Part Three
The geomancer looked up at the young woman before calmly saying, "I'm sorry, but his death was not an accident."
Mei-Lin visibly stiffened. "You're certain?" she asked him with a great deal of intensity, her eyes blazing even in the shadows of the chamber.
The robed figure just nodded calmly before rising to slowly walk out of the chamber. Mei-Lin waited a few moments, then got up herself, leaving at a much faster pace. She strode by servants and other family members before she reached... her room.
Li's Mother looked at Mei-Lin sadly. "You know, then?" she asked her calmly.
Mei-Lin nodded firmly. "I want permission to go to Japan, to find out the circumstances of his death," she said calmly.
"I suspect you would go even if I refused you permission," the older woman said calmly. She tilted her head to the side, "Are you sure you are ready?"
Mei-Lin easily hefted a long sword that was a near perfect replica of the one that had once belonged to Li. Lightning crackled along it's blade as she answered in a cold tone of voice, "I'm far more than merely ready."
A light dusting of snow covered the ground as Sakura made her way to Tomoyo's apartment building. She smiled happily as a few flakes fell, only to melt against her cheeks. She looked up only to notice a figure standing by the building, and for just a moment felt afraid.
Sonomi looked up just in time to see Sakura slow, then continue onward to Sonomi's side. "Good to see you, Sakura," Sonomi said with a smile.
"Sorry, I didn't recognize you for a moment," Sakura said to Sonomi with a sad smile and a little shrug of her shoulders.
Sonomi saw how quiet Sakura still was, how hesitant, and she silently cursed Li Sayoran. The man had done the girl much more damage than the physical, he had hurt her spirit as well. "That's all right," Sonomi said to her gently.
Sakura hit the intercom keys to let Tomoyo know they were coming up, then she took one end of the large box that Sonomi was trying to carry. It was surprisingly heavy. "What's in this thing?" she gasped out breathlessly.
Sonomi laughed, "All my old Christmas decorations." She said it a bit breathlessly, as they made their way over to the elevator, only to see the out of order sign posted there. She groaned loudly and shook her head, "Tomoyo, you had better appreciate this." They huffed and puffed their way up the stairwell then down the hall to Tomoyo's door.
Standing in the doorway, Tomoyo said "Sorry guys. Someone put an 'out of order' sign on the elevator as a prank,", and then she waved around the official looking sign that they had seen hanging on the elevator doors earlier.
Sonomi and Sakura silently exchanged a long suffering look. "I'm gonna kill her," Sakura said with a sigh, adding as an aside to Sonomi "you'd better cover your eyes. It's not going to be very pretty."
Sonomi shook her head firmly. "You don't get to kill her, I get first dibs," Sonomi said calmly, a merry twinkle in her eye.
Tomoyo looked at the two of them with a fond smile. "While you two debate who gets to kill me," she said cheerfully, "who wants eggnog?"
The two women got the box inside the apartment while still cheerfully debating who got to kill Tomoyo first. "Eggnog, please," Sakura said, collapsing into what had become over the last few months her favorite chair.
Sonomi folded her elegant frame down onto one of the couches. "And one here, too," she cried, pretending a great deal of weariness. She grinned over at Sakura, "Hey, I had to haul that box all the way here."
Tomoyo knelt down to open the top of the box and began to pull items out, occasionally exclaiming over an particularly sentimental item. "Thank you for saving these," she said as her smile beamed over to Sonomi.
Sonomi smiled slightly, glad that she hadn't thrown they out after the last fight they had. "You're welcome," she said softly. She tilted her head and asked "So are you doing the artificial tree with all the trimmings this year?"
"I think so," Tomoyo said with a nod. She looked a bit nervous as she looked over at Sakura and Sonomi, "I'd like to have everybody over here this Christmas, if you wouldn't mind."
Sakura smiled happily, "I'd love to!"
Sonomi looked at her daughter, wondering if she was included in the invitation. She was reassured by the warmth of Tomoyo's smile. "Me, too. Would it be all right if I brought somebody?" she asked tentatively.
Both Sakura and Tomoyo sat right up in their chairs at the last question, making Sonomi chuckle. "Do you have a guest in mind?" Tomoyo asked with an impish smile.
Sonomi shook her head with a sigh, "Not really. But a lot can happen in three weeks." She said the last with a grin on her face.
Sakura smiled at Tomoyo, "We got the artificial tree yesterday. Do you want to set it up and start decorating?"
Tomoyo laughed, "Why not. We'll start Christmas a bit early." She turned to her mother, "Would you like to help?"
Sonomi grinned, "I'd love to." She watched Sakura and Tomoyo work together setting up the tree while she continued to unpack the box of decorations. 'They work well together, and they seem really happy. I wonder if Sakura's still living here? It might be a bit tactless to ask,' she thought to herself, then gave a small sigh.
It wasn't until later on that evening that Sonomi finally had a chance to talk to Tomoyo alone. After a bit of internal debate, she had decided to be frank. "Is Sakura still living here?" she asked her a bit tentatively.
Tomoyo nodded, "I set up the spare bedroom for her." Sonomi winced visibly at that, and Tomoyo smiled at her gently. "It's what she's comfortable with," she said softly, "and I'm not going to press her into doing something she regrets."
Sonomi nodded in acceptance, before she asked Tomoyo softly, "Just don't let her break your heart again, please?"
Tomoyo smiled wryly as she said, "I'm a documentary filmmaker. I always try to keep some distance between me and my subjects."
"I've noticed you don't manage that too well with her," Sonomi said softly in reply.
Tomoyo just shrugged a bit uncomfortably. Before she could say anything more Sakura pushed the kitchen door open. "If you could stop being serious for a moment," she said, noting the long faces they both had, "I could use some help with the angel."
"I'll try to reach it," Sonomi volunteered quickly.
Tomoyo laughed softly, only sounding a little forced as she offered "I'll go get the ladder."
Sonomi stretched out at her desk a few days later, trying to get the kinks of a long day's work out of her stiff, aching muscles. She was determined to maintain the hours of the other employees, despite her being company president. She found that they were more willing to work if they knew she was suffering, too.
'Besides,' she thought a bit sadly, 'it's not like there's anyone to come home to, anyway.' It was the one thing she really missed. Before her divorce she had her no-good-husband, and even after she still had Tomoyo there. But after she left, the house lost much of it's life.
Sonomi looked up at the clock and decided that enough was enough. She packed up her desk, locked up the files, and left. She waved to the security guards as she left, then stood outside to ponder what to do for the rest of the evening.
'Where was that,' Sonomi pondered, remembering something she had seen on a on-line search. A club, not far from her office. She waved down a cab and with a smile gave the young man the directions. A few minutes later and she was sitting in a very comfortable seat in front of the bar at Arisugawa's Locket.
"What would you like?" the young woman said with a friendly smile. Twin crescent scars marked either side of her face, and long, blue-gray hair flowed down her back.
"Rum and eggnog, I think. For the season." Sonomi said with a smile. The girl in front of her seemed to disappear, reappearing in front of a freezer not far down the bar. She mixed quickly and carefully, only to reappear in front of Sonomi with the full glass.
"Sip first," she suggested with that same cheery smile. Sonomi took a sip, and sighed in contentment. "Looks like I got it right," the bartender smiled.
Down the bar a woman cried, "Hey, Minagi!"
"Sorry, gotta go," Minagi said to Sonomi, and promptly disappeared again.
Sonomi shook her head in wonder, turning to look across the bar. The dance floor was filled with young woman swaying closely together, enjoying the music. The dining tables weren't filled yet, but a fair number were taken. A red light was on above a door marked 'Karaoke' and she felt some relief she couldn't hear what was going on in there. Her eyes widened as she saw something else, in her surprise speaking aloud "Is that a library?"
An slightly amused voice said, "Yes, it is." Sonomi turned sideways to see a tall young woman standing beside her, her red gold hair falling down her back in waves. She wasn't classically beautiful, but instead had the feral beauty of a panther. She smiled at Sonomi, "I'm Arisugawa Juri, the owner of this loony bin."
"Daidouji Sonomi," she answered reflexedly, offering her hand. The woman named Juri took it to shake gently.
"I noticed it's your first time here," Juri said with a smile, "and I just wanted to wish you a good time, tonight." With that she waved and disappeared into the crowd.
Sonomi got up, skirting the dancefloor to the dining tables. She took a seat, and picked up a menu off the tabletop. A few moments to read, and a server appeared at Sonomi's side. She looked up to order, and smiled at the girl's costume.
"Can I take your order?" the auburn hared girl in a maid's uniform asked her pleasantly.
"Sure," Sonomi answered, looking at the girl curiously. She noticed a descrete nametag reading 'May' on the front of her dress. "Miss May," she started to say.
"You don't need to say Miss," May answered her with a smile, "just May is fine." She quickly jotted down Sonomi's order and then radioed it off to a kitchen before trotting off to answer another customer's waves.
In a surprisingly short time her meal was served, at it was delicious. 'I ought to take Sakura and Tomoyo here. It might give Sakura some ideas about Tomoyo, maybe,' she thought to herself with a little smile.
A figure went by her table, only to stop and return. Sonomi looked up from her plate, and saw a beautiful younger woman standing by her table with an odd expression on her face. She thought she should recognize her, but she couldn't quite place her.
"You're Tomoyo's mother, aren't you?" she asked softly. Sonomi nodded to her cautiously, and the woman smiled charmingly, "We met only the one time. I'm Mitsuki Kaho, I taught your daughter and her friend Sakura for awhile."
Looking around them, Sonomi noticed that most of the tables were occupied, so she quickly took the opportunity to offer, "Would you care to eat with me?" She held her breath unconsciously, hoping that Kaho would accept.
Kaho smiled at her warmy, "Thank you very much. I'd be glad too."
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