Sakura Kinomoto gently took the fine brush to the piece of stone carving, the red-brown haired woman carefully shifting the dust of ages aside. It was a difficult task trying to reveal the intricate carvings beneath while not damaging any of the fragile material itself. Then the slightly dusty young woman delicately set it down on the white cloth, moving away before taking a camera and snapping off a few shots for their records while being careful not to step on her white lab coat. Deep beneath the Tokyo Museum the restoration rooms were almost Sakura's private domain, well, hers and the rest of the specialty staff. As an archeologist and historian Sakura often helped research the correct context in which to place the new artifacts in as well as lending a delicate hand in cleaning them up, despite her own modesty about her skills. "Miss Kinomoto," the new assistant Yue Susanoo asked curiously, his blue hair falling into his eyes, "where did you want this?" In his hands he held up a circular clapper, a type of ceremonial bell that Li had sent to Sakura as part of her Clow exhibit. "Let me," Sakura took it then nearly dropped the golden artifact as the power pulsed through her. It was clearly a artifact of power, one that her senses told her was connected to Clow Reed, though what it's power might be eluded her. "Is there something wrong?" Yue asked softly, seeing her stiffen in surprise. Taking a deep breath Sakura shook off her surprise, smiling at him weakly. "It's all right," she reassure him, "just gathering wool for a moment." With reverence she set it down on a work bench, "I'll be taking a closer look at it later." "Of course ma'am," Yue nodded. Sakura noted the time as she stretched out, smiling tiredly. "I think we need to pack it up for the day," she said, "we can always get back to it after the weekend's over." She pulled her labcoat off, dusting off her pants and shirt as she continued, "Thank you very much for your help in sorting out this latest shipment, Yue." "It was my pleasure, ma'am," Yue answered as he followed Sakura outside and they locked up behind them. "If you keep calling me ma'am I'm going to have to get violent," Sakura said impishly, "just call me Sakura, please." Yue hesitated then he nodded, "Sorry Sakura." Bidding her farewell he strode off, soon disappearing into the twilight. Sakura blinked in surprise as she saw a familiar sportscar waiting at the bottom of the steps up to the Roman designed museum. "Tomoyo?" she asked, smiling at the dark haired reporter who was casually waiting, leaning up against the side of her car. "Hello Sakura," Tomoyo pushed off from the side of the car then she hesitated, fidgeting a bit. "I was going to call, but since I have to ask a favor I thought I'd do so in person," she said with a self-conscious sort of amusement. "What kind of favor?" Sakura asked, feeling faintly amused to see the usually bold Tomoyo looking so nervous. "Let me give you a ride home," Tomoyo opened the door gracefully as she said, "and I'll tell you all about it." "Curiouser and curiouser," Sakura said as she climbed in, Tomoyo taking the driver's seat and starting up the purring engine. "So what's going on?" she asked. Tomoyo kept her eyes on the road as she said uncomfortably, "I've mentioned before that my mother Sonomi and I are a bit... distant." "Yes," Sakura nodded. "It's Sonomi's birthday this weekend," Tomoyo smiled wryly, "and I've kind of been guilt tripped into going. I was sort of hoping you'd be willing to come along as my guest." "Would I regret asking why?" Sakura asked gently. "My mother and I tend to snip at each other automatically," Tomoyo sighed, "I'm sort of hoping a new guest will induce us to be on our best behavior." A slight smile, "And considering how close your mom was to mine, it might be a nice gift for her to meet you." Sakura reached out to put her hand over Tomoyo's, squeezing it softly. "You really care about your mom, don't you?" she asked. Tomoyo shrugged uncomfortably, "I guess so, though we sure have an odd way of showing it." She smiled at Sakura as charmingly as possible, "You haven't said yes or no?" "Yes, I'll go," Sakura laughed softly. "Thank god," Tomoyo chuckled. She pulled up to the road in front of Sakura's house as she said, "The party starts at seven on Saturday, so I'll be here to pick you up at six?" "Makes sense," Sakura frowned slightly as a thought occurred to her then asked, "how should I dress, by the way?" "These parties aren't too formal," Tomoyo reassured her, "you could try wearing that outfit I got you for dinner, maybe?" "I'd like that," Sakura smiled as she got out of the car, Tomoyo standing beside her under the soft glow of a streetlight. She smiled with amusement as she confessed, "I haven't been out on a Saturday night in ages." Tomoyo looked surprised, "Seriously?" "I've kind of been busy with my career and before that, university," Sakura explained. Tomoyo got back into her car, starting up the engine as she said cheerfully, "Then you can just consider this a date." Sakura chuckled to herself softly, smiling as she walked up to her house. "A date, huh?" she murmured, wondering if Tomoyo had meant that literally. Across the city the young man who called himself Yue Susanoo entered his apartment and locked the door behind him, puffing out a sigh. The illusion of humanity faded and his wings reappeared, his eyes now hawklike as he ran a hand through his hair and called, "I'm home." "About time you got here," the redheaded young woman bitched as she strode in, the slightly taller woman dressed in a simple gown, "I'm starving." "Huh?" Yue blinked in shock. The redhead gave him a look, "It's me, Keroberos." "Kero?" Yue squeaked, blinking. He cleared his throat, vaguely surprised at his own reaction then managed, "I'm sorry, it's just a bit of a surprise." "Well," Kero pointed out reasonably, "I've got to leave the apartment sometimes, and it looks a little odd having two men living together." "True," Yue admitted. "So, we're going out or getting delivery again?" Kero asked eagerly. Yue gave her a frown as he reminded her, "We shouldn't be using magically created money so much, it's dishonest." Kero scowled, "Do we have a choice? Or is your new job going to pay well enough to fund this apartment and feed us, too?" "No, not yet," Yue sighed. They ordered the food and ate hungrily as they talked, "Sakura finally unpacked the bell, and I'm certain she recognized it." "So she now has most of the major artifacts of Clow," Kero softly mused, "but is she wise enough to use them?" "That would be the question," Yue nodded. He looked off in the distance, his expression oddly remote as he said, "The cards are starting to emerge... once she captures the minor houses, the other elements will appear." "And that's when things will get really crazy," Kero munched glumly. "I'd really like to just reveal ourselves to Sakura..." "No," Yue shook his head, "we need to be sure if she's worthy first. If we awaken the full powers of Clow in her, it could be disastrous if she's not ready." "So we watch and wait," Kero summarized grimly.
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