Image of the Day

Image of the Day

Saturday, July 21, 2007

CardCaptor Sakura Remastered IV Episode 8 (10)

Daidouji Estates -- later that day.

It was Tomoyo’s turn to cook dinner. And, after the events of the day,
she had worked up an appetite as she cooked with Fuu‘s help. Sakura,
sitting nearby, watched the two women finish the meal. “That looks
good.” she noted, looking abit anxious to eat.

“It’ll be dinner time soon, so why don’t you ask Eve and Dawn to help
you gather everyone for dinner? I--”

Sakura, moving forward to peek, accidentally slips and falls into
Tomoyo’s back, her hand grasping about her waist and on her belly to
steady herself. Quickly Sakura jumps back and gasps, “SORRY! I---”

Tomoyo stops what she’s doing and looks down where Sakura touched her,
and runs a hand across her stomach. Sakura, shaking a bit, watched
Tomoyo as she ran two fingers across her stomach. She looks up at
Sakura, and smiles, holding a hand out to draw her close. “Come here.”

As Sakura steps forward Tomoyo turns and grasps Sakura’s hands from
behind, drawing them about to touch her stomach as she leans back into
Sakura’s strong body. “---it doesn’t hurt to think of it anymore --
with all my heart I wish it was different --”

“But how can two girls have a baby? It’s impossible even if --”
(Sakura shuts her mouth, eyes wide) “--I’M SORRY! I--”

Tomoyo nodded her head, her hands gently folding over Sakura‘s holding
them tight, “Even if I wasn’t sterile we could have found a way --
somehow. But now --”

Sakura holds Tomoyo tight, “I don’t care.” she cried, tears slowly
trickling down her cheeks, “I DON’T CARE! Magic or no I’m going to get
pregnant with your BABY! I want you to be happy Tomo-chan! I--”

Sakura’s voice turns to a soft squeak as Tomoyo turns in her grasp.
For a dark and scary moment Sakura almost expects an angry expression.
However, as she turns to gaze at Sakura, her expression is one of
bemusement and confusion, “That’s sweet, but maybe we should get
married before we cross the deep ocean of the mechanics of making you
pregnant -- even I’m not sure how we can do that.”

The two bump heads, sighing as they relish this closeness just for a
few more seconds, Tomoyo’s lips gently brushing away Sakura’s tears.
“Don’t cry. We’ll make it all work out somehow -- I know we will.“

At that Sakura nods her head, taking a few final seconds to soak in
Tomoyo’s love before leaving to get everyone for dinner. Tomoyo,
returning to her cooking, picks up the wooden spoon and sighs. “If
only becoming pregnant was as simple as making a wish, Sakura-chan.”

* * * * * *

Keiko/Eve’s room (guest room)

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Keiko’s fingers danced across the keyboard of her portable laptop,
eyes looking cautiously left and right as she did so. It appears she
was no longer alone in the room.

From behind her she heard a soft shuffling as the door slid quietly
open, then closed without a sound.

The first thing she knew was that it couldn’t have been Eve. She
usually made it a point to announce her presence. It couldn’t have
been Nina either. Nina always tried to sneak up behind Keiko to spy on
her, mostly to see if she was looking through porn sites. This person?
This person seemed content to hide in the background without even
trying to come closer to spy on her. The identity of the “intruder”
seemed simple enough, Keiko rationalized in her mind, she just needed
to speak her mind and see if it was true.

As she finished she hit the Enter icon on the screen with the clicker
and waited. As she did, she sighed and motioned towards the far end of
the room, “It’s bad manners to stand over there hiding from me. Come
over here, Sakura.” For a minute nothing happened, but at last she
moved over where Keiko was. “Don’t tell me, let me guess -- dinner
time?”

Sakura nodded as she watched the screen, the information coming up.

ALLIANCE MEDICAL DATABASE

FILE SEARCH COMPLETE

CASES OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CONCERNING “QUIK-ABORTION” TECHNIQUE
(circa 2295) ON YOUNG GIRLS 12-14.

CUSTOM SEARCH ENGINE - NAME - DAIDOUJI, TOMOYO

ADDITIONAL PARAMETERS - SEARCH FOR RELATED FILES RELATED TO ABORTION
PROCEDURE (DEEPDIVE enabled)

FILES FOUND. INFORMATION AS FOLLOWS.

Before Sakura could see more, Keiko quickly shut the screen off and
turned towards her, “It’s also not polite to spy on other people.”

Sakura nodded her head dimly, and turned to walk away but stopped --
“Is that about Tomoyo?”

“What if it is?” Keiko answered, to which Sakura retorted “---but---”

Keiko sighs bitterly. “Go stand over there and wait a second.”
(pointing to the far end of the room). As Sakura stood there, Keiko
turned back and read the file. As she did she occasionally glanced at
Sakura to make sure she kept her distance. As she finished she shut
off the screen and turned around. “There’s no record of a malpractice
in concerns of Tomoyo’s abortion. All records indicate it was clean
and orderly, but then again that could have falsified the records.
That’s why I did a DEEPDIVE search.”

Sakura, leaning now against the wall (for fear of falling over) looked
on with a dazed, confused look, “?”

“It’s a customized search engine I got from someone some years ago.
DEEPDIVE does a thorough and detailed search on related files
concerning whatever topic I bring up -- in this case the abortion.”

Sakura, silently, watched and nodded her head.

“Nothing. It didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. It was as the
file said, a fluke. A one in a million thing that nobody could have
prepared for. It shocked the doctors and they didn’t have enough time
to compensate. They suppressed it because of a fear back then that the
circa 2295 abortion procedure was going to get a bad rep while
opponents fought against in Alliance Medical Council chambers. I’m
sorry---”

Sakura seemed to rise abit, and then she nodded her head and stood
straight as if abit of a burden was lifted. “So it wasn’t anyone’s
fault -- except --”

“Don’t think about it. What he did -- he had to answer for that --
wherever he went after he “passed” -- it’s not your burden to bear.
Now go on, I’ll turn this off and meet you for dinner.”

“Ok.” she whispered, smiling. As she exited the room, Keiko turned the
computer back on and stared at the screen. On it was a Doctor’s
personal notation about procedure.

“Abortion procedure done according to parent’s wishes. Additionally, I
performed the T7 sterilization procedure as well, understanding that
it was Mrs. Daidouji’s strict instructions that nobody be told of this
and it was to go down as a “fluke”.”

“I am curious as to why a mother would sterilize her own daughter, but
she didn’t give any answers and, from what I understand, the large
donation given to the hospital has dropped a veil of secrecy around
her case. In such I am deleting all notations of the sterilization,
replacing the few pieces used for procedure secretly, and using a
Class-9 “tapeworm” virus to insure these notes are destroyed as per
your instructions.”

“I hope she can sleep at night -- when I think of her wish she shared
before going under the anesthesia I find it abit harder than usual to
detach after what I did.”

Keiko leans back in her chair, clasps her hands together, and ponders
her next move.

Or, to be more precise, if there was a next move to be had.

She pulls her cellphone out and makes a call.

“Yamanaka.”

“Keiko? It’s me -- yeah --” “Keiko” sighed, leaning back in her chair,
“Either my improv of you is flawless or people just don’t know you as
well as they think.”

“People just don’t know me as well as they think. But keep your antics
to yourself during dinner or Nina’ll figure it out. So tell me
something, Eve, you haven’t done anything naughty in my body have
you?”

“I’ll tell you about it in bed tonight.” she chided, her demeanor
growing serious, “I got the information you were looking for---”

“And?”

“Not over an open line. I’ll tell you tonight.”

As the phone disconnected, Keiko looked at it oddly, “What did she
find out?”

The call to dinner got Keiko to put the cellphone, as well as any
questions, aside for the time being.

* * * * * *

The next day Keiko rushed out the door, but not before making a snap
decision.

She grabbed Sakura, and Tomoyo, and rushed them out the door with her.

It was Sunday, and Keiko made a commitment to a friend to help on
something. But, while she was out, she was determined to make sure
Sakura/Tomoyo could unwind after the events of the past few days.

It was a simple enough thing. Soon after dinner she spoke to Eve as
she returned from “The Tower”.

As Keiko walked through the door back into her room that night, she
noticed Eve by the phone looking rather tired. “Hard day?” she asked,
to which Eve shook her head, “Tell me your day and I’ll tell you
mine.”

“Nothing worth talking about. A long day of meetings and commitments and so forth. Nothing worth worrying about extensively…“ (sighs) “Not the way you seem to be worrying in anyrate.“ Keiko noted, “But you knew that because you sat in for me at home after the Hospital incident while I went to the meeting, remember?”

“How was dinner?” Eve asked, looking at the package in Keiko’s hand,
“Is that for me?”

“Dinner, as you no doubt suspected, was good. Of course anything
Mako-chan makes is good. I even brought you some (even re-heated
nothing beats Mako-chan’s cooking at the Command Center Eatery -- except maybe Fuu who makes a mean set of dishes when she’s making waves in the Eatery kitchen).”

“My hero.” she smiles, kissing Keiko on the cheek as she accepts
dinner. “I wish I could say my day was better, but I’m afraid I just
got talked into something that --”

“What‘s wrong with Tomoyo?”

“Not out here in the open.”

As the two entered the kitchen, she checked for anyone coming, closed
the door, and gave Keiko the full scoop. As she stood there listening
(Eve reheating dinner) she just couldn’t believe it.

“You’re telling me that Sonomi STERILIZED her own child??“

“It seems that way from the nearly destroyed paper trail I tracked.“

Keiko slides into a nearby chair as Eve sits down, shaking her head in
dismay, “Why! Why did she do that? It makes no sense at all. She’s not
that kind of parent!“

“Maybe it’s for a different reason.” Eve tried to reason.

“What reason?” Keiko asked, looking up at Eve as she began to eat.
“Maybe she did it to protect her.” Eve rationalized, “Or to make sure this didn‘t happen again.”

“From what? Why did she -- oh no.”

“After all…” Eve whispered, looking up from her food, “How do two
women make a baby if your of the old school of thought?”

“You don’t. So why protect a lesbian‘s reproductive system if you‘re of the mindset that she won‘t be needing it being a lesbian and all.” Keiko concluded. “The stupid bitch.”

“I’m afraid however that this is all just speculation.” Eve remarked
sadly, the food still tasting good despite the slight bitter taste in
her mouth from the conversation. “Only Sonomi knows for sure why she
did it.”

Keiko nods her head, “Heaven help us all if Tomoyo ever finds out --
but now what?”

“There’s nothing we can do.” Eve concluded, “And even if we could get Sonomi to confess, then what good would it be? Nothing can reverse what Sonomi has done. Even confession will not ease the pain of the rash decision she has made -- that’s why maybe it’s for the best that this secret remains a secret -- for now.”

* * * * * *

Sunday morning. A few hours ago. Sakura would probably not forget how
it all began for some days to come -- even if she wanted to forget.

It was about five AM when she first woke. As she rolled over, her
weary eyes glanced at Tomoyo’s sleeping form, her face quiet and
peaceful. As her fingers reached out to gently caress her soft
features, she couldn’t help but think back to her vow.

“I’ll find a way to keep my promise to you.” she whispered softly,
“Somehow.”

She fell back asleep abit, and had a strange dream. She dreamed she
was with Li again, the day she made her decision that nearly cost her
her best friend. Only this time -- “Li, I can’t go with you.”

He did not say anything, he merely looked at her.

“If I knew then -- what I know -- I mean if I knew NOW what I knew
later -- I --”

“You wouldn’t have gone to Hong Kong with me, even for a short time.”

“I’m sorry.” she cried, head lowered, “B-but--- Tomoyo needs me -- I
can’t -- I can’t leave her --”

“Sakura.” Li softly whispers, placing two fingers on her lips as he
sits her down. “What’s done is done. You can’t change the events that
have already transpired. What happened to Tomoyo isn’t your fault and you were there, when she needed you the most, and haven’t left her
side since. You‘ve been a true friend, and a truer lover to her. She couldn‘t have asked for a better soulmate.” (smiles) “And if that isn’t the true measure of undying love then I don’t know what is!”

“You seem diff--”

Again she’s shushed, but now it’s Eliza and not Li.

“Someday she’ll understand -- I hope -- as to why things will happen
the way they do. I hope she’ll find it in her heart to forgive me --
someday.”

“B-but-- hooee!!! What’s going on!!”

She turns, and walks into Li’s arms. “I can’t tell you.”

“BUT-- WAIT!!”

She wakes up with a start, sweating abit. She looks up to find Keiko
staring straight at her, straddled over her body. “She’s awake! Good.
Sakura? I---”

“HOOEEEEE!!!” she screams, rolling over knocking Keiko off of her.
Keiko rolls backwards and falls off the bed. “---ok, I was asking for
that, wasn’t I.”

As Sakura rolled she realized Tomoyo was gone. She quickly looked
about in a shock, only for her eyes to fall upon Tomoyo, dressed in
her Sunday finest carrying her vidcamera filming Sakura.

“You’re sure full of energy today, Sakura-chan!”

Sakura, looking up, then down, blushes. Her hands grabbing for sheets
to cover her nude form. “TOMO-CHAN!! (I’m naked!!)”

Tomoyo smiles, holding the video camera abit to one side (but still
filming Sakura) “It’s only for our private collection, and you allowed
me to film us making love so many times, I---”

Sakura sighs, her face turning a deeper shade of red, “Tomo-chan --
Keiko --?” (motioning towards the 7th Judgment as she pulls herself
out of her awkward position on the floor)

“Oh, Keiko wants to take us to an amusement park today.”

“Oh.” Sakura sighs. “Can I have breakfast?”

“Sure. Come on! Just get dressed and --” (Sakura covers herself up
more, looking like she was on the verge of tears) “---sorry.” (turns
off camera) “Can you wait outside, Keiko? Sakura-chan is abit shy this
morning.”

* * * * * *

Breakfast went by rather well, if not for the fact that Umi was
passing by Sakura/Tomoyo’s room when she woke up and heard the whole
commotion from outside (spying as she was) so she couldn’t help but
kid with Sakura about being shy, which only made it worst for Sakura.

Getting out of the door (and away from Umi) made things better, and
things just continued to look up as they reached the huge amusement
park. Sakura, who started the morning flustered and embarrassed, was
now having the time of her life. It’s been awhile since she’s been to
an amusement park, so she was having the time of her life now, which
was only made sweeter with Tomoyo being there with her.

Getting Tomoyo to ride the coasters’ was no problem, mostly because she would cling onto Sakura and that thrilled her. She did, of course, have her headset vidcamera with her (given to her some adventures ago) which
helped her record the rides without losing a single opportunity to
cuddle close to Sakura for her own “safety”.

Keiko smiled, but seemed to grip the restraints a little too hard
during drops. She didn’t like coasters that much despite her earlier
bravado. Eve (who met them at the park) seemed no better at riding coasters than Keiko, gripping into her as tightly as Keiko held onto the ride which each drop and high speed turn.

Still it was all about Sakura and Tomoyo and things were good with them. Sakura was having a blast, and so was Tomoyo in more ways than one. Rollercoasters were seemingly something of Sakura‘s boundless energetic nature to enjoy, but Tomoyo took off like a rocket to the biggest coaster in the park and wanted to ride it with Sakura. Of course there were the cuddles she got in, but it seemed that Tomoyo was, besides a fanatic with vidcameras, abit of a closet coaster‘ junkie.

Rollercoasters fascinated her, mostly because of the speed and blood pumping excitement of riding them. Of course, given the chance to say what her favorite things about rollercoasters was, it would be the chance to snuggle close to the one you love as your hearts race and hammer in each of your chests with each twist, spin and dive. The energy was fun, but the exciting closeness sold her on the theory that coaster-riding was a fun way to spend a day at an amusement park.

As they took a break, Sakura looked over at Tomoyo, face blushing abit
as she asked the obvious question, “I didn’t know you liked
rollercoasters so much! (If I knew that I would have invited you to
more amusement parks when we were younger!)”

Tomoyo, smiling abit, shook her head as she sipped her drink. “I would
have been too shy to have held you like I did today, and that’s the
true fun of coasters (I think).“

“Pwhee?“

“The closeness. Snuggled close to someone you love, hearts racing as
you experience the thundering speed and thrills, yet safe in the
knowledge that you’ll be OK as long as the one you love the most holds
you close. That’s what I love about rollercoasters the most.“ (sighs)
“We should come here more often -- just the two of us --”

“But then we’d be hogging all the fun up for ourselves!” Sakura said
in her honest way, causing Tomoyo to giggle abit, “Sometimes a little
selfishness is OK -- as long as it’s for all the right reasons.“

”Pwhee?” Sakura paled, uncertain what to say. So Tomoyo said it for
her. “It’s OK to occasionally want to be alone, just the two of us --
don’t you think? Even if I was in a room with a hundred thousand
people in it, I would be so very alone if you weren’t with me.“

“But I‘m not leaving you---!” Sakura suddenly yelled, blushing, “I
don’t want to---“ (fingers touch Sakura’s lips) “It’s a silly thought
from a worried girl who can’t believe her dreams of happily ever after
came true. Don’t worry about it too much.“ Tomoyo chided softly,
drawing Sakura close to kiss her with soft passion as their lips
pressed close. For a few seconds they held this embrace, before Tomoyo
leans back, “I could spend eternity with you, Sakura-chan.”

“Won‘t we? I mean -- we won‘t die -- will we?” she gasped, looking
abit fidgety.

“Well -- actually, you’re right -- we WILL spend eternity together.“
(Tomoyo smiles) “Silly me.“

Tomoyo slowly puts her fingers under Sakura’s chin, raising her gaze
to meet her own. “Sakura-chan --” (silence) “-- I can’t wait to see
how this came out on video!”

Sakura nearly faints as Tomoyo turns and takes her camera (set up whle
Sakura was eating a few minutes earlier) and checks the footage. “OH
IT’S SO CUTE!!” (Tomoyo holds the camera up admiring the footage) “You
look so handsome and beautiful! It’s like watching a sweeping epic
love story the way you hold me close and kiss me! You’re so CUTE!!”

Sakura, blushing like mad, looks down at her feet as they kick
mindlessly, “Tomo-chan---”

To Be Continued