Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow of the Dragon ❯ Sakura and the Christmas Party ( Chapter 37 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Lord Archive 
With the unwanted presents dealt with, it's time for some Christmas cheer and some special presents.
Anime/Manga: Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.24.2014 | Pages: 8 | Words: 7.2K | Visits: 319 | Status: Completed
With the unwanted presents dealt with, it's time for some Christmas cheer and some special presents.
Anime/Manga: Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.24.2014 | Pages: 8 | Words: 7.2K | Visits: 319 | Status: Completed
Rika frowned as nurses and doctors went from patient to patient. None stopping to offer her any information.
"The situation is over," Syaoran informed.
Rika jumped. "I didn't see you. Is really it over?"
Syaoran nodded. "This situation at least. Sakura and Meiling are on their way here."
Rika held her hands together tightly. "Are they all right?"
"Sakura was kicked in the knee, and will get it checked out when she gets here. It looks like Meiling didn't get hurt," Syaoran replied. "I've haven't heard anything from Sakura's family, so I believe they are all okay."
Rika nodded. She had already been told that Naoko and Kurogane had come out of the situation without a scratch. Still it left her wondering about the main reason she was here.
"Once they finish checking Hayabusa, we'll be informed," Syaoran told her.
"How can you be sure?" Rika wondered.
Syaoran pointed at a sign listing the board of directors. "Kurogane's family owns part of the hospital."
Rika tilted her head. "With his line of work, it would make it easier to cover injuries the police might want to know about."
"You make it sound like he's a criminal," Syaoran pointed out.
"Takes one to know one, I guess," Rika muttered.
"You weren't in control of yourself," Syaoran pointed out.
"I was unable to stop myself, but I'm sure I knew what I was doing. I've been wanting to hurt her. And now I might have killed her," Rika almost stuttered fighting the urge to cry. "Here I've been afraid my beloved might be taken away from me, now I might be the one to leave him."
"This is a precaution," Syaoran insisted. "Most of the time it's a few pain killer and an ice pack. And we got her here quickly. Even if she was seriously hurt, it shouldn't be fatal."
"Don't tell me, she went crazy and kicked you in the knee for no reason," an exasperated woman intoned.
"Um... kind of..." Sakura sheepishly replied.
"Can we get her leg looked at?" Meiling demanded.
"You'll have to wait your turn, I'm afraid. We've had a lot of temporary insanity today. Don't bother making a complaint to the police, they've already given up trying to figure this mess out," the nurse informed.
Syaoran rushed over to them. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, just a bruised knee. Nothing to worry about," Sakura insisted. "How's Tomoyo-chan?"
A shadow suddenly loomed over them. "Just a deep bruise to her chest. She's in process of being discharged," Kurogane told her. "All injuries so far tonight have been minor at the worst." He turned toward Rika. "Hayabusa is being kept for observation, though the scans of her head showed no damage."
Rika let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."
"Once your leg has been checked, you'll all be going to the Daidouji home," Kurogane informed as he had something else to attend to.
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Card Captor Sakura: Shadow of the Dragon
Chapter 37 - Sakura and the Christmas Party
By: Lord Archive
Card Captor Sakura belongs to the fine ladies of CLAMP. Used without consent, all rights reserved.
Author's Warnings:
This contains mature themes not intended for children under thirteen.
This series contains:
Adult situations.
Sexual situations withOUT detailed description of sex nor the naked human body.
Brief moments of violence, some cases involving people getting severely injured and possibly death.
Occasional use of vulgar language.
Japanese humor: which include bathroom jokes, panty fetish and shocking situations.
Depictions of criminal activity committed by fictional characters.
References of homosexuality.
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Hanami blearily opened her eyes and immediately wondered why she was in some strange bedroom. It was kept too nice to be her own room. She went to sit up and noticed what little she was wearing was now tattered and torn rags. "WHY AM I NAKED?!"
A soft knock echoed from the door. "Hanami-san... I've sent Touya to get you some clothes from your home," Fujitaka's muffled voice informed. "I'd lone you some of Sakura's clothes but you're a bit taller than she is."
Hanami jumped from the bed and rushed to door, and opened it. "What happened? What's going on?"
Fujitaka blushed deeply and attempted to look away, but the girl's beauty was hard to deny. "Um... well... Sakura's enemy possessed you in an attempt to kill me. He had used special cards and hid them in your clothing, and well... Yueh was rather thorough in removing them from you quickly."
Hanami blinked. "Oh." She then gazed down and suddenly remembered she was functionally naked. She let out a squeak, jumped back and slammed the door shut.
"Um... sorry," Fujitaka weakly apologized.
Hanami let out a weak laugh. That was certainly an unintended preview, though he might get to do more than see her soon. "Is everyone all right?"
"Just a few cuts and bruises. The emergency room is apparently overwhelmed, but nothing serious to worry about. The police are writing it off as excessive celebration for Christmas and end of semester at schools," Fujitaka told her.
"That's good I guess," Hanami replied weakly. Touya could not return fast enough with her clothes.
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Yuki rushed to the hospital, her face sporting fresh bruises. As she approached the building she moved toward a familiar limousine, particularly because of who was getting ready to enter it. "Tomoyo-chan!"
Tomoyo paused. "Oh, Yuki-chan, your friend is fine. She'll be kept for the night for observation."
"That's good." Yuki panted a little from running. "Now what the hell happened?! Why was Shiori hit on the head? Why did I suddenly wake up to someone punching me saying the I was 'destroying his fucking peaceful Christmas?'"
Tomoyo smiled sheepishly. "I'm afraid I can't begin to explain it to you."
Yuki's brows furled not believing her girlfriend, especially with her beloved's friend dressed up like a Christmas present and was wildly fretting nervously.
Hayabusa's rival stepped forward. "I'm really sorry."
Yuki glared at the girl, figuring she was the one that brained her friend. Though she honestly couldn't blame her too much.
"You should be able to see Hayabusa-san if you mention Kurogane sent you," Tomoyo advised before slipping into the limousine.
The walking Christmas present practically jumped into the stretched car, followed by her friend's rival and some guy. Then the car sped off.
"'Oh, my Yuki-chan, what happened to your face? Are you okay?'" Yuki asked in false imitation of Tomoyo's voice. The girl shook her head and sadly walked into the hospital.
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Tomoyo led the way toward her bedroom and motioned toward the doors on the opposite side of the hallway. "If you would like you can use the guest bedrooms."
Sakura grabbed Syaoran's hand. "We need to talk." She then immediately pulled him into one of the offered rooms and immediately locked the door.
Rika blinked and then giggled a little. "Well that was easier than expected."
"They were due for a talk," Tomoyo replied knowingly.
"I may have told mother we were starting your party early, but I think I'll take another room," Rika informed.
Tomoyo opened the door for her friend. "I'll have some clothes ready for you tomorrow."
Rika nodded. "Do keep it something simple."
"Sakura will help your beloved to attend, so I'll make sure to get you something he's sure to like," Tomoyo insisted.
"Tomoyo-chan..." Rika trailed off with an exasperated sigh. She shook her head. If the outfit was too outrageous she'd just continue to wear what she already had on. "Goodnight."
"I want some wine. And I mean real wine. Not the grape juice you gave me last time," Meiling demanded from a maid.
"Li-sama," the maid almost whined.
"My now ex-boyfriend fucked his sister, my grandfather tried to make me kill one of my friends, and my first love and former finace is locked in a room with his new fiancee," Meiling rattled off.
The maid saw Tomoyo give her a curt nod. With a sigh she gave a shallow bow. "As you wish. I will see what I can do."
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A private investigator's job was not the exciting job television and movies would lead you to believe. Beyond the countless hours spent sitting around doing nothing but watching a person live their boring life, there were other less glamorous parts. Case in point: dumpster diving.
Shifting through the trash of the Twin Bells, he was looking for any boxes or invoices that might relate to the cards. He finally might have a method to track down Li Yinglung and he had to do this now before the magic-user recovered enough power to erase any evidence.
Kurogane turned as soon as he heard a noise, but it was too late to hide.
"What are you doing?!" Maki demanded.
"I'm Kurogane of Shiro-Kuro Investigation Services. I'm here investigating the cards you sold. They seem to have dissolved and turned into a mind altering drug. I believe you're as much a victim as those who purchased those cards. I'm just trying to track down the source and stop them," Kuorgane quickly related.
Maki touched her black eye. "Is that how this happened? I woke up in front of my store with this."
"Probably," Kurogane failed to confirm.
"Let me see if I still have the invoice records." Maki rushed back into her store.
Kurogane did not follow her. She was likely already on edge and if she wanted to confirm his company existed, she could do so without him breathing over her shoulder. He doubted she would call the police with a suitable explanation, especially if it was true she could be seen as an accomplice.
Maki returned a moment later. "Here you go. I'm afraid it was cash on delivery."
"Where there is money, there is a path to follow," Kurogane told her as he took the offered invoice from her. "Thank you."
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Sakura sat on the bed, vainly trying to massage her knee through the leg brace she got from the hospital. She suspected that she didn't really need it as she was only bruised, but with Kurogane handling her admission she was rushed through examination and they were being overly cautious not to upset a man who was set to inherit partial control of the hospital.
Syaoran gazed at the girl. She was the one to say they needed to talk yet she had yet to say a word since she dragged him into the room. They definitely needed to talk, especially now there was no longer any question as to who was behind the attacks and why.
Sakura looked up shyly. "Sorry..."
"Sorry about what?" Syaoran wondered with a bit of dread.
Sakura shrugged weakly. "About being so silly. I guess I was using the idea of moving to Hong Kong as an excuse."
Syaoran blinked in confusion. "Excuse for what?"
Sakura looked away. "To give an out for the attack. I knew for a while people would be hurt. If your great-uncle had accepted my surrender, I would've tried ending our relationship for good. He didn't believe that moving to Hong Kong would've been a deal breaker. I'm not sure I could continue making myself believe that either."
Syaoran took a step closer to her. "You mean everything since you walked out was an act?"
Sakura let out a weak smile. "Not sure I can say everything was an act. I might have dropped it if you hadn't gotten so upset about my vision of our child."
Syaoran clenched his fist. "What do you expect me to say when you talked about us being destined. That I have no choice."
"Of course we still have choices. After Clow did all he could to ensure I would inherit his cards, he thought I would end up with Yukito-san," Sakura related. "I've done more peeks at my future. I can give you no guarantees. I might not even survive the final battle. Having a child we named Tsubasa is just more likely than not."
"But you had said our love may have been destined," Syaoran insisted.
"I said that some things might have been predetermined. Even if I don't marry you, I'm still likely to have a child, a daughter, named Tsubasa." Sakura folded her arms. "You don't truly think your feelings for me aren't your real feelings, do you?"
Syaoran looked away nervously.
Sakura glared at him. "Are you still in love with Yukito-kun?"
Syaoran shook his head. "Of course not."
"Did you still love me while you were in Hong Kong?" Sakura pressed.
"Well, yeah...," Syaoran admitted weakly.
"Loved me even though I was too far away for you to feel my magic? Had more than enough time to have gotten use to my magic to no longer be swayed by it just as you're no longer swayed by Yueh's magic?" Sakura stressed.
Syaoran looked down sheepishly. "I guess... I guess maybe that was my excuse to keep you away."
Sakura nervously played with the hem of her skirt. "Do you really want to go away?"
Syaoran gazed at the girl dressed cutely in red and green. He found himself longing for the time they were elementary school together. Things had been so much simpler then. All that mattered then was love. Things weren't so easy now, and chances are they were only going to get more complicated. If he was the one to leave, chances are the attacks would stop. It would keep her safe. She might even die if he stayed. Yet it would hurt him to let her go... hurt her if he left. "No, I want to stay with you... always."
"As do I." Sakura held out her hand and he hesitantly grasped it. "You know I'm surprised there are no ribbons on this costume."
"I think it makes you look beautiful. Ribbons would've been a bit much," Syaoran replied edging closer, gazing into her eyes.
"Well, then I'd look more like a Christmas present ready to be unwrapped," Sakura replied with a thick blush.
Syaoran closed the distance and kissed her gently. "I still wouldn't mind unwrapping you." He only received encouragement from the girl as he did just that.
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Naoko rushed through the Daidouji manor. She hardly got any sleep last night. Between repeated checks to make sure she hadn't hurt her parents while possessed and wanting to know all the juicy details of Sakura's latest battle. She had largely been left out of the loop, but she certainly wanted to get the full story. The planned Christmas party wasn't for another two hours, but she couldn't take waiting in bed any longer. After hugging both of her parents she had set off on the first bus.
"Good morning!" Naoko greeted as she opened Tomoyo's door. Being almost eleven she had thought everyone would be awake despite the battle from the previous night. She quickly saw more than that she had been mistaken. With wide eyes she slammed the door shut.
A door across the hall creaked open. "Oh, good morning, Naoko-chan," Sakura greeted with a lethargic tone.
Naoko spun around and nervously laughed. "Ah, good morning. Don't want to go in there yet. Ah... Meiling-chan and Tomoyo-chan are still asleep... very asleep... um... ah..."
Sakura tilted her head. "Some thing wrong?"
"Nope! Nothing wrong!" Naoko chirped.
"You haven't seen Syaoran, have you?" Sakura wondered.
A maid entered the hallway. "Has Tomoyo-hime awoken yet?"
Naoko jumped and waved her hands. "Not yet! Don't think she'd want to be disturbed!"
"Oh, my!" The maid covered her mouth. "Um, ah... Sakura-hime!"
Sakura blearily looked at the maid. "Yes?"
"Li-sama left earlier to run some errands and made sure to let us know he would be returning," the maid informed.
"He could've at least waited until I woke up before running off." Sakura shook her head irritably.
"Do you know where Li-kun went?" Naoko wondered.
"Likely to grab presents from his apartment," Sakura replied and shifted uneasily.
"Right. You didn't get any chance to grab them," Naoko rationalized.
A door open and then closed quickly behind them making Naoko jump.
"Mornin'," Meiling groused. "Need some tea."
Sakura nodded. "I could certainly use some too."
The maid clapped her hands together. "Certainly! Right this way!"
Naoko glanced nervously at her Chinese friend. "Um... are you all right?"
"No," Meiling groused.
Sakura frowned. "You're still my friend."
"Saying that doesn't make me feel any better about fucking Tomoyo to get back at my grandfather," Meiling muttered.
"Oh." Sakura shook her head sadly. Then her eyes went wide. "You did WHAT?!"
"I did Tomoyo," Meiling intoned irritably.
Tomoyo walked up behind them. "Nice to see you aren't hiding from that."
"You know last night was a one time deal," Meiling insisted.
"I knew that before you poured me my second drink," Tomoyo replied. "Ichijouji-chan, we'll take tea in my room, if that's all right."
"Very well." The maid bowed. "I'll send Sasaki-san there."
"Thank you," Tomoyo replied.
Naoko bounced from one foot to her other. "Now I _REALLY_ want to know everything that happened last night."
"It'll take a while to tell it," Tomoyo informed.
Meiling opened Tomoyo's bedroom door to let the other girls in. "And you're not getting anything about what happened in this room last night."
"I already saw too much as it is," Naoko replied with a blush.
Rika arrived in time to hear the tale end of the conversation. "Do I want to know what you're talking about?"
Meiling folded her arms. "I fucked Tomoyo last night."
"Oh." Rika sighed. "Can't say I'm surprised." She then looked to the bedroom's owner. "What about Kurogane-san and Yuki-chan?"
Tomoyo hugged herself. "I'll tell Yuki-chan everything after New Years. I wouldn't want to hurt her during the holidays. As for Kurogane, even if I do decide to marry him, I will likely have an affair or three with girls."
Sakura nervously clapped her hands together. "Why don't we start telling Naoko-chan about the fight yesterday?"
"Really? You're going to be shy about that after boning Syaoran all night long?" Meiling shot at her.
"It wasn't ALL night," Sakura quickly retorted and then blushed deeply realizing what she just admitted to. "I mean... um... well..."
Rika giggled a little before letting out a sigh. "So, now I'm the last one remaining."
"Depends on your definition of virgin," Meiling accused. "What I did with her last night is liable no different than what you've already done with your boyfriend."
Rika blushed deeply. "Um... let's not get into that..."
Naoko rubbed her hands together. "Enough with that. I want details!"
"Well it started when Meiling ran off after Matsumoto had sex with his half-sister, Inoue-san," Tomoyo began.
Sakura and Rika both screeched in surprise.
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"Morning," Yuki greeted.
Shiori groggily looked around and groaned realizing she was at the hospital and her head still hurt. "Mornin'," she finally returned. "You wouldn't happen to know who hit me on the head?"
"A rival for your beloved would be my guess," Yuki returned. "Apparently there was a lot of craziness going around last night."
Shiori blinked. "What happened to you face?"
Yuki shrugged. "Got punched in the face by some guy I don't even know. You just happened to be among the worst hurt among dozens of incidents last night. There were so many cases of vandalism and assault the police aren't doing anything about them."
"Well that's stupid," Yuki groused.
"The thing is that a lot of people don't remember doing any of that. They just suddenly woke up hurt, among wrecked Christmas decorations, or both," Yuki told her. "I might have been one of the vandals. It'd explain why the guy punched me. I just don't remember anything."
"What? Were we all drugged or something?" Yuki questioned.
"If we were, it might have something to do with the cards from Twin Bells. A couple of the people affected I talked to last night had them, but their cards have disappeared," Yuki noted.
Shiori glanced at the clock that was on the wall. "Isn't your Christmas party today?"
Yuki nodded. "It is, but I'm not sure I'll be going."
"Why not?" Shiori demanded. "Don't say it's because you're worried about me? I'm fine!"
"If I don't go, Tomoyo-chan will still be my girlfriend," Yuki replied sadly.
"How does that work?" Shiori wondered.
"Well she can't dump me if she doesn't see me. I REALLY don't want it to end on Christmas Eve," Yuki answered, unable to look at her friend.
"Who says she's going to dump you?" Shiori demanded.
Yuki pointed at her swollen and bruised eye. "The fact when I talked to her last night she didn't notice this."
Shiori flinched. "Well, you won't know if it's the end unless you hear it from her."
"I know..." Yuki sighed. "I just don't want to be hurt."
"But isn't NOT knowing hurting you as well?" Yuki asked seriously.
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"Kurogane-san?"
The man in black turned and fought the urge to mutter some curses at the sight of a police officer. He merely nodded in response.
"I've had the unfortunate task of trying to come up with an explanation of last night's mass incidents. I've been told you are also investigating the situation," the officer informed. "I hope that we might be able to cooperate."
Kurogane frowned a little. There were few who knew that he was looking into this and the most likely to have told the man was Maki. "What do you know so far?"
"Among those implicated in cases of fighting or vandalism, several reported cards they purchased from Twin Bells as being missing. When I checked with the owner, she reported your theory of the cards, themselves, were some sort of drug," the officer reported.
Kurogane merely gazed at the man.
"I'm afraid I'm really just following your path so far," the officer admitted.
Kurogane clenched his fist. This was hardly a cooperation if he was doing all the work. However the officer still might be of some help. "I fear this might be part of the main case I've been working on: protecting Kinomoto Sakura from Li Yinglung. I have reason to believe he made the cards in a bid to hurt her."
"How can you be sure it's him?" the officer wondered.
"Not until I've traced the money trail of the cards back to him can I be sure," Kurogane replied. "However, it fits his way of operating. To attack Kinomoto indirectly."
The officer nodded. "You make a good point. The idea of someone able to commit such an act of terror is unnerving. I fear that if you're right about the cards turning into a drug, this could've been a test for a much larger attack."
"Then we better hope this really is Li Yinglung acting alone," Kurogane told him. "Though we can't be sure when the drug was introduced to the cards. They might have been treated after manufacture."
The officer nodded in thought. "I'll inquire the local printing presses to see if any of them made the cards."
"You do that," Kurogane agreed.
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"Geez, we missed everything," Takashi commented.
Chiharu slapped her husband. "I'm thankful I didn't bother with those cards. I might have ended up trying to kill you."
"You love me too much to kill me," Takashi retorted.
"Love and hate aren't that differently," Meiling countered. "I definitely know that now. If I was to see Matusmoto or my grandfather right now I'd shove my foot so far up their asses, they'd taste my shoe."
Sonomi let out a slight chuckle overhearing the comment. She was thankful Tomoyo would not have to settle for that gigolo, and as for the Chinese girl's grandfather... well that would likely be a fatal encounter.
The Daidouji matriarch saw that while the party was in full swing not all of the invited guests were present. Little Sakura's... lover still had yet to return and the girl was sitting at the window keeping an eye out for him. She hardly approved of the relationship, but she did not have a say in the matter. Also noteworthy was neither Tomoyo's boyfriend nor girlfriend were present. They couldn't know that her daughter's virginity had just been claimed so their absence was strange but likely welcomed. Then there was one she had not expected to see. Sasaki was talking to some guy who barely looked to be out of high school. He couldn't possibly be a teacher. At least not one old enough to cause concern.
"Sakura-chan is disguising him with her magic," Tomoyo intoned.
Sonomi frowned. "So he knows about her magic?"
"Everyone here does. The only one invited who doesn't know is Yuki-chan." Tomoyo looked away. "Though she may suspect it."
"You know what the biggest issue with conspiracies are?" Sonomi asked.
Tomoyo nodded. "The more people involved, the harder it is to cover up. While it is true someone may talk, but without evidence the threat is minimal."
"I wonder how long that will last. With Sakura-chan's attacker growing bolder it's becoming harder to distract people," Sonomi related.
Tomoyo smirked. "At the same time we get better coming up with excuses. Kurogane has sent out a rumor that the distributor of the cards laced them with a drug. He even has the police helping him try to track down the source. Unfortunately it'll still take time."
"You've spoken with him?" Sonomi questioned in surprise.
"Only as far as the case is concerned. I will tell him about what happened with Meiling-chan personally," Tomoyo answered, knowing there was no point in avoiding the topic. Once a maid knew something, her mother knew it as well.
"I hope you don't end up regretting it." Sonomi looked away from her daughter. "What will you do about your girlfriend?"
Tomoyo frowned. "I'm hoping to delay that until after the holidays."
"Yuki-chan is here," Sakura called out.
Sonomi shook her head. "You might not get that luxury."
Tomoyo nodded before running off toward the main door. Once it opened she quickly greeted, "Hello. Thank you for coming."
"Hi." Yuki frowned at the overly formal greeting. "I... I think we need to talk."
Tomoyo gazed at the girl. "You weren't hurt too badly last night, were you? Hayabusa-san is okay, isn't she?"
"Just half my face swollen from being used as a punching bag, and I came here right after Shiori was discharged from the hospital," Yuki returned. "But that's not what we need to talk about, is it?"
Tomoyo sighed. "We're perhaps too much like sisters, aren't we?"
Yuki folded her arms. "Is that what you really think of me?"
"I just meant that we both are a bit too observant for our own good," Tomoyo replied.
"Yet you don't like me as much as you like Kinomoto, do you?" Yuki shot at her.
"Sakura-chan will always be my first love, even if she is my cousin," Tomoyo affirmed. "To her I am a sister, nothing more."
Yuki leaned closer. "You're saying you didn't get to 'unwrap' her last night?"
Tomoyo giggled at the mental image that popped into her head. "While she was 'unwrapped' last night, I wasn't the one locked in the room with her."
"Oh, really," Yuki deadpanned.
Tomoyo frowned. "Honestly I wasn't with Sakura-chan last night." She looked away. "I was with Meiling-chan."
"The Chinese girl with the snob boyfriend?" Yuki questioned.
"Yes," Tomoyo affirmed. "Though he's not her boyfriend anymore after he cheated on her with his half-sister."
"Ah, so she fucked you on the rebound," Yuki affirmed.
"That certainly was part of the reason." Tomoyo looked at the girl sadly. "I had an idea it was going to happen, but this was likely my one chance to be with her."
"You like her, huh?" Yuki asked with a slight tremble to her lower lip.
"I do, but it is doubtful Meiling-chan and I will ever have a relationship beyond friendship. She maybe tom-boyish, but she is rather proud to be a girl," Tomoyo explained. "I've never promised that I'll be able to love you and only you."
Yuki stomped her foot in frustration. "But do you like me as anything more than a friend?"
"Honestly..." Tomoyo looked deeply at the teary-eyed girl. "I don't know."
"Will you tell me what happened last night? And don't tell me you don't know," Yuki demanded.
Tomoyo bit her lip. "We believe the novelty cards that were sold at Twin Bells had a type of drug embedded in them by a man out to ruin Sakura-chan's relationship. Last night the cards dissolved causing people to act out. There may have been a subliminal message attached as most of the people affected either destroyed Christmas decorations or attacked Sakura-chan or someone close to her."
"That's going an awful lot of trouble to mess with a relationship," Yuki noted with sceptism.
"Sakura-chan's boyfriend is set to become the next head of his clan. A family that is old, powerful and very rich. While Sakura-chan has approval of the current clan head, the previous leader wants Li-kun to marry Meiling-chan. And he's been very aggressive in trying to separate them," Tomoyo explained.
Yuki scowled at her. "There's something you're not telling me."
"As it's a personal matter for Sakura-chan, I'm not in a position to tell anyone about it," Tomoyo insisted to side-step the issue.
Yuki huffed. "But all your friends know about it, don't they?"
"Only because they've become involved in the situation. Had they not been targeted as well, they would not have been told," Tomoyo insisted.
Yuki blinked and then her eyes widened. "If this guy is out to get Kinomoto because of her relationship with that Li guy, then what does that mean for you now that you slept with that girl?"
Tomoyo frowned deeply. "Not much as I'm already one of his targets. He was the one who released my 'special' videos."
"Both to ruin Kinomoto's name and to destroy your friendship," Yuki surmised. "Didn't seem to work."
"We managed to stop the distribution and I've come to an understanding with most of my friends," Tomoyo related.
Yuki folded her arms. "Again that's only half the story, isn't it."
"It relates to Sakura-chan's personal issues, I'm afraid," Tomoyo insisted.
Yuki turned around. "You may not have promised to love only me, but you did say you'd be honest with me."
Tomoyo nodded sadly. "And I have been. At least as far as I can tell you."
"When you want a real, honest relationship... call me." Yuki dashed out of the mansion.
Tomoyo held her hand to her chest. "I'm so sorry." She took shallow steps back to her party.
"You told her?" Meiling guessed.
"I had promised to be honest with her, and she already knew something was up," Tomoyo told her. "You could say she was the one to end things, and it wasn't because we had sex last time."
Meiling gritted her teeth. "Can we try to keep that a secret?"
Takashi laughed as he intruded on their conversation. "Wouldn't matter if someone besides you two say it. If you were to believe the rumors about Daidouji, she has slept with every girl in this room."
"Her mother is in the room," Meiling pointed out.
"Her included," Tomoyo affirmed in a forced joking tone. "And all because I turned down every guy who confessed feelings for me."
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"You're late," Sakura announced with a huff.
"Sorry," Syaoran replied sheepishly.
"Do you know the origin of mistletoe?" Takashi chimed in.
"The plant or the custom of..." Syaoran looked up and saw the familiar plant was indeed placed right over his head. "...kissing the person under it?"
Sakura blushed as she took a step forward. "This is just like our first kiss."
Syaoran held up his hand. "Before that I'd like to give you my gift for you. It's something I should've bought already."
Tomoyo motioned for the others attending her party to be quiet and to watch.
Syaoran got down onto one knee and pulled out a small box. "I want to make this official and without question. Sakura, will you marry me?"
Tears leaked out of Sakura's eyes and she fell to her knees and embraced the boy. "Of course I'll marry you!"
Syaoran had to settle for kissing his fiancee as he was in no position of putting the ring on her finger.
The girls in the room squealed in delight, Sonomi and Meiling included.
Rika touched the precious object attached to her necklace. "Reminds me of when you gave me my ring."
"Tough we didn't get to kiss then," Yoshiyuki noted.
"Why didn't you? I certainly would've let you," Rika questioned.
"We were at the school. If someone saw us..." Yoshiyuki trailed off.
"You'd definitely would've gotten in trouble," Rika finished with a sigh. "Would've been nice though."
Sakura finally broke her passionate embrace and allowed her fiance to put the ring on her hand. She then pranced toward her friends. "Look! Look! He gave me a RING!"
Tomoyo gazed fondly at her beloved friend. The golden band adorning the girl's finger had a single diamond surrounded by emeralds. "Oh, my! It's so beautiful! I'll make sure you'll be the most beautiful bride ever!"
"Is that what took you so long?" Takashi wondered.
Syaoran nodded as he watched his fiancee almost glow in happiness. "You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get the jeweler to take me seriously."
"So when do I get a ring?" Chiharu asked her husband.
"Sorry, we married Shinto, not Christian," Takashi returned teasingly.
------------------------
Author's Notes:
Coming Next:
Chapter 38 - Sakura and the Li Legacy
Sakura peeks into the life of Li Yinglung to better understand him and the Li clan.
Don't expect this chapter to be out any time soon, as this will be an interesting character piece to finally explain Yinglung, where he's coming from, and show his true nature.
Story notes:
Japanese Christmas and New Years
Christmas in North America and Europe is seen as a time of peace when families come together. Even in many non-Catholic homes who don't celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, they will still observe Christmas to some degree. Then for New Years people go out with friends, get drunk and (try to) get laid.
For Japan Christmas is largely viewed as a commercial celebration on par with White Day (Valentines Day). It is merely a day to go out with friends, get drunk and (try to) get laid. It is not an official holiday and if it falls on a weekday, mail will be delivered and most schools will remain in session. New Years, on the other hand, is for families to come together and reflect over the past year and make wishes for the future. And while there is a tradition of 'first sex' of the new year, it is meant mostly for married couples and not one-night stands.
One might wonder that since Tomoeda has been shown to have a larger Catholic influence than most of Japan that they might celebrate it in a more Western way, the reality is that beyond going to Christmas services at a Church the Catholic Japanese wouldn't celebrate it any differently than anyone else in Japan. Part of the reason is that while in Western countries most people associate themselves with one religion or none at all, the people of Japan see no issue with having multiple religions at the same time. Even the ten percent of Japanese who identify themselves as being Christian are more likely to skip going to Church on Christmas day and yet would still go to a Shinto Shrine to make prayers and wishes for New Years. Also the celebration of Christmas is steeped in Western culture taking many ques from traditions of Europeans, some of which confuses the Japanese, much as someone from Europe would find it hard to understand all the traditions the Japanese associate with the New Years Day.
Sakura is somewhat typical of a Japanese Catholic in that she is also Shinto and only goes to mass when she sees a need for it. There are certainly Christians in Japan that are far more faithful and go to mass every week, and don't view themselves as being Shinto, yet like a Western Atheist having a Christmas tree and presents-- you can still find many devote Catholic Japanese at a Shinto Shrine for New Years.
"The situation is over," Syaoran informed.
Rika jumped. "I didn't see you. Is really it over?"
Syaoran nodded. "This situation at least. Sakura and Meiling are on their way here."
Rika held her hands together tightly. "Are they all right?"
"Sakura was kicked in the knee, and will get it checked out when she gets here. It looks like Meiling didn't get hurt," Syaoran replied. "I've haven't heard anything from Sakura's family, so I believe they are all okay."
Rika nodded. She had already been told that Naoko and Kurogane had come out of the situation without a scratch. Still it left her wondering about the main reason she was here.
"Once they finish checking Hayabusa, we'll be informed," Syaoran told her.
"How can you be sure?" Rika wondered.
Syaoran pointed at a sign listing the board of directors. "Kurogane's family owns part of the hospital."
Rika tilted her head. "With his line of work, it would make it easier to cover injuries the police might want to know about."
"You make it sound like he's a criminal," Syaoran pointed out.
"Takes one to know one, I guess," Rika muttered.
"You weren't in control of yourself," Syaoran pointed out.
"I was unable to stop myself, but I'm sure I knew what I was doing. I've been wanting to hurt her. And now I might have killed her," Rika almost stuttered fighting the urge to cry. "Here I've been afraid my beloved might be taken away from me, now I might be the one to leave him."
"This is a precaution," Syaoran insisted. "Most of the time it's a few pain killer and an ice pack. And we got her here quickly. Even if she was seriously hurt, it shouldn't be fatal."
"Don't tell me, she went crazy and kicked you in the knee for no reason," an exasperated woman intoned.
"Um... kind of..." Sakura sheepishly replied.
"Can we get her leg looked at?" Meiling demanded.
"You'll have to wait your turn, I'm afraid. We've had a lot of temporary insanity today. Don't bother making a complaint to the police, they've already given up trying to figure this mess out," the nurse informed.
Syaoran rushed over to them. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, just a bruised knee. Nothing to worry about," Sakura insisted. "How's Tomoyo-chan?"
A shadow suddenly loomed over them. "Just a deep bruise to her chest. She's in process of being discharged," Kurogane told her. "All injuries so far tonight have been minor at the worst." He turned toward Rika. "Hayabusa is being kept for observation, though the scans of her head showed no damage."
Rika let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."
"Once your leg has been checked, you'll all be going to the Daidouji home," Kurogane informed as he had something else to attend to.
------------------------
Card Captor Sakura: Shadow of the Dragon
Chapter 37 - Sakura and the Christmas Party
By: Lord Archive
Card Captor Sakura belongs to the fine ladies of CLAMP. Used without consent, all rights reserved.
Author's Warnings:
This contains mature themes not intended for children under thirteen.
This series contains:
Adult situations.
Sexual situations withOUT detailed description of sex nor the naked human body.
Brief moments of violence, some cases involving people getting severely injured and possibly death.
Occasional use of vulgar language.
Japanese humor: which include bathroom jokes, panty fetish and shocking situations.
Depictions of criminal activity committed by fictional characters.
References of homosexuality.
------------------------
Hanami blearily opened her eyes and immediately wondered why she was in some strange bedroom. It was kept too nice to be her own room. She went to sit up and noticed what little she was wearing was now tattered and torn rags. "WHY AM I NAKED?!"
A soft knock echoed from the door. "Hanami-san... I've sent Touya to get you some clothes from your home," Fujitaka's muffled voice informed. "I'd lone you some of Sakura's clothes but you're a bit taller than she is."
Hanami jumped from the bed and rushed to door, and opened it. "What happened? What's going on?"
Fujitaka blushed deeply and attempted to look away, but the girl's beauty was hard to deny. "Um... well... Sakura's enemy possessed you in an attempt to kill me. He had used special cards and hid them in your clothing, and well... Yueh was rather thorough in removing them from you quickly."
Hanami blinked. "Oh." She then gazed down and suddenly remembered she was functionally naked. She let out a squeak, jumped back and slammed the door shut.
"Um... sorry," Fujitaka weakly apologized.
Hanami let out a weak laugh. That was certainly an unintended preview, though he might get to do more than see her soon. "Is everyone all right?"
"Just a few cuts and bruises. The emergency room is apparently overwhelmed, but nothing serious to worry about. The police are writing it off as excessive celebration for Christmas and end of semester at schools," Fujitaka told her.
"That's good I guess," Hanami replied weakly. Touya could not return fast enough with her clothes.
------------------------
Yuki rushed to the hospital, her face sporting fresh bruises. As she approached the building she moved toward a familiar limousine, particularly because of who was getting ready to enter it. "Tomoyo-chan!"
Tomoyo paused. "Oh, Yuki-chan, your friend is fine. She'll be kept for the night for observation."
"That's good." Yuki panted a little from running. "Now what the hell happened?! Why was Shiori hit on the head? Why did I suddenly wake up to someone punching me saying the I was 'destroying his fucking peaceful Christmas?'"
Tomoyo smiled sheepishly. "I'm afraid I can't begin to explain it to you."
Yuki's brows furled not believing her girlfriend, especially with her beloved's friend dressed up like a Christmas present and was wildly fretting nervously.
Hayabusa's rival stepped forward. "I'm really sorry."
Yuki glared at the girl, figuring she was the one that brained her friend. Though she honestly couldn't blame her too much.
"You should be able to see Hayabusa-san if you mention Kurogane sent you," Tomoyo advised before slipping into the limousine.
The walking Christmas present practically jumped into the stretched car, followed by her friend's rival and some guy. Then the car sped off.
"'Oh, my Yuki-chan, what happened to your face? Are you okay?'" Yuki asked in false imitation of Tomoyo's voice. The girl shook her head and sadly walked into the hospital.
------------------------
Tomoyo led the way toward her bedroom and motioned toward the doors on the opposite side of the hallway. "If you would like you can use the guest bedrooms."
Sakura grabbed Syaoran's hand. "We need to talk." She then immediately pulled him into one of the offered rooms and immediately locked the door.
Rika blinked and then giggled a little. "Well that was easier than expected."
"They were due for a talk," Tomoyo replied knowingly.
"I may have told mother we were starting your party early, but I think I'll take another room," Rika informed.
Tomoyo opened the door for her friend. "I'll have some clothes ready for you tomorrow."
Rika nodded. "Do keep it something simple."
"Sakura will help your beloved to attend, so I'll make sure to get you something he's sure to like," Tomoyo insisted.
"Tomoyo-chan..." Rika trailed off with an exasperated sigh. She shook her head. If the outfit was too outrageous she'd just continue to wear what she already had on. "Goodnight."
"I want some wine. And I mean real wine. Not the grape juice you gave me last time," Meiling demanded from a maid.
"Li-sama," the maid almost whined.
"My now ex-boyfriend fucked his sister, my grandfather tried to make me kill one of my friends, and my first love and former finace is locked in a room with his new fiancee," Meiling rattled off.
The maid saw Tomoyo give her a curt nod. With a sigh she gave a shallow bow. "As you wish. I will see what I can do."
------------------------
A private investigator's job was not the exciting job television and movies would lead you to believe. Beyond the countless hours spent sitting around doing nothing but watching a person live their boring life, there were other less glamorous parts. Case in point: dumpster diving.
Shifting through the trash of the Twin Bells, he was looking for any boxes or invoices that might relate to the cards. He finally might have a method to track down Li Yinglung and he had to do this now before the magic-user recovered enough power to erase any evidence.
Kurogane turned as soon as he heard a noise, but it was too late to hide.
"What are you doing?!" Maki demanded.
"I'm Kurogane of Shiro-Kuro Investigation Services. I'm here investigating the cards you sold. They seem to have dissolved and turned into a mind altering drug. I believe you're as much a victim as those who purchased those cards. I'm just trying to track down the source and stop them," Kuorgane quickly related.
Maki touched her black eye. "Is that how this happened? I woke up in front of my store with this."
"Probably," Kurogane failed to confirm.
"Let me see if I still have the invoice records." Maki rushed back into her store.
Kurogane did not follow her. She was likely already on edge and if she wanted to confirm his company existed, she could do so without him breathing over her shoulder. He doubted she would call the police with a suitable explanation, especially if it was true she could be seen as an accomplice.
Maki returned a moment later. "Here you go. I'm afraid it was cash on delivery."
"Where there is money, there is a path to follow," Kurogane told her as he took the offered invoice from her. "Thank you."
------------------------
Sakura sat on the bed, vainly trying to massage her knee through the leg brace she got from the hospital. She suspected that she didn't really need it as she was only bruised, but with Kurogane handling her admission she was rushed through examination and they were being overly cautious not to upset a man who was set to inherit partial control of the hospital.
Syaoran gazed at the girl. She was the one to say they needed to talk yet she had yet to say a word since she dragged him into the room. They definitely needed to talk, especially now there was no longer any question as to who was behind the attacks and why.
Sakura looked up shyly. "Sorry..."
"Sorry about what?" Syaoran wondered with a bit of dread.
Sakura shrugged weakly. "About being so silly. I guess I was using the idea of moving to Hong Kong as an excuse."
Syaoran blinked in confusion. "Excuse for what?"
Sakura looked away. "To give an out for the attack. I knew for a while people would be hurt. If your great-uncle had accepted my surrender, I would've tried ending our relationship for good. He didn't believe that moving to Hong Kong would've been a deal breaker. I'm not sure I could continue making myself believe that either."
Syaoran took a step closer to her. "You mean everything since you walked out was an act?"
Sakura let out a weak smile. "Not sure I can say everything was an act. I might have dropped it if you hadn't gotten so upset about my vision of our child."
Syaoran clenched his fist. "What do you expect me to say when you talked about us being destined. That I have no choice."
"Of course we still have choices. After Clow did all he could to ensure I would inherit his cards, he thought I would end up with Yukito-san," Sakura related. "I've done more peeks at my future. I can give you no guarantees. I might not even survive the final battle. Having a child we named Tsubasa is just more likely than not."
"But you had said our love may have been destined," Syaoran insisted.
"I said that some things might have been predetermined. Even if I don't marry you, I'm still likely to have a child, a daughter, named Tsubasa." Sakura folded her arms. "You don't truly think your feelings for me aren't your real feelings, do you?"
Syaoran looked away nervously.
Sakura glared at him. "Are you still in love with Yukito-kun?"
Syaoran shook his head. "Of course not."
"Did you still love me while you were in Hong Kong?" Sakura pressed.
"Well, yeah...," Syaoran admitted weakly.
"Loved me even though I was too far away for you to feel my magic? Had more than enough time to have gotten use to my magic to no longer be swayed by it just as you're no longer swayed by Yueh's magic?" Sakura stressed.
Syaoran looked down sheepishly. "I guess... I guess maybe that was my excuse to keep you away."
Sakura nervously played with the hem of her skirt. "Do you really want to go away?"
Syaoran gazed at the girl dressed cutely in red and green. He found himself longing for the time they were elementary school together. Things had been so much simpler then. All that mattered then was love. Things weren't so easy now, and chances are they were only going to get more complicated. If he was the one to leave, chances are the attacks would stop. It would keep her safe. She might even die if he stayed. Yet it would hurt him to let her go... hurt her if he left. "No, I want to stay with you... always."
"As do I." Sakura held out her hand and he hesitantly grasped it. "You know I'm surprised there are no ribbons on this costume."
"I think it makes you look beautiful. Ribbons would've been a bit much," Syaoran replied edging closer, gazing into her eyes.
"Well, then I'd look more like a Christmas present ready to be unwrapped," Sakura replied with a thick blush.
Syaoran closed the distance and kissed her gently. "I still wouldn't mind unwrapping you." He only received encouragement from the girl as he did just that.
------------------------
Naoko rushed through the Daidouji manor. She hardly got any sleep last night. Between repeated checks to make sure she hadn't hurt her parents while possessed and wanting to know all the juicy details of Sakura's latest battle. She had largely been left out of the loop, but she certainly wanted to get the full story. The planned Christmas party wasn't for another two hours, but she couldn't take waiting in bed any longer. After hugging both of her parents she had set off on the first bus.
"Good morning!" Naoko greeted as she opened Tomoyo's door. Being almost eleven she had thought everyone would be awake despite the battle from the previous night. She quickly saw more than that she had been mistaken. With wide eyes she slammed the door shut.
A door across the hall creaked open. "Oh, good morning, Naoko-chan," Sakura greeted with a lethargic tone.
Naoko spun around and nervously laughed. "Ah, good morning. Don't want to go in there yet. Ah... Meiling-chan and Tomoyo-chan are still asleep... very asleep... um... ah..."
Sakura tilted her head. "Some thing wrong?"
"Nope! Nothing wrong!" Naoko chirped.
"You haven't seen Syaoran, have you?" Sakura wondered.
A maid entered the hallway. "Has Tomoyo-hime awoken yet?"
Naoko jumped and waved her hands. "Not yet! Don't think she'd want to be disturbed!"
"Oh, my!" The maid covered her mouth. "Um, ah... Sakura-hime!"
Sakura blearily looked at the maid. "Yes?"
"Li-sama left earlier to run some errands and made sure to let us know he would be returning," the maid informed.
"He could've at least waited until I woke up before running off." Sakura shook her head irritably.
"Do you know where Li-kun went?" Naoko wondered.
"Likely to grab presents from his apartment," Sakura replied and shifted uneasily.
"Right. You didn't get any chance to grab them," Naoko rationalized.
A door open and then closed quickly behind them making Naoko jump.
"Mornin'," Meiling groused. "Need some tea."
Sakura nodded. "I could certainly use some too."
The maid clapped her hands together. "Certainly! Right this way!"
Naoko glanced nervously at her Chinese friend. "Um... are you all right?"
"No," Meiling groused.
Sakura frowned. "You're still my friend."
"Saying that doesn't make me feel any better about fucking Tomoyo to get back at my grandfather," Meiling muttered.
"Oh." Sakura shook her head sadly. Then her eyes went wide. "You did WHAT?!"
"I did Tomoyo," Meiling intoned irritably.
Tomoyo walked up behind them. "Nice to see you aren't hiding from that."
"You know last night was a one time deal," Meiling insisted.
"I knew that before you poured me my second drink," Tomoyo replied. "Ichijouji-chan, we'll take tea in my room, if that's all right."
"Very well." The maid bowed. "I'll send Sasaki-san there."
"Thank you," Tomoyo replied.
Naoko bounced from one foot to her other. "Now I _REALLY_ want to know everything that happened last night."
"It'll take a while to tell it," Tomoyo informed.
Meiling opened Tomoyo's bedroom door to let the other girls in. "And you're not getting anything about what happened in this room last night."
"I already saw too much as it is," Naoko replied with a blush.
Rika arrived in time to hear the tale end of the conversation. "Do I want to know what you're talking about?"
Meiling folded her arms. "I fucked Tomoyo last night."
"Oh." Rika sighed. "Can't say I'm surprised." She then looked to the bedroom's owner. "What about Kurogane-san and Yuki-chan?"
Tomoyo hugged herself. "I'll tell Yuki-chan everything after New Years. I wouldn't want to hurt her during the holidays. As for Kurogane, even if I do decide to marry him, I will likely have an affair or three with girls."
Sakura nervously clapped her hands together. "Why don't we start telling Naoko-chan about the fight yesterday?"
"Really? You're going to be shy about that after boning Syaoran all night long?" Meiling shot at her.
"It wasn't ALL night," Sakura quickly retorted and then blushed deeply realizing what she just admitted to. "I mean... um... well..."
Rika giggled a little before letting out a sigh. "So, now I'm the last one remaining."
"Depends on your definition of virgin," Meiling accused. "What I did with her last night is liable no different than what you've already done with your boyfriend."
Rika blushed deeply. "Um... let's not get into that..."
Naoko rubbed her hands together. "Enough with that. I want details!"
"Well it started when Meiling ran off after Matsumoto had sex with his half-sister, Inoue-san," Tomoyo began.
Sakura and Rika both screeched in surprise.
------------------------
"Morning," Yuki greeted.
Shiori groggily looked around and groaned realizing she was at the hospital and her head still hurt. "Mornin'," she finally returned. "You wouldn't happen to know who hit me on the head?"
"A rival for your beloved would be my guess," Yuki returned. "Apparently there was a lot of craziness going around last night."
Shiori blinked. "What happened to you face?"
Yuki shrugged. "Got punched in the face by some guy I don't even know. You just happened to be among the worst hurt among dozens of incidents last night. There were so many cases of vandalism and assault the police aren't doing anything about them."
"Well that's stupid," Yuki groused.
"The thing is that a lot of people don't remember doing any of that. They just suddenly woke up hurt, among wrecked Christmas decorations, or both," Yuki told her. "I might have been one of the vandals. It'd explain why the guy punched me. I just don't remember anything."
"What? Were we all drugged or something?" Yuki questioned.
"If we were, it might have something to do with the cards from Twin Bells. A couple of the people affected I talked to last night had them, but their cards have disappeared," Yuki noted.
Shiori glanced at the clock that was on the wall. "Isn't your Christmas party today?"
Yuki nodded. "It is, but I'm not sure I'll be going."
"Why not?" Shiori demanded. "Don't say it's because you're worried about me? I'm fine!"
"If I don't go, Tomoyo-chan will still be my girlfriend," Yuki replied sadly.
"How does that work?" Shiori wondered.
"Well she can't dump me if she doesn't see me. I REALLY don't want it to end on Christmas Eve," Yuki answered, unable to look at her friend.
"Who says she's going to dump you?" Shiori demanded.
Yuki pointed at her swollen and bruised eye. "The fact when I talked to her last night she didn't notice this."
Shiori flinched. "Well, you won't know if it's the end unless you hear it from her."
"I know..." Yuki sighed. "I just don't want to be hurt."
"But isn't NOT knowing hurting you as well?" Yuki asked seriously.
------------------------
"Kurogane-san?"
The man in black turned and fought the urge to mutter some curses at the sight of a police officer. He merely nodded in response.
"I've had the unfortunate task of trying to come up with an explanation of last night's mass incidents. I've been told you are also investigating the situation," the officer informed. "I hope that we might be able to cooperate."
Kurogane frowned a little. There were few who knew that he was looking into this and the most likely to have told the man was Maki. "What do you know so far?"
"Among those implicated in cases of fighting or vandalism, several reported cards they purchased from Twin Bells as being missing. When I checked with the owner, she reported your theory of the cards, themselves, were some sort of drug," the officer reported.
Kurogane merely gazed at the man.
"I'm afraid I'm really just following your path so far," the officer admitted.
Kurogane clenched his fist. This was hardly a cooperation if he was doing all the work. However the officer still might be of some help. "I fear this might be part of the main case I've been working on: protecting Kinomoto Sakura from Li Yinglung. I have reason to believe he made the cards in a bid to hurt her."
"How can you be sure it's him?" the officer wondered.
"Not until I've traced the money trail of the cards back to him can I be sure," Kurogane replied. "However, it fits his way of operating. To attack Kinomoto indirectly."
The officer nodded. "You make a good point. The idea of someone able to commit such an act of terror is unnerving. I fear that if you're right about the cards turning into a drug, this could've been a test for a much larger attack."
"Then we better hope this really is Li Yinglung acting alone," Kurogane told him. "Though we can't be sure when the drug was introduced to the cards. They might have been treated after manufacture."
The officer nodded in thought. "I'll inquire the local printing presses to see if any of them made the cards."
"You do that," Kurogane agreed.
------------------------
"Geez, we missed everything," Takashi commented.
Chiharu slapped her husband. "I'm thankful I didn't bother with those cards. I might have ended up trying to kill you."
"You love me too much to kill me," Takashi retorted.
"Love and hate aren't that differently," Meiling countered. "I definitely know that now. If I was to see Matusmoto or my grandfather right now I'd shove my foot so far up their asses, they'd taste my shoe."
Sonomi let out a slight chuckle overhearing the comment. She was thankful Tomoyo would not have to settle for that gigolo, and as for the Chinese girl's grandfather... well that would likely be a fatal encounter.
The Daidouji matriarch saw that while the party was in full swing not all of the invited guests were present. Little Sakura's... lover still had yet to return and the girl was sitting at the window keeping an eye out for him. She hardly approved of the relationship, but she did not have a say in the matter. Also noteworthy was neither Tomoyo's boyfriend nor girlfriend were present. They couldn't know that her daughter's virginity had just been claimed so their absence was strange but likely welcomed. Then there was one she had not expected to see. Sasaki was talking to some guy who barely looked to be out of high school. He couldn't possibly be a teacher. At least not one old enough to cause concern.
"Sakura-chan is disguising him with her magic," Tomoyo intoned.
Sonomi frowned. "So he knows about her magic?"
"Everyone here does. The only one invited who doesn't know is Yuki-chan." Tomoyo looked away. "Though she may suspect it."
"You know what the biggest issue with conspiracies are?" Sonomi asked.
Tomoyo nodded. "The more people involved, the harder it is to cover up. While it is true someone may talk, but without evidence the threat is minimal."
"I wonder how long that will last. With Sakura-chan's attacker growing bolder it's becoming harder to distract people," Sonomi related.
Tomoyo smirked. "At the same time we get better coming up with excuses. Kurogane has sent out a rumor that the distributor of the cards laced them with a drug. He even has the police helping him try to track down the source. Unfortunately it'll still take time."
"You've spoken with him?" Sonomi questioned in surprise.
"Only as far as the case is concerned. I will tell him about what happened with Meiling-chan personally," Tomoyo answered, knowing there was no point in avoiding the topic. Once a maid knew something, her mother knew it as well.
"I hope you don't end up regretting it." Sonomi looked away from her daughter. "What will you do about your girlfriend?"
Tomoyo frowned. "I'm hoping to delay that until after the holidays."
"Yuki-chan is here," Sakura called out.
Sonomi shook her head. "You might not get that luxury."
Tomoyo nodded before running off toward the main door. Once it opened she quickly greeted, "Hello. Thank you for coming."
"Hi." Yuki frowned at the overly formal greeting. "I... I think we need to talk."
Tomoyo gazed at the girl. "You weren't hurt too badly last night, were you? Hayabusa-san is okay, isn't she?"
"Just half my face swollen from being used as a punching bag, and I came here right after Shiori was discharged from the hospital," Yuki returned. "But that's not what we need to talk about, is it?"
Tomoyo sighed. "We're perhaps too much like sisters, aren't we?"
Yuki folded her arms. "Is that what you really think of me?"
"I just meant that we both are a bit too observant for our own good," Tomoyo replied.
"Yet you don't like me as much as you like Kinomoto, do you?" Yuki shot at her.
"Sakura-chan will always be my first love, even if she is my cousin," Tomoyo affirmed. "To her I am a sister, nothing more."
Yuki leaned closer. "You're saying you didn't get to 'unwrap' her last night?"
Tomoyo giggled at the mental image that popped into her head. "While she was 'unwrapped' last night, I wasn't the one locked in the room with her."
"Oh, really," Yuki deadpanned.
Tomoyo frowned. "Honestly I wasn't with Sakura-chan last night." She looked away. "I was with Meiling-chan."
"The Chinese girl with the snob boyfriend?" Yuki questioned.
"Yes," Tomoyo affirmed. "Though he's not her boyfriend anymore after he cheated on her with his half-sister."
"Ah, so she fucked you on the rebound," Yuki affirmed.
"That certainly was part of the reason." Tomoyo looked at the girl sadly. "I had an idea it was going to happen, but this was likely my one chance to be with her."
"You like her, huh?" Yuki asked with a slight tremble to her lower lip.
"I do, but it is doubtful Meiling-chan and I will ever have a relationship beyond friendship. She maybe tom-boyish, but she is rather proud to be a girl," Tomoyo explained. "I've never promised that I'll be able to love you and only you."
Yuki stomped her foot in frustration. "But do you like me as anything more than a friend?"
"Honestly..." Tomoyo looked deeply at the teary-eyed girl. "I don't know."
"Will you tell me what happened last night? And don't tell me you don't know," Yuki demanded.
Tomoyo bit her lip. "We believe the novelty cards that were sold at Twin Bells had a type of drug embedded in them by a man out to ruin Sakura-chan's relationship. Last night the cards dissolved causing people to act out. There may have been a subliminal message attached as most of the people affected either destroyed Christmas decorations or attacked Sakura-chan or someone close to her."
"That's going an awful lot of trouble to mess with a relationship," Yuki noted with sceptism.
"Sakura-chan's boyfriend is set to become the next head of his clan. A family that is old, powerful and very rich. While Sakura-chan has approval of the current clan head, the previous leader wants Li-kun to marry Meiling-chan. And he's been very aggressive in trying to separate them," Tomoyo explained.
Yuki scowled at her. "There's something you're not telling me."
"As it's a personal matter for Sakura-chan, I'm not in a position to tell anyone about it," Tomoyo insisted to side-step the issue.
Yuki huffed. "But all your friends know about it, don't they?"
"Only because they've become involved in the situation. Had they not been targeted as well, they would not have been told," Tomoyo insisted.
Yuki blinked and then her eyes widened. "If this guy is out to get Kinomoto because of her relationship with that Li guy, then what does that mean for you now that you slept with that girl?"
Tomoyo frowned deeply. "Not much as I'm already one of his targets. He was the one who released my 'special' videos."
"Both to ruin Kinomoto's name and to destroy your friendship," Yuki surmised. "Didn't seem to work."
"We managed to stop the distribution and I've come to an understanding with most of my friends," Tomoyo related.
Yuki folded her arms. "Again that's only half the story, isn't it."
"It relates to Sakura-chan's personal issues, I'm afraid," Tomoyo insisted.
Yuki turned around. "You may not have promised to love only me, but you did say you'd be honest with me."
Tomoyo nodded sadly. "And I have been. At least as far as I can tell you."
"When you want a real, honest relationship... call me." Yuki dashed out of the mansion.
Tomoyo held her hand to her chest. "I'm so sorry." She took shallow steps back to her party.
"You told her?" Meiling guessed.
"I had promised to be honest with her, and she already knew something was up," Tomoyo told her. "You could say she was the one to end things, and it wasn't because we had sex last time."
Meiling gritted her teeth. "Can we try to keep that a secret?"
Takashi laughed as he intruded on their conversation. "Wouldn't matter if someone besides you two say it. If you were to believe the rumors about Daidouji, she has slept with every girl in this room."
"Her mother is in the room," Meiling pointed out.
"Her included," Tomoyo affirmed in a forced joking tone. "And all because I turned down every guy who confessed feelings for me."
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"You're late," Sakura announced with a huff.
"Sorry," Syaoran replied sheepishly.
"Do you know the origin of mistletoe?" Takashi chimed in.
"The plant or the custom of..." Syaoran looked up and saw the familiar plant was indeed placed right over his head. "...kissing the person under it?"
Sakura blushed as she took a step forward. "This is just like our first kiss."
Syaoran held up his hand. "Before that I'd like to give you my gift for you. It's something I should've bought already."
Tomoyo motioned for the others attending her party to be quiet and to watch.
Syaoran got down onto one knee and pulled out a small box. "I want to make this official and without question. Sakura, will you marry me?"
Tears leaked out of Sakura's eyes and she fell to her knees and embraced the boy. "Of course I'll marry you!"
Syaoran had to settle for kissing his fiancee as he was in no position of putting the ring on her finger.
The girls in the room squealed in delight, Sonomi and Meiling included.
Rika touched the precious object attached to her necklace. "Reminds me of when you gave me my ring."
"Tough we didn't get to kiss then," Yoshiyuki noted.
"Why didn't you? I certainly would've let you," Rika questioned.
"We were at the school. If someone saw us..." Yoshiyuki trailed off.
"You'd definitely would've gotten in trouble," Rika finished with a sigh. "Would've been nice though."
Sakura finally broke her passionate embrace and allowed her fiance to put the ring on her hand. She then pranced toward her friends. "Look! Look! He gave me a RING!"
Tomoyo gazed fondly at her beloved friend. The golden band adorning the girl's finger had a single diamond surrounded by emeralds. "Oh, my! It's so beautiful! I'll make sure you'll be the most beautiful bride ever!"
"Is that what took you so long?" Takashi wondered.
Syaoran nodded as he watched his fiancee almost glow in happiness. "You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get the jeweler to take me seriously."
"So when do I get a ring?" Chiharu asked her husband.
"Sorry, we married Shinto, not Christian," Takashi returned teasingly.
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Author's Notes:
Coming Next:
Chapter 38 - Sakura and the Li Legacy
Sakura peeks into the life of Li Yinglung to better understand him and the Li clan.
Don't expect this chapter to be out any time soon, as this will be an interesting character piece to finally explain Yinglung, where he's coming from, and show his true nature.
Story notes:
Japanese Christmas and New Years
Christmas in North America and Europe is seen as a time of peace when families come together. Even in many non-Catholic homes who don't celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, they will still observe Christmas to some degree. Then for New Years people go out with friends, get drunk and (try to) get laid.
For Japan Christmas is largely viewed as a commercial celebration on par with White Day (Valentines Day). It is merely a day to go out with friends, get drunk and (try to) get laid. It is not an official holiday and if it falls on a weekday, mail will be delivered and most schools will remain in session. New Years, on the other hand, is for families to come together and reflect over the past year and make wishes for the future. And while there is a tradition of 'first sex' of the new year, it is meant mostly for married couples and not one-night stands.
One might wonder that since Tomoeda has been shown to have a larger Catholic influence than most of Japan that they might celebrate it in a more Western way, the reality is that beyond going to Christmas services at a Church the Catholic Japanese wouldn't celebrate it any differently than anyone else in Japan. Part of the reason is that while in Western countries most people associate themselves with one religion or none at all, the people of Japan see no issue with having multiple religions at the same time. Even the ten percent of Japanese who identify themselves as being Christian are more likely to skip going to Church on Christmas day and yet would still go to a Shinto Shrine to make prayers and wishes for New Years. Also the celebration of Christmas is steeped in Western culture taking many ques from traditions of Europeans, some of which confuses the Japanese, much as someone from Europe would find it hard to understand all the traditions the Japanese associate with the New Years Day.
Sakura is somewhat typical of a Japanese Catholic in that she is also Shinto and only goes to mass when she sees a need for it. There are certainly Christians in Japan that are far more faithful and go to mass every week, and don't view themselves as being Shinto, yet like a Western Atheist having a Christmas tree and presents-- you can still find many devote Catholic Japanese at a Shinto Shrine for New Years.