Yukito looked across the cafe's corner table at Tomoyo as he asked, "My god, how did the boss take it?" "Just about as well as you'd expect," Tomoyo said while she drank from her cup of coffee, her black hair flowing back from her face. "And Sonomi wasn't too happy either," she added glumly. "Huh," Yukito nodded, drinking too. "So, any tips on how to smooth this over with the boss?" Tomoyo asked the older photographer quietly. Yukito shrugged slightly, "Bring Kaho a scoop, that always cheers her up." Tomoyo snickered softly at that, "Yeah, true. Problem is I don't have any scoops on hand right now." "How about that historical research you were having Rika do on the Knight?" Yukito asked her as he had yet another cookie. 'That's what, his tenth? Where do they go?' Tomoyo thought with amusement. "It's interesting," she admitted as she munched on her own cookie, "but most of what I've found is useful for background, not a full story." Yukito paused a moment, "You have that 'I know something you don't know' look on your face. What's up?" "The Clow card, Water," Tomoyo smiled slightly grimly, "it chose to go with Mei-lin." "Ah," Yukito nodded, "the competition is getting more serious." "We're not competing..." Tomoyo started, then trailed off under Yukito's amused gaze. "I guess so," she conceded after a moment, "and I find myself wondering if Sakura even realizes she was two girls fighting over her." "Have you officially asked her out?" Yukito took another cookie. "Well, no," Tomoyo admitted with a sigh, "we have had a dinner earlier, but it was back when we first met." "So," Yukito shrugged casually as he said, "why not take her out on a real date? Flowers at the door, a nice dinner, some dancing... I think the Locket has a good atmosphere and it's also pretty non-threatening." "It's not as easy as you make it sound," Tomoyo blushed. "Hey," a tall, dark brown haired man walked up to the table, dressed in a waiter's outfit. "You going to order anything other than snacks?" he asked wryly. "Sorry Toya," Yukito smiled. "Oh," he gestured towards Tomoyo, "I'd like you to meet Tomoyo Daidouji, Sakura's friend. Tomoyo, this is Sakura's big brother." "Oh," Tomoyo blushed slightly, looking up at the older man. "So you're the one," Toya gave her a thoughtful glance. "Sakura talks about you a lot," he noted with a little smile. "Really?" Tomoyo brightened. "Yup," Toya nodded. His expression became serious as he added sternly, "She likes you a lot, so if you hurt her I'll be... annoyed." Tomoyo gulped at the unveiled threat in the man's eyes. Toya seemed kind, but there was steel beneath his gentle surface. "Toya," Yukito elbowed him gently, "stop scaring the lady, please." "It's all right," Tomoyo smiled at Yukito before looking up at Toya. "I will do everything I can to avoid hurting your sister," she vowed. "Good," Toya nodded firmly before taking their orders and leaving. "Don't mind Mr. Grumpy," Yukito said with some amusement, "after what happened to their mother he tends to be a bit over protective." "I can understand that," Tomoyo gently agreed. "Do you think we could have seconds?" Yukito asked after he finished off his second order of cookies. "Oy," Tomoyo sighed. Meanwhile, Sakura Kinomoto smiled to herself as the brown haired woman delicately ran a cloth over a rounded piece of clay, carefully removing the dust from the inscription. "All right," she moved back, "can I get a photo, please?" Yue Susanoo stepped up with the digital camera, steadied it carefully then the blue haired young man took the photo. "Dr. Kinomoto," he asked curiously, "why the photos?" "It's Sakura, not Doctor," she reminded him wryly, wiping the dust off of her hands with a damp cloth. "Sakura then," Yue smiled. "Well," Sakura tucked the cloth into a pocket of her lab coat as she explained, "these artifacts are highly fragile, so handling them must be kept to a minimum. A digital photo can be studied at our leisure, and I can even use my Mac to manipulate the image in various ways to try to determine meaning." Yue nodded, feeling just a bit foolish at not considering the uses modern technology might have. 'Then again, I haven't been active in this era too long,' he smiled. "So, what's next on the list to examine?" he asked. "I'd like to study the Sumeragi tablet," Sakura stretched tiredly, "but I think we'd better stop for today." "Certainly," Yue agreed as they carefully set the artifacts on the work table before covering them with a protective sheet. The two headed out of the museum and Sakura blinked in surprise as she saw the redhead who was sitting on the steps. "About time, Yue," the woman got up, "I thought I was going to starve waiting for you." "Kero," Yue sighed, "you didn't have to wait, you know. "I got bored," Kero shrugged. "Friend of yours?" Sakura smiled as she gently teased her assistant. "Caroline," Yue improvised quickly, "but people usually just call her Kero." "Pleased to meet you," Kero smiled sweetly. After a moment she turned to Yue, "Hello, food please!" Yue sighed. "Excuse me," he turned to Sakura, "I'd better feed her before we have a riot on our hands." "Have fun," Sakura smiled as the two walked away. "I really wish you hadn't done that," Yue murmured as they walked away. Kero frowned, "What? I just wanted to get a close look at her." "Not that," Yue sighed, "she's a curious young lady. I don't even want to think of the assumptions she's going to make about us." Kero laughed softly, "You're going to be teased?" "I'm certain of it," Yue sighed glumly. "Could we worse," Kero said as they walked on. "How so?" Yue gave her a wary look. Kero smirked, "I was going to kiss you hello, to maintain our couple act." "Ack," Yue winced, "I'd never hear the end of THAT."
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