Sakura: Knight of the Clow

Chapter 1 to 3

Yukito ate hungrily, a slight smile on his face as the light brown haired man demolished his massive lunch. Tomoyo had seen it happen a few times since she had begun to work with the good natured cameraman, but it still was just a bit unnerving to watch. 'Where does all of that food go?' she mused, noting his rake thin form.

"Ms. Daidouji," Yukito smiled, pausing for a moment in his eating to say, "I was wondering who this person is we'll be chasing?"

The black haired woman sighed, leaning back so that the light caught on her press badge. "No one's entirely sure," Tomoyo said. "For the past several months there's been sightings of a mysterious woman, one who seems to use real magic while fighting monsters."

"And since no one has learned anything about her you want to be the one to break the story," Yukito nodded thoughtfully. He hefted the zoom lens camera that he usually carried and vowed, "I'll do my best to photograph her."

"We'll go out tonight, see if we can find anything," Tomoyo agreed. She picked up a bag from her side and passed it over to him, "Here."

Yukito pulled the black clothing out of the bag and blinked, "Why.."

"If we're going to be skulking about at night," Tomoyo held up her own matching black shirt and pants proudly, "you've got to be dressed properly!"

Yukito blinked at his partner, "You are a very interesting person, ma'am."

A smiling Tomoyo stuck her tongue out at him impishly, "You're no fun." She picked up her notebook and stowed it away beside her tape- recorder as she said, "I'll pick you up at your boyfriend Toya's place at nine, all right?"

For such a pale young man Yukito blushed quite charmingly. "He is not my boyfriend," Yukito said with as much dignity as he could muster.

"Yeah, yeah," Tomoyo waved that off as she strode away.

The sun shone down, the breeze ruffling her long black hair. She walked by a few cherry trees, the scent filling her with a kind of familiar peace. She loved this city, and she loved looking for all the secrets beneath the surface. It was part of why she had begun to play with a videocamera as a girl, and why she had grown up to become a newspaper reporter as an adult.

'And now there's a new mystery,' Tomoyo thought, finishing the short walk from the cafe over to the newspaper offices. The Times was the town's main newspaper, other than a few gossip rags, and she knew she was lucky to be working there. 'Well, luck and a wee bit of parental influence,' she mused, walking in the front door.

"Hey Daidouji," the chief's voice cut across the bullpen as she stuck her head out of her office to yell, "get in here!"

"Yes," Tomoyo sighed, walking over there. Ms. Kaho Mitsuki was an old fashioned reporter, someone who had worked her way up from the bottom, and she expected all her reporters to do the same. "You wanted to see me?" she asked brightly.

"I've got an assignment for you," Kaho passed a folder of papers over, "there's a new exhibit opening at the museum, I want you to cover it."

Tomoyo flipped through the papers thoughtfully. An entirely new wing was being opened, based around a series of artifacts discovered by an archeologist who was based out of Tokyo itself. A photograph slipped from the papers, and Tomoyo scrambled to get it.

"Who is that?" Tomoyo blinked at the brown haired young woman who smiled out of the photo. Wide green eyes, short, slightly ruffled brown hair, she looked.. lovely.

"Sakura Kinomoto," Kaho said crisply, "she's the archeologist in question. I also understand that she has a position at the museum, possibly a assistant-curator."

"The opening is this afternoon," Tomoyo rose smoothly, studying the papers intently, "I'd better get going, then. What photographer is available?"

"Call up Yukito," Kaho smiled slightly, "I know you work well together."

"Got it," Tomoyo grinned suddenly, "In exchange, could I look into the oddness that's been around the city, lately?"

"You're not going to let that go, are you?" Kaho asked Tomoyo, an amused smile on her face. "All right," she nodded, "but don't do anything too stupid chasing that lady."

"Right," Tomoyo headed out with a wave. She flipped her cellphone open and dialed a number from memory. "Yukito? It's me. We've got another job, over at the museum. Meet me there by three."

"Hai," Yukito's sigh came through loud and clear.

The two of them met in front of the museum, both of them being sure to be just a little bit early. Yukito checked over his precious camera before he gave her a curious look and asked, "So when does this event actually start?"

"At four," Tomoyo made sure that her dress was straight, the matching coat snug over her shoulders. "And yeah, we're early so that we can talk to these people and try to make this a bit more than a puff piece," she explained fiercely.

Yukito just nodded, being well aware of his partner's enthusiasm.

The museum was quite modern, but the architecture was all modeled after that of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Great pillars rose up around them, supporting the museum roof, and the floors gleamed like polished glass. They were met at the door by a young man who checked their ID, then he lead them inside to where the exhibit itself was going to be.

People rushed about, trays of food being set up and a mini-bar assembled in the corner. Standing out of the chaos a woman waited protectively by a set of displays, watching the goings-on warily. Her short brown hair fell messily down into those blue eyes, and her tasteful clothes were just a bit rumpled looking, somehow.

"Good afternoon," Tomoyo took the initiative once they were close enough to her, offering the woman from the photo her hand, "you're Dr. Kinomoto, correct?"

"Ah, yes," the woman blinked, "Sakura, actually. Whenever someone says Dr. Kinomoto, I just look around for my father."

"Sakura, then," Tomoyo was just a bit surprised at how nice the lady's smile was, "my name is Tomoyo Daidouji, I'm with the Times."

Sakura looked past Tomoyo's shoulder, her eyes widening slightly as she saw the man with the camera, "Yukito? Is that you?"

"Hi, Sakura," Yukito smiled back at her engagingly. At Tomoyo's clearly confused look the elegant photographer added, "Toya is Sakura's big brother. I just didn't realize that it was her we were coming here to interview."

"Well, isn't that interesting," Tomoyo smiled slightly.

"Come on," Sakura beamed as she pointed towards the display cases nearby, "I'll give you a private tour." With a cheerful manner she and Tomoyo talked, Sakura explaining about her trip to China, and talking about the unusual artifacts she had found there. All belonging to a mysterious figure named Clow Reed, they were said to hold great mystical power.

"You don't really believe in that sort of thing, do you?" Tomoyo asked at one point as they passed a old book, the inside hollow, designed to contain.. something.

Sakura hesitated, then she smiled just slightly. "I've seen a few things that made me wonder," she finally admitted.

It was only a few minutes before opening before Tomoyo finally put her little tape-recorder away. "You do a good interview," she said to Sakura, "thank you."

"You're welcome," Sakura met Tomoyo's eyes, and the dark haired woman felt a moment of vertigo as Sakura continued warmly, "it was my pleasure." She gave Yukito a scolding look, "I hope you got enough photos, too."

"Oh, I guess," Yukito smiled back impishly.

"Are you going out on another expedition soon?" Tomoyo asked Sakura curiously as she walked them towards the entrance.

"No, I plan to stick around Tokyo for awhile," Sakura said firmly. She gave Tomoyo a curious look, "Why do you ask?"

"I.." Tomoyo felt a blush coming on, though she couldn't imagine why. "I was wondering if we could do lunch or something," she said, "your work sounds fascinating."

"I'd like that," Sakura smiled.

Walking down the Museum's front steps towards Tomoyo's sports car Yukito gave her a thoughtful look, "Well, wasn't that interesting."

"There might be another story in it," Tomoyo said to him firmly, just wishing that she wasn't blushing once again.

"See you tonight," Yukito gave her a wave as they split up.

The sun set over the city, and sitting together in the front seat of Tomoyo's car they patiently waited. Well, mostly patiently. "If you don't stop clicking your camera," Tomoyo gave him a look, "I'm going to take it away from you."

"Sorry," Yukito put it down. He sat there for a few moment, fidgeting until he asked, "So how are we supposed to find this mystery woman?"

Tomoyo reached up to tap a device on the dashboard, "Police band radio. If one of the monsters appears, or the lady herself, we'll hear about it."

"Nice," Yukito put his hand on it only to jerk back in surprise as it squealed loudly.

"That was fast," Tomoyo nodded, listening intently. "Looks like we've got a hit!" Tomoyo squealed out of the parking lot, the sleek little sports car racing across the city.

They came around a corner, and Yukito gasped in alarm. The thing was big, nearly as tall as three men, and a figure wearing a long hooded cloak faced up against it. "Where are the police?" Yukito asked weakly.

"They usually pull back when she's around," Tomoyo said, climbing out of the car to take a better look at the battle.

The cloak was red, trimmed in gold as it fluttered around the body beneath it. It was hard to tell gender, but a few glimpses of curves convinced Tomoyo it probably was a woman. Dark pants stuck out the bottom, and her arms were bare except for black gloves. In her hands the hooded figure carried a bird designed staff, almost reminding one of a large key.

"So what do we do now?" Yukito asked, clicking away with his camera.

"What in the.." the hooded figure was distracted, seemingly by their presence. A backhand from the muscular, rocky skinned creature sent her flying away, hammering her into a wall nearby the two newspaper reporters.

"No," Tomoyo murmured, running over towards where the figure had fallen, wondering why that voice had seemed familiar. She grabbed an arm, pulling her up, then Tomoyo just froze. "Sakura?" she said softly.

"Hooee?" Sakura blinked up at her dazedly.

To be continued...

Sakura: Knight of the Clow: Two

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.

To be continued...

Sakura: Knight of the Clow: Three

Tomoyo smiled as the black haired young woman strode into the newspaper offices of the Times while Yukito followed right behind her. All around them reporters typed away on computers, people rushed about, and talk buzzed loudly.

Almost as soon as they were making their way to Tomoyo's desk Kaho Mitsuki stuck her head out of her office to demand, "Did you get it?"

"Yes," Tomoyo smiled.

"Get in here," Kaho disappeared inside.

"Into the lion's den," Yukito said with a smile as they headed to the office.

"First hand story on the Knight," Tomoyo put the disk on the editor's desk, "and we even have photos of her in action."

"Why Knight?" Kaho asked as she popped the disk in her computer's drive, scanning it as Yukito put a set of photo's of the cloaked figure down.

"We've got to call her something," Tomoyo improvised quickly, "and it's pretty catchy. Might make for good headlines."

"That's true," Kaho finished reading, the brown haired older woman turning to look the photos over. "None of her face, too bad. Still," she held up a sharp photo of the Knight calling on her magic, "that's pretty impressive."

"Thanks," Yukito blushed a bit, the light brown haired man looking down shyly.

"No ones gotten this close to the Knight's activities before," Kaho sat back with a thoughtful look, "I'm very impressed. We're going to run with this story..."

"Thank you ma'am," Tomoyo smiled.

Kaho nodded, "... and I want you two to stay on this story, too. If you can find out who she is, why she does this, I'd appreciate it."

"We'll do our best," Tomoyo waved as she and Yukito headed out.

They separated, Tomoyo heading to her desk while Yukito headed off to get more film and to go over his camera. Tomoyo sat down at her desk, finishing up another story while considering the situation that she and Yukito were now in..

'I wonder what Kaho would have said if we produced the photos that Yukito got that showed Sakura's face,' Tomoyo smiled. She typed away, 'This agreement we've struck with her could pay off big, but it could also blow up in our faces.'

Tomoyo picked up her telephone, connecting with the archives. "Hey Rika," Tomoyo instantly recognized the woman's voice, "I need you to do a search for me?"

"How can I help?" Rika asked in her pleasant way.

"I'm working on a story on that mysterious guardian of the city," Tomoyo smiled wryly at how dramatic that sounded, "I was wondering if you could do a search on similar events?"

"What time range?" Rika said seriously, the researcher focused on her work.

"A very good question," Tomoyo admitted. She thought about it a moment, "Start with the last thirty years, then extend it back by the same amount." A bit apologetically she added, "I'm not sure how far back this all might go."

"I'll get started immediately," Rika agreed.

"Thanks," Tomoyo smiled as she disconnected.

'From what Sakura told us this sort of thing has been going on for years,' Tomoyo thought as she went back to her work, 'so it should crop up in our archives at times. That material will make a good backup piece on the Knight.'

The day rushed by, Tomoyo and Yukito often being sent out together to cover various small stories. It was kind of funny that there was all this speculation around the office that they were more than friends, especially when you considered the fact that poor Yukito was gay.

"So have you told Toya about all this?" Tomoyo asked as they drove back from a story.

"Right after I got back home last night," Yukito agreed. Dressed in T- shirt and dress pants he looked crisply neat, as always.

'Well, I do too,' Tomoyo admitted to herself. Despite the wear and tear of being a reporter she tried her best to look good, either in her long pants or dresses. It all depended on the situation, what sort of story she might be covering.

"So how did that go?" Tomoyo asked curiously.

"He pretty much confirmed everything Sakura told us," Yukito admitted. He sighed softly, "But not much more, he seems to be pretty much out of the loop now."

"Isn't that interesting," Tomoyo noted. She looked thoughtful, "Family spat?"

Yukito looked oddly uncomfortable, "I'm not sure. The feeling I got was that he really didn't want to know about that part of Sakura's life."

"Can't be fun, knowing your sister is going out to fight monsters," Tomoyo agreed. They pulled in front of the paper, both dropping off their stuff quickly. Tomoyo looked at Yukito thoughtfully, "Do you want a ride home?"

"Toya's picking me up," Yukito smiled.

Tomoyo nodded thoughtfully. "Then I'll see you later, partner," she waved.

"Stay out of trouble," Yukito called out as she left.

The little car mad it's way across town, pulling to a stop in front of the museum It was quite a modern building, but the architectural design was all modeled after that of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Great white pillars rose up around the entrance, supporting the museum roof, and as Tomoyo entered the building the floors gleamed like polished glass.

"Ms. Daidouji," one of the museum employees recognized her as she walked in, "is there anything I can do to help?" He smiled, "We saw your story in the papers this morning, it was great."

"I'm off work," Tomoyo hastened to say, "just looking around."

"Do you want me to let Dr. Kinomoto know you're here?" he offered.

Tomoyo hesitated, "If it isn't any trouble, sure."

"No problem," and the young man was gone.

Tomoyo made her way inside, looking around at the various sections of the grand museum. Still, her steps carried her to the China exhibit, and the artifacts that had been recovered recently. A set of robes hung in a display case, blue tripped in gold, while nearby an odd staff rested, a design incorporating a sun and moon on the top.

"The metalwork on that staff is remarkable," the soft voice came from behind her, "centuries ahead of it's time."

Tomoyo turned to see Sakura standing there, a soft smile on the assistant curator's face. Her short, slightly ruffled brown hair fell into her eyes, dressed in a simple lab coat over street clothes. She also was a bit dusty, a smudge on the tip of her nose.

"You're a mess," Tomoyo stepped forward, wiping the smudge off and bringing a faint blush to the other women's cheeks.

"Sorry," Sakura looked down shyly, "I was helping out over in our restoration's department. I'm not so good with the fine work, but I'm a wizz at cleaning."

"Ah," Tomoyo nodded. She tilted her head to the side, looking the other woman over thoughtfully before asking, "Do you have any plans for tonight?"

"I wasn't planning to go out," Sakura said softly, reaching to touch the necklace she wore, the enchanted charm hanging from it.

"That's not quite what I meant," Tomoyo said. She shrugged, "I was going to go out and grab some dinner, I was wondering if you'd care to join me?"

"Hoeee?" Sakura blinked.

"Nothing improper," Tomoyo hastened to say, "I was just hoping we could talk a bit."

Sakura seemed to shake off her moment of surprise and said, "I... I think I'd like that."

To be continued...