Sakura leapt up to dodge a strike, keeping a firm grip on her
staff as she quickly assessed her latest opponent. The thing was big,
nearly as tall as three men, it's body bulky and almost rocky in
appearance. It's eyes glowed scarlet, piercing in the night.
"So what do we do now?" Yukito asked, clicking away with his
camera.
"What in the.." Sakura turned in surprise, not having heard
their arrival. A backhand blow from the creature sent her flying away,
hammering her into a brick wall nearby the two newspaper reporters,
where she slid limply to the ground.
"No," Tomoyo murmured as she ran towards her. "Sakura?" she
looked down at her in surprise, offering a hand to pull her to her feet.
"Hooee?" Sakura blinked up at her dazedly.
"Sakura, are you all right?" Yukito cried as he ran over.
Sakura shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs. "I'm fine,"
she used Tomoyo's hand to pull herself up, swaying just a bit. The
creature ran at them again and Sakura shoved the others backwards with a
cry, "Get behind me!"
A muscled arm came down only to be blocked by that odd, bird
designed staff. They stood there frozen for a moment, the creature
straining to crush Sakura, then the slim brown haired heaved with her
shoulders to send the monster staggering away.
"I didn't want to use this," Sakura drew the ornately designed
card from beneath her cloak, "but you leave me with no choice." She held
still for a second, the black clad figure oddly meditative, then she
tossed it up into the air.
"What is she..?" Tomoyo blinked.
"Windy card!" Sakura brought her bird designed staff down onto
the card, light flaring brightly as she continued, "Become the chain of
punishment and bind my enemy. Windy!"
The card almost seemed to explode as a figure made up of mist
and air rose up, a gorgeous but dangerous female figure made of the very
air itself. She paused, giving them a regal glance, a slight smile
appearing on her face as she gazed at Sakura. Then she turned, swooping
down on the creature and binding it with her substance, forming bonds of
solid air.
Even as Windy struck Sakura was on the move. She ran at the
creature, grabbing the base of her staff and twisting slightly. With a
steely hiss she drew forth a silvery blade, the bird's head on the
handle becoming the sword's hilt, even as she leapt. A single downward
stroke of the weapon, a burst of black blood, and it was over.
The Windy swirled about Sakura and the much that had splattered
the cloak and black clothing was simply gone. A gentle hand was pressed
to the side of Sakura's face and it was gone, the card falling to settle
into Sakura's hands once more.
"Incredible," Yukito managed, so stunned that he hadn't even
been taking any photos.
"Are you two all right?" Sakura asked, sliding the sword back
into it's concealment then closing it with a soft click.
"What was that thing?" Tomoyo asked, quickly recovering from her
shock. "Where did it come from? How did you do that to stop it?"
"And what size underwear do you wear?" Yukito quipped, receiving
a glare from Tomoyo. The sound of police sirens rang through the alley
and he looked over at his two companions to ask, "Think we should get
out of here?"
"Would you mind giving me a ride home?" Sakura said with a
slight smile, "When we get there I'll explain what I know."
"Right," Tomoyo lead the way to the car. Yukito got into the
back seat, Sakura grabbing the passenger side as Tomoyo started up the
vehicle. They roared off, not too long before they began to pass police
vehicles hurrying the way they came.
"Thanks," Sakura sighed softly.
The young woman reached up, unclipping the clasp of her cloak at
her throat and then folding it up on her lap. Sakura held the staff
awkwardly in her hands, then she concentrated visibly. The staff
shimmered, glowing in the dim light of the car, then in began to shrink.
In a few moments it was simply a key that hung from a necklace around
her neck.
'She could use a nicer costume,' Tomoyo noted, taking in the
plain black clothes Sakura wore, 'though it is cute.' Tomoyo froze,
'What am I thinking?'
"Wow," Yukito spoke up from the back seat, "that's pretty cool."
He paused a moment, "How long have you been doing this sort of thing?"
"A couple of years now," Sakura said simply.
Tomoyo narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "That makes sense," she
murmured, "there were stories about a midnight adventurer years back,
then they just stopped. And now you.. huh." She looked at Sakura
curiously, "What happened to your predecessor, did she retire?"
Sakura swallowed visibly, her eyes closing tightly as if she
felt a deep pain. "No," she finally said softly, "she died."
Tomoyo's mouth went dry, she opened up her mouth but nothing
came out. "I'm sorry," Yukito spoke up from the back seat.
Tomoyo pulled the car in front of the little house, the address
she had memorized from the briefing papers she had read about Sakura
this morning. Sakura opened up the passenger side, "Come on inside, and
we'll talk."
'She looks so sad,' Tomoyo thought, 'and oddly familiar,
somehow. And not just from this morning.' She followed Sakura to the
front door, Yukito following behind her. As Sakura was unlocking the
door Yukito put a hand on her arm. "Yes?"
"You're not planning to write a story on this, are you?" Yukito
asked softly.
"I don't know," Tomoyo admitted softly, "who'd believe any of
this?" The door was open and the two of them followed Sakura inside. She
slipped her shoes off, then they went on into the little kitchen where
Sakura waved them over to the seats.
"I know Yukito is probably hungry," Sakura walked over to the
cupboards, "do you want anything, Ms. Daidouji?"
"It's Tomoyo," she said softly, thinking of something Sakura had
said earlier, "when someone says Ms. Daidouji I always look around for
my Mother."
"Fair enough, Tomoyo," Sakura agreed, laying a plate of biscuits
down in front of Yukito, then putting a bottle of iced tea down beside
it. "I'm not quite sure where to start," she admitted, sitting down
across from Tomoyo.
"How did you get involved with all this?" Tomoyo asked
curiously.
From a pocket in her black shirt Sakura drew out two cards,
laying them on the table. She unclipped her necklace, laying it atop the
cards as she said, "You could say that I inherited it. These belonged to
my mother, until she died."
Yukito's eyes widened, "Your mother died doing something like
this?" He frowned, "But Yukito told me she died in a car crash."
"It was the best story we could come up with, my father and I,"
Sakura toyed with the little key absentmindedly. "He felt so guilty
about his decision to let her continue as the Knight after she had Toya
and I that he asked me not to take up the job," she explained.
"You're obviously doing this now," Tomoyo pointed out gently.
"The duty has been passed from mother and daughter for
generations," Sakura explained, "I couldn't just turn my back on it.
Instead, I waited until I moved out of my father's home before I took it
the task of being the Knight of Clow."
"Clow," Yukito looked up in surprise from his plate of cookies,
"wasn't that the man you mentioned over at the museum?"
"Clow Reed," Sakura agreed. She held up the two cards, "He
created these Clow Cards, and he also used them to made certain
predictions about the future."
Tomoyo looked over at her thoughtfully before quietly saying,
"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like the sound of this?"
Sakura chuckled softly, "I know I didn't." More seriously she
continued, "Clow claimed that if the Cards weren't restored to their
sacred chamber, a great disaster would befall the world."
"You're mother's name, it wasn't Nadeshiko, was it?" Tomoyo
asked softly into the moment of silence that followed that statement. At
Sakura's surprised nod Tomoyo smiled slightly, "My mother, Sonomi,
always talks about her cousin Nadeshiko, and has pictures all over of
her."
"You two are related?" Yukito blinked in surprise, looking
between the dark haired girl and the brown haired one.
"I never knew," Sakura blinked in surprise.
"I won't write a story on this," Tomoyo admitted, "at least, not
yet." She fixed Sakura with an intense gaze, "But I want two things in
return."
"What?" Sakura frowned.
"One," Tomoyo held up a finger, "I want to cover whatever you
do. I just won't use your name." She held up another finger, "And two, I
want to design you a new costume."
"What?" Sakura looked at her in surprise.
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