurted.
"My sire fought him," Mara shrugged casually. "He bound spirits of nature and elements into Cards, against the laws of magic," she added.
"There's so much I want to ask," Sakura admitted.
Nicole Flint, there as the rep for the property owner, sighed.
Mei Lin smiled at her wryly, and the other woman blushed faintly.
'Huh. Interesting,' Tomoyo found herself noting.
"I am NOT moving," Mara addressed Nicole firmly.
"And I'm not killing her for just existing," Sakura quickly jumped in.
As Mara looked VERY annoyed at that Nicole said, "We do NOT intend to do her harm!"
"Hmph," the Ogre grunted.
"I actually looked into the folk tales of the region," Sakura added mildly, "there's been reported sightings of this ogre clan here for centuries."
"So basically you moved in over their home," Tomoyo noted.
Nicole just sighed.
"So," Mara addressed Nicole, "the Warrior Mei Lin said you wish to... hire me?"
"Yes," Nicole brightened, "you know there's been more monsters sighted recently."
Mara grunted, "I found a goblin nest just a moon ago. Nasty creatures."
"In exchange for helping us against them, we'll trade things you need," Nicole exchanged.
"We won't feed you people, though," Mei Lin added.
"Human's are stringy and not filling anyway," Mara said, but she looked amused.
'I HOPE she's joking,' Tomoyo sighed.
"What would you like in return?" Sakura checked. Best to ask first, after all.
Mara hesitated, then looked over at Nicole, who unlike the others sensible clothes was in a summer dress.
"Hmm?" Mei Lin asked.
"I have.. never worn anything like that," Mara conceded, gesturing to her rough armor. "Could I get something like that?"
Nicole brightened, "Of course!"
"If this turns into a runway sequence, I'm leaving," Sakura murmured.
"Not into fashion?" Tomoyo whispered back.
"Not really. Or shopping. I know, weird," Sakura shrugged.
"That just means I can keep dressing you," Tomoyo teased.
Sakura blushed.
To be continued...
Notes: I need to decide how Clow gets rescued. More next chapter.
One the magical critters bit... yeah, as a adult looking at anime, it gets pretty dubious about magical critters recruiting kids. Madoka Magica of course deconstructs that somewhat. In a weirder way, the anime Alien Nine does too. Plus the recent book by Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant, 'Unbreakable' is a really dark take on it.