Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction / Tokyo Babylon Fan Fiction ❯ The Bet ❯ A Friend Returns ( Chapter 5 )

The Bet:

Chapter Five

Disclaimer: Neither Tokyo Babylon or Card Captor Sakura belong to me, they belong to CLAMP and I make no money at all from this work of fanfiction.

"We've been looking for four months, Eriol," Li sighed and stretched, pouring his reluctant partner some tea. Eriol grunted sourly, taking the warm drink and just holding it, not drinking at all. Time was rushing past him, like he was caught in a stream with an overpowering current and all he could do was cling to the rocks.

"Yes, and all we've gotten are dead ends- I KNOW the Sakurazukamori is playing with us now," Eriol put his tea down and ran a hand through his bangs. "Its like an elaborate game of hide and seek."

"What- mad someone could outwit you?" Syaoran smirked, pleased, despite the situation that someone had managed to one up the annoying magician. Eriol glared at him.

"I refuse to answer that on grounds I could incriminate myself," he answered loftily. Syaoran snickered.

"We still have a few years before the Final Day," Li sobered quickly, saying that.

"Yes, so what are we going to do before the world ends?" Eriol sighed, now glaring at his teacup like the world's end was its fault.

"We won't let it end!" Syaoran answered fiercely, his eyes glowing like the wolf he was.

"We've found another dragon of heaven," Eriol changed the subject. No need to tell Syaoran of his visions.

"That Jou character? Yeah, his Inugami decided to stay with him- he doesn't know why yet... but he will. The joys of being a Ten no Ryou," Li hunched over.

"Being a Chi no Ryou isn't much better."

"Oh fuck you," Syaoran got up and left.

Eriol blinked... what was that about?

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You know, it really is a lovely day, Penguin-san," Touya said to the small tuxedo colored animals that cackled back at him, like they were answering. The tall man leaned against the glass.

"It would be all the more lovely if I had people to spend it with," he spoke conversationally to the birds more, and they bobbed their heads, croaked and cackled at him, and he smiled faintly, remembering saving one years ago...

"To-ya! You are talking to the penguins?" giggled someone behind him, and the veterinarian turned to look into the smiling eyes of Yukito. Touya just raised an eloquent eyebrow.

"I refuse to answer on the grounds that I might incriminate myself."

"Well, we'll leave you two alone," said a voice behind Yukito- Sakura and Tomoyo, with Tomoyo resting her chin on Sakura's shoulder. Sakura just gave them her mischievous Imouto grin.

"So- you two thought of any baby names yet?" she snickered, continuing the Gag That Refused to Die. Yukito turned a violent red.

"Its too early yet, I'm not due for another couple of months," Touya answered serenely, getting some odd looks from passerby.

"Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?" Tomoyo quietly added, and Sakura covered her mouth to stop from laughing out loud.

"I honestly don't care," the darker of the men replied, and put an arm around Yukito. "So long as it takes after his or her beautiful father, I will be content."

"TO-YA!" the snow bunny protested, putting his hands in the air. He tried hard to joke back. "I want a girl! We can name her Nadeshiko!"

This, for some reason, brought the conversation to a screeching halt. Touya's eyes lost their playfulness as he turned to Sakura and Tomoyo.

"I thought you had a job this afternoon?" he said, voice calm.

Yukito didn't understand the sudden shift in mood, but nodded to Sakura and Tomoyo as they walked away, giggling to each other. He grinned at Sakura's clothes- long, silvery leggings under a white wrap around skirt, open to mid thigh, with a flounced blouse, with two long shawl like trains going from her shoulders to her wrists, but draped past her knees. It gave her the impression of wings.

Then again, he was dressed like the Return of the Hippie… Tomoyo's varied tastes had struck again. Tie-dyed shirt, beads, fringed leather vest and bell-bottoms over moccasins. He couldn't have contrasted more with the veterinarian in the Armani suit more.

They turned to walk away-

"What was that about? I was trying to go join in with that joke for once, and you completely shut me out," he sounded a little hurt. Touya refused to look at him for a moment, but when he did, Yukito shivered. His eyes were flat, expressionless behind his glasses. Nothing at all…

"A daughter of mine, named Nadeshiko, would have to take over the family like business, like Sakura nearly did."

Then the moment passed, like it never existed.

"So… do you want to go to the tea shop here for our date?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"We're meeting Jou here?" Sakura asked, as Tomoyo handed her the note she had taken. They had gone to a small diner, some hamburger place, because Jou was trying to hire them.

The two girls had made friends with Jou, after his perpetual gloom had lightened, they could see the cheerful, devil may care youth he had been, and they found they liked him a great deal. Yet the oddest part about him now, as he entered the diner, was the dog that still followed him around, completely unhindered by a leash, and which people walked through like he wasn't there, but would get pats and scratches from her master ever so often.

Yet only Tomoyo and Sakura could see the dog…

"What do you think is going to happen to them?" Sakura asked her wise friend. Tomoyo frowned and blinked for a moment, her face going oddly slack. Then it quickly became Tomoyo again. Sakura was, needless to say, unnerved.

"I think, that until whatever business Duchess has with this life is over, she won't move on. Of course, it might be that she just DOESN'T want to move on- she loved her master with all her heart. He loved her. I think that they are happy like this…"

Sakura nodded.

Jou trotted over, and Sakura quickly shoved a tray of food in front of him. He grinned at her and immediately started wolfing the food down- and sneaking pieces to Duchess.

More odd staring as one or two people tried to convince themselves they weren't seeing food disappear into mid air.

"What's this job you have for us?" Sakura asked as Jou started draining his drink.

He paused his slurping. "Oh, yeah- well, these weird fires have been starting at this, um, place I know of. They've only been happening to, um, guys who, um, have been mistreating, um, the people that work there. I don't really GO there, cause, well, I still love Yug', and don't really need to, but I got a friend who works there and she, yeah, she um… got roughed up a couple of times outside of work by, um, customers." Jou's face was starting to sweat.

"Jounouchi," Tomoyo pronounced carefully. "What kind of place is it that you are trying to describe?"

"A Soapland?" he answered in a small voice.

Sakura nearly spit out the soda she was drinking, choked, and Tomoyo and Jou had to enthusiastically pound her back to get her to breath again.

"A Soapland? You mean, as in, prostitutes?" Sakura wheezed hard.

Jou nodded. "I, actually… I worked at one for a while," his face turned very purple. "I just did the bathing thing!" he protested.

"Well, I met this girl, we kept in touch cause she was nice- and she wouldn't tell me what was going on, but I read stuff in the paper about what was happening at her Soapland."

"So- you want us to investigate what's causing the fires?" Tomoyo clarified. Jou nodded, and gave the rest of his burger to Duchess, who barked happily.

"I think- um, do we have to actually meet the girls?" Sakura asked nervously, shifting around in her seat. Jou sighed.

"They aren't bad people, Sakura-san," Jou sounded sad. "It's a place where people don't ask questions. They go there cause they either need the money desperately, they want to hide from something, or they just don't want people to know them. They got lots of reasons- some ARE bad, but most are just tryin' to survive."

Sakura sat back with a huff. Bad things had happened in her life- but she had never faced a situation like what Jou had described, where her choices were so limited that she would be forced to work at some place like that. Yet she had seen people who had been down and out- whose despair crushed them. Like Jou's had been- and she hurt for them.

So much pain… so little she could do about it…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Syaoran Li looked up at the ceiling of his room; arm flung over his head, and told himself to forget.

He didn't want to forget. He couldn't forget.

He hadn't told anyone- how could he?

Meilin was dead.

He'd had to listen to Eriol moan the loss of his ladylove. He'd been there through the reunion with Touya- but he couldn't, not yet, vent his grief for his oldest friend.

It had to be his fault- they'd fought, like siblings, and the next day, a fire had started in the Li compound- he could still hear his cousin screaming… It couldn't have been a year or more ago…

Maybe he'd be given a miracle, like Sakura. Maybe if he believed enough- everything would be all right.

That was the Invincible Spell- right?

Right?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Night had come with a suddenness that had left Yukito nearly breathless, as both he and Touya sat on the highest beams of Tokyo Tower.

Somehow this had turned out to be a threesome date- with Yue talking them to a part of the Tower no one would normally get to, free of charge.

"This is... such a beautiful city," Yukito murmured, looking out over the constellation of lights that made up the city at night.

"Yes, it is. I truly enjoy this town," Touya smiled out over it, and Yukito felt odd as he looked at the smile, like there was something he was missing. Or had been added- like the smile was real...

His smiles aren't real? Yue muttered, in their mind. The thought was oddly disconcerting. Then it was gone.

Then again- what was real? Yukito and Yue shied from that thought as well.

Were they real?

Their wishes were those of their master- but Sakura was a sweet, loving person. How could they ever tell? How could they ever be real- or even whole?

"I enjoy Tokyo as well- it's changed so much. So many things are here..."

Touya chuckled. "I suppose my reasons for liking this place are far more different than yours. Although that might change..."

"Why do you love this Tokyo?" Yukito asked lazily, leaning on Touya's shoulder.

"Its the only town that can enjoy itself on the way to damnation."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sakura blinked at the door of the Soapland she had been paid to investigate. Her heart was racing, because she had absolutely no idea what to expect.

It was still daylight- the Soapland was still closed. Nervously she went up the short stairs, and knocked on the door.

"Excuse me- we're not open yet," said a voice form behind the door, and it opened, and Sakura felt like someone had punched her in the gut.

"Meilin?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you going to tell me what crawled up your ass and died, or do I have to use a post-cognition spell on you?" Eriol growled at his little descendent, who was staring off into space. To Eriol, it was obvious that Li had been crying- not hysterically, but the slow drip of tears seeping from a deep heartache.

Syaoran glared half-heartedly at him, and turned away, not saying a word.

Eriol was silent for a moment.

"I warned you-" and started to chant a spell-

"Its not any of your business," Syaoran said in annoyance.

"It is if you are going to mope around," Eriol crossed his arms.

Li wanted to growl at him, but Eriol was being sincere for once.

"It's been a year since," he sighed. "Since Meilin died."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"MEILIN?" Sakura nearly shrieked, but was cut off by the Chinese girl's hand covering her mouth, her cinnamon eyes as shocked as Sakura's.

"Sakura?" she whispered back, and looked surreptitiously around, before grabbing her arm and pulling her inside. "What are you DOING here? This isn't a place I ever expected to SEE you!"

"Me- what about you? I haven't heard from you for nearly five years! I thought you were still in Hong Kong!" Sakura felt her knees wobble dangerously.

"You mean- Syaoran-kun didn't tell-" her ruddy eyes closed in pain, and took a deep breath. "Well, I left Hong Kong a year ago…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Li had gotten to his feet and was pacing back and forth. "The Clan Elders are getting more and more nervous as the Promised Day gets closer. They think that it is a sign that the Clan is not destined to survive, because more and more Li children are being born without magic, and what the gifted ones DO have, is weaker. Frankly- I think its bullshit. We've been so inbred for so long that it's amazing we have a normal set of teeth. Magic users ARE rare- and I'm lucky I was born so healthy. A lot of powerful mages are physically frail."

Eriol nodded. He himself was far from robust- while he wasn't sickly, he wasn't a weight lifter by any stretch of the imagination.

"Meilin was absurdly healthy- and NORMAL. She's got the blood lines- and power potential- to be my equal. Some times power just doesn't come out. Sakura's like that- if Clow hadn't made the Cards it's likely she never would have developed her powers as a mage. That's another thing! People just don't NEED magic as much anymore. They don't bother to develop their powers. Why the hell the elders decided- fuck- those bastards, they didn't even TELL me. They knew I would stop them- I'm the fucking Clan Head!"

Eriol stared in astonishment- Syaoran was not the type to curse unnecessarily. The fact that he was ranting like this meant he was horribly angered by whatever had happened. Of course- he had just said Meilin had died…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sakura found herself in one of the many parlors in the Soapland, trying not to stare as Meilin walked around in a red lace teddy, sheer stockings held up by black garters, and a black housecoat over that. Meilin's hair was loose, draping down her back in a black curtain- and Sakura couldn't stop her blush.

This Meilin wasn't the same one she had known as a little girl. She was…

Sakura's face heated up. Meilin looked very, very-

And her mind strayed to wondering what Tomoyo would look like-

BAD THOUGHTS!

Pinching herself, Sakura turned back to Meilin, who was now sitting across from her- and holding a cigarette, which she lit with her finger.

"You- you have power now-" Sakura thought being dumbfounded was going to a permanent state for her now.

Meilin laughed without humor. "If you want to call it that… You see- one day, the Clan Elders came to me, and asked me to do my duty to the Li Clan. As I was not going to be bearing children for them- they asked if I would agree to participate in an experiment."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I didn't find out until later they were trying to make her magical potential come to fruition. She had a lot of it- you sensed it as well as I did. Energy, untapped, unusable to anyone, other than maybe passed down to her children. Since no one in the Clan would marry her now that it was presumed I would marry Sakura- they decided her duty was to try to wake up that power she had never used. They went over my head, and asked her."

Eriol watched as Syaoran sat down again, face in his hands.

"I couldn't protect her. I wanted to- she'd been with me as long as I could remember…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I volunteered fairly quickly when they said they could give me the magic that should have been mine from birth. Or so they said. I shouldn't have agreed so easily- but they were the Clan Elders- what else could I do? So I agreed to go along with it." Meilin took a long drag from her cigarette, and Sakura stared at her hands. What could she do?

"The experiment was a success- only no one could control what happened. It turns out I'm not exactly a mage- I'm a fire-user. An Elemental, for lack of a better term." Meilin chuckled, this time not so dryly. "It was a trait that the Clan had tried to breed out of us for generations. It had become so rare that they didn't recognize it… What had blocked me from using it in the first place was a spell that had been placed on the entire CLAN- right at the founding of it."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I don't know what happened- I can only imagine that whatever they tried to do was a failure," Syaoran said miserably. Eriol had gotten up and sat next to him, and gently put a hand on his shoulder. Syaoran didn't notice.

"A huge fire broke out- and I tried to go in to help, but I couldn't get there in time. When I managed to put out the fire, it turned out that many of the elders had been burned beyond recognition, and Meilin's body completely destroyed… We couldn't tell who was who, even with magic."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"When the Elders discovered what they had done, they tried to kill me. I had started a small fire, one that could have been put out with a fire extinguisher. Then they panicked- and they directed their magic at me. I had a dozen ofuda thrown into my face before I could breathe- and I lashed out to protect myself… I killed them."

Meilin had started crying, silent, anguished tears falling down her cheeks. "I didn't mean to; I didn't want to hurt anyone. They were there- and then I hurt- and suddenly there was fire everywhere and they were gone. Elemental abilities are hard to control… So I left. I didn't want to bring more pain to my Clan. Syaoran would have tried to protect me, and I knew he couldn't. Not from this. I came back to Japan, but I didn't want you to get into trouble," she smiled faintly at Sakura. "I missed you- but I also knew that you couldn't keep a secret to save your life. So-" she gestured to their surroundings. "I found the only job I could really take."

"That's not true," Sakura protested- what, she couldn't have said.

"People don't ask questions here."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I really have been an ass, haven't I?" Eriol muttered. Syaoran had cried himself to sleep, his head in Eriol's lap. "I've been so concerned with how to find Kaho's murderer that I didn't notice that someone else was in pain right next to me… Ruby? Would you mind carrying him to bed?"

The Moon Guardian walked in, looking at Li with pity in her eyes. She gently picked the much larger boy up, and walked away, and turned to Eriol.

"Does this mean we're going to leave?"

"No- the murderer still has to be found," he sighed. "But I need to be more gentle to those around me…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you the one causing the fires to the, um, clients?" Sakura asked, in a small voice. Meilin shrugged.

"Yes." She looked away. "They were hurting the other girls here. No one was killed… How did you hear about that?"

"Um, Jou told me-"

"JOU?" Meilin's sad eyes instantly lit up. "I haven't heard from him in ages! How's he doing? Has he found a new boyfriend? How's Duchess? She was such a sweet dog…"

"Woah!" Sakura laughed. "He's doing better- it's a long story. I'm a psychic investigator now- and Jou was worried about a friend of his here- you? He heard about the fires and said his friend wouldn't want to ask for help and asked me to work a case for him. I solved a case he was involved with a few months ago- and we became friends."

"That's great," Meilin sighed, and finished off her cigarette, and looked at the clock. "If it makes you feel better, I won't burn anyone else… I'll just beat them if they try to stiff us again."

Sakura choked- but she hoped Meilin was joking; but from the hard look in her eyes- maybe not.

"You should tell Syaoran-kun," the sorceress rubbed her forehead. "Knowing him, he's convinced himself it was all his fault. He needs to know it isn't."

"Sakura," the other girl sighed, and rubbed her forehead. "We're going to be opening soon. Syaoran-kun… He wouldn't be happy to know what I've become."

"Well, I was surprised when Onnichan turned up alive," Sakura commented softly. "He's a veterinarian now- that's something I wouldn't have expected either. Li loves you- not like how you wanted him, but I know he thought of you as his friend."

Meilin turned away and stubbed out her cigarette. "I'll think about it. You should be leaving- I doubt you want to see what I do for a living. Give me your phone number- I'll call you later."

Sakura didn't answer, but offered Meilin her card with a bow.

"Please do call."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Touya watched as his little sister left the Soapland, raising an eyebrow. His latest target was a frequent client… but he'd had a bad habit of abusing the people there. He was also a high level official who was deeply corrupted- but the contract had indeed come from one of the workers there.

One of the brats from the Card Capturing days was working there… what a surprise.

Sakura walked away, sighing softly, and passed by an ugly little toad of a man on his way to the Soapland. She didn't pay him any attention…

Leaping down from the building he'd perched on, Sakurazukamori casually waited by the door of the Soapland…

The toad-man walked up the steps, was about to enter…

"Got a light?" Sakurazukamori asked, holding up an unlit cigarette. To the toad-man, it looked like he'd appeared out of nowhere. Startled, the anonymous man shook his head.

"Fires make me nervous anymore- I stopped smoking," he laughed nervously. "It's bad for my health…"

"So are a lot of things," Touya murmured, enclosing them both in his illusion. "You really should be more careful about your business…"

Much further down the street, Sakura wondered why she could smell the scent of cherry blossoms so strongly. None were blooming in this area.

To be continued.