Kaho Mitsuki smiled slightly as her secretary brought the documents in. "Why does Tomoyo insist on giving me a print out now?" the tall, brown haired older woman wondered out loud as she took the papers from Mei-Lin, "She could always email it to me." "I don't know," Mei-lin answered diplomatically, the Asian girl smiling sweetly as she waited a moment for further orders. "Don't give me that," Kaho gave her a skeptical look. Mei-lin shrugged as she admitted, "I think handing you a printout reduces the temptation to edit her copy." "Heh," Kaho smiled, "she forgets I'm a old fashioned reporter. I can edit her work with a pen as easily as on my computer." "You can edit by pen?" Mei-lin teased, blinking her eyes innocently as if the idea was completely new to her. "Get back to work," Kaho mock growled at Mei-lin as she bent over the papers, "before I have to spank you." "Yes ma'am," Mei-lin smiled as she turned and headed back out to her desk just outside of Kaho's door. Chuckling to herself Kaho read through the papers, nodding at times in approval. Tomoyo had done a good job tracing a scandal in city hall, following the money right back to the public works manager. The only annoying thing was that the trail stopped there. Kaho's instinct told her it went higher still, but proving it would be another matter. Quickly, Kaho opened up a email on her computer. "Tomoyo," she wrote, "am approving story, but keep nosing around. I feel certain there's more too it than just the manager."With a nod she sent it, then sat back and drank her cold coffee. 'I wonder if I should pull Tomoyo off the Clow case?' Kaho mused, 'She might be losing her edge for the city related stories.' With a sigh she shook her head, 'No, Tomoyo is our best source on this. No way Sakura would let anyone else get as close as we are.' "Chief," Yukito stuck his head in the door, the photographer smiling slightly, "a group of us are going to lunch. Want to come?" "Am I paying again?" Kaho asked, remembering the last time she had been stuck with the bill. Yukito, not to mention the other reporters, ate like starving wolves. "We're doing Dutch," Yukito smiled as he quickly added the important detail, "and my section gets figured separately." Kaho chuckled as she rose, "Then yeah, I'll join you." "I'll mind the store," Mei-lin said as Kaho walked by then called to the leaving reporters, "but someone please order me some take out!" "Right," Tomoyo nodded as she held the door for Kaho, her look just a bit wary. There had been a bit of tension between the two of them since they had both been at Sonomi's birthday party. Kaho had said she forgave the young lady for holding back on the Knight of the Clow's identity, but clearly Tomoyo wasn't sure she believed her. 'And I suppose Tomoyo's right about that, in a way,' Kaho silently admitted. The truth was she did feel angry towards Tomoyo, angry and disappointed. She had believed Tomoyo to be a good, devoted reporter, and discovering that Tomoyo could willingly withhold key facts from a story was rather surprising. "Here we go," Rika smiled as the group reached a small café nearby the paper's offices, a usual hang out for the staff. "Thank you," Kaho smiled to her as they entered. "Someone grab the corner table," she ordered as a few others headed to the counter. Within a few minutes several orders of soup, sandwiches and other items were ordered and on their way as the reporters took over their usual corner spot. They sat down and dug in, even as conversation also began to flow. "Nice job of the corruption story," Chiharu Mihara noted, the assistant editor munching on a roll as her usual twin ponytails bounced on her shoulders. "Thanks," Tomoyo smiled, "though I have to confess to getting lucky, too. If I hadn't been out chasing the Knight story, I'd never have seen the bribe exchange with the city director of public works." "At least you were sharp enough to spot it," Rika noted. "And to do the digging to find out what was going on," Kaho agreed. Tomoyo blushed charmingly. "Anyway," she waved that off, "how deep do you think his honor the mayor is in on this?" Chiharu sighed, "Yamazaki is a habitual liar, was since school." She paused, "I still find it hard to believe he got elected." Rika cleared her throat and gave Tomoyo a pointed look. 'Oh, they were school friends,' Kaho suddenly remembered. All three of them, Rika, Chiharu and the mayor Yamazaki had gone to school together, only separating in high school. There were also rumors around the office that Yamazaki and Chiharu had been more than just friends, too. "So," Yukito changed the subject a bit, "Have any of you read Naoko Yanagisawa's new novel?" He smiled even as he filled his face with food, "I really liked it." "Hard to believe out daydreaming friend could become such a good novelist," Chiharu agreed brightly. "I don't usually like fantasy but I got pulled in." "I heard she got a good quote from Nenene Sumerigawa," Tomoyo noted, "and she's infamous in not giving out quotes." "I've never tried it," Kaho admitted, "what's it about?" "A girl finds a magic book that brings her dreams to life," Rika explained, "but things turn out much more messy than she expects." "I can imagine," Kaho admitted. "I'll lend you my copy later," Tomoyo offered cheerfully. Kaho nodded, "Thanks, I may take you up on that." As she spooned up some soup she reflected, 'I wonder if Tomoyo and Sonomi are talking more? They actually seemed to be getting along a few days ago...' If anything good had come out of that disastrous birthday party, it had been a thawing of the ongoing cold war between Sonomi and Tomoyo. The attendance at the birthday party and the attack of the Water had been messy, but after the food fight in the back yard Sonomi and Tomoyo had nearly seemed friendly. 'Of course,' Kaho thought as she polished off her sandwich, 'I can't arrange a disaster at each event I get the two of them to attend.' She smirked, 'Though I suppose I could ask Sakura to pull something...' "You have the most evil smile on your face, boss," Chiharu noted, "you aren't planning something bad at work, are you?" Kaho fought back a blush at how transparent her expression must have been. "Would I do that?" she asked with a smile. "In a minute," both Chiharu, Rika, Tomoyo and Yukito chimed together. Kaho scowled, "Just wait till raise time, you'll regret that." "Don't worry," Yukito said quietly, "the day before we'll convince Sonomi to do something nice for you, so you'll be in a VERY good mood." "Sexist," Tomoyo slapped him on the arm, "Just because things work like that between you and Toya does not mean it works that way for Kaho." "Are you implying that I'm easy?" Yukito tried to look offended but his smile sort of countered that. "You said it," Rika snickered. 'My staff is crazy,' Kaho thought as they got the bill from a amused waitress, 'but damn are they entertaining.'
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