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Page 22

"Sakura, wanna hang out with me tonight?"

When Tomoyo said this to her, Sakura thought for a moment that the filming had not yet ended and they were still playing the characters in the script.

But she soon realized that Tomoyo's invitation was not to Sakura Kinomoto in the script, but to the real her.

It felt a little unreal, but at the same time, the soft spot in her heart was touched. It wasn't an illusion, were they really friends?

"I heard there's a summer festival in Sumida tonight, and there's also a fireworks display. Ling and I are planning on going, so are you coming with us, Sakura?"

If there really is a god of destiny in this world, Xiaoying felt that today he had paved a brand new road for her. It was a road she had never walked on, but had always longed for.

Chapter 28 Fireworks Display

"Hello, is this the Archaeology Office at Towa University?" Sakura borrowed a public phone from a daily necessities store and asked the person on the other end of the line.

"I want to find my father. No, I want to find Fujitaka Kinomoto."

"I'm his daughter Sakura Kinomoto - okay, please."

After waiting for a while, someone else answered the phone.

"Dad, I'm Sakura. This is what I mean. Tomoyo and Rei have invited me to go to the summer festival in Sumida District tonight. Can I go?"

"Yes, they are friends I met on the set, Tomoyo Daidoji and Reiya Oshima. They are in the fourth grade of elementary school like me."

"No, we have an adult with us. Lingye's butler grandfather will accompany us."

Hearing the word "housekeeper", Kinomoto Fujitaka on the other end of the phone was a little surprised. That girl was obviously not from an ordinary family, and he became a little worried.

"It doesn't matter. Tomoyo and Ling are both very good people. They won't bully me."

Oshima and Daidoji, the two surnames that Sakura heard were both famous conglomerates in Tokyo, even though he usually didn't care much about these things, he had heard of them. To be honest, as a commoner, Fujitaka was not very willing to contact such a family, but that was a rare friend that Sakura made, so how could he refuse as a father?

"I understand, Sakura, but you have to go home early, not too late."

"Okay, I won't play until late at night, and I will definitely go home earlier than dad. Thank you, Dad."

After hanging up the phone, in the archaeological research office, Kinomoto Fujitaka hesitated a little. It was what he had always hoped that Sakura could find a friend. Because she had no mother since she was a child, the child was always a little lonely among her peers. From kindergarten to elementary school, she basically had no companions to play with.

Fujitaka always thought it was his fault, that he failed to protect Nadeshiko, causing Sakura to lose her mother when she was young. He just hoped that the child could really make friends this time.

When attending a summer festival, a yukata is a must.

Sakura's family didn't have any, and Reiya's family was in Chiba, so it wasn't suitable for her to go back and get them. But it didn't matter, because Tomoyo could always take care of everything related to clothes.

"Sakura is about my height and build, and I have a few new pieces in my closet that I bought this year, so let's go pick some out. Rei is a little smaller, but she can wear my yukata from last year, do you mind?"

Ling also waved her hand to show that she didn't mind.

Although the three of them are all in the fourth grade of elementary school, Sakura and Tomoyo are actually ten years old, and Ling started school early, so she is only nine years old this year.

"I remember putting those yukatas from last year in the storage room. Sonoko, could you please look for them for me?"

"Okay, please wait a moment Miss."

Sonoko, who was injured by the super beast, rested in the hospital for a week. Her injuries were scary to look at, and blood was all over the floor. Fortunately, it was just a skin injury, and there was nothing serious. She was discharged early. Although Sonomi asked her to rest more, Sonoko refused.

There are many maids in the Daidoji family, but only Sonoko, who is also the head maid, takes care of Tomoyo every day. For Sonoko, this kind of work is not only a responsibility, but also a part of life that she has long been accustomed to. Sonoko called a few maids to go get clothes together.

Ling was a little confused at first about Sonoko's mobilization, but when the yukatas were hung in front of Sakura and her, they both felt that Tomoyo probably had some misunderstanding of the word "几". At least it should refer to a single digit, not nearly three digits.

"This... so many yukatas!"

"Well, actually, it's a sample from my mom's company. Whenever the company has a new product, she will prepare one in my size." Tomoyo explained with a smile, but in fact she was a little troubled. She has been her mom's 'dress-up Barbie doll' since she was a child, and sometimes she couldn't help but complain.

As for Sakura, she had never seen such a scene even in a department store. But after listening to Tomoyo's explanation, she felt a little sympathetic. Although beautiful clothes are indeed attractive, it is tiring to wear so many clothes even once.

Sakura didn't choose too much and just picked up her favorite pink yukata. The cherry blossoms on the yukata matched her name very well.

Ling also took a light yellow yukata. It didn't have any complicated patterns, just some simple geometric patterns. It was light and elegant, but exuded a youthful atmosphere.

Sumida Ward was particularly busy today because of the summer festival. Before I even got to the festival site on the Sumida River, I could already see crowds of people from afar.

"Miss, there is a traffic control ahead, so we can only drive here."

"Well, thank you for your help, Grandpa Jianye, we will get off here. Please find a place to park, and we will meet at the entrance of Sumida Park later."

The lively temple fair was full of people, and on both sides were various stalls selling apple candies, goldfish scooping, balloons, and various toy vendors. There were festive crowds everywhere, and walking through them made people feel festive.

The three of them held hands to avoid getting separated, and Sakura's eyes kept roaming between the stalls until she felt that her eyes were not enough.

"Hey, take a look, take a look, here are cacti from all over the world, from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, everyone come and have a look. Come and have a look!"

Sakura was startled by the sudden loud voice of the stall owner next to her. She looked over and saw a stall with potted cacti.

"Oh, it's a cactus. Are they really found all over the world?"

Ling also looked over. Although she didn't know much about cacti, it didn't look like a special variety. It was no different from the ones grown in nurseries that she usually saw in the flower and bird market.

But it's not surprising, at the temple fair, all kinds of oral advertisements from vendors emerge in an endless stream. Especially in her memory of her hometown on another Earth, such as "the boss ran away with his sister-in-law, and the factory leather shoes will be sold for money", the advertisements of vendors at the temple fair can be listened to as crosstalk.

Sakura, on the other hand, rarely comes to the temple fair, and was attracted by just a few words.

Seeing that there were people supporting him, the stall owner worked even harder.

"Look, little girl. Don't miss it if you pass by. The cacti here are all top-quality. They are all from abroad. They are flown in by plane. They usually sell for thousands or tens of thousands, but today they are only 500 per pot. They are all 500, whether they are from Mexico, Brazil, or Argentina."

"Dad, you are lying. You obviously bought this from the farm." A fat boy, who was about the age of elementary school, sat next to the stall owner. Seeing the three girls, he turned his eyes away a little embarrassedly, not daring to look at them. He just pinched his father and whispered softly.

"What are you talking about, idiot, this is a skill!" The stall owner slapped the boy's head hard, then turned around with a smile on his face, "Don't listen to this kid's nonsense."

The fat boy was a little unconvinced, and glared at his father, pretending to casually pass by the three girls, not daring to stop. But soon, he realized something and was surprised, and turned his gaze back to Sakura.

"Sakura! Could it be Sakura? The 'key that holds the power of darkness' is Sakura Kinomoto!"

The fat boy was a little excited. He had watched every episode of "Magical Girl Sakura" and he was very surprised to see the characters in the TV series appear in front of him.

Since the TV series became popular, although she is not a star yet, people occasionally recognize her on the street, and Xiaoying has become accustomed to it. Sometimes they ask for autographs, and sometimes they ask for photos.

"Kinomoto Sakura?" The stall owner hesitated, but recognized her. He had also watched a few episodes with his son. "It's true! Little girl, how about this? You hold my cactus and let me take a picture. I'll give you one as a gift."

This is a big advertisement, which is more effective than any other propaganda he can muster.

Sakura actually doesn't like having her picture taken by others, especially strangers, but she's not used to being refused and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

Chiyo had already taken out a five hundred yuan coin from his purse.

"No, let's just pay for it. Here, this is 500 yen, Sakura, you can pick a pot."

Sakura was very grateful for Tomoyo's help. Actually, she originally just wanted to take a look and didn't really want to buy it, but now that she had already paid, she had no choice but to buy it.

She casually glanced at the stall and saw a pot of cactus that was quite special. It had a bright red flower in bloom. It was indeed different from the cacti she usually saw.

“I want this pot!”

"Okay, thank you for your patronage." The stall owner was a little disappointed that his advertisement failed, but he didn't say anything. He just felt a little confused when he picked up the cactus and handed it to Sakura.

Did he really buy this cactus? Why haven't I seen it before?

But he quickly put aside his small concerns. Maybe he had bought too much at the time and didn't pay attention. After all, he bought it, so could it be that it came from somewhere else?

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as she left the stall carrying the cactus.

"Thank you, Tomoyo."

Sakura took out five hundred yuan from her pocket and handed it to Tomoyo. Tomoyo didn't refuse and took it and put it in her purse.

“Being an actor is hard.”

"Does Chiyo regret filming?"

"No, it's hard work, but it's also fun." Tomoyo said, pulling Sakura and Lingye to a mask stand, "How about buying a mask? You won't have any trouble if you wear this."

"Okay!" Sakura casually placed the cactus at her feet and chose masks with Reiya and Tomoyo.

None of the three girls noticed that when a moth flew by, the cactus's petals suddenly retracted, and the bright red flower seemed to swallow the moth with a bloody mouth, and returned to its original state in the blink of an eye. But the moth disappeared without a trace.

TAC Headquarters

"Captain, the analysis report is out." Kaji Yoichi came to the command room with a stack of reports. "The Ultra Beast Sabotand that appeared two days ago escaped and disappeared during the battle with Ace. I conducted a genetic sequencing analysis based on the Ultra Beast tissue samples collected at the scene."

Long listened carefully, and Beidou and Yamanaka also came over.

"According to genetic analysis, in addition to some tissues coming from space, the super beasts also have elements from Earth, including not only animals but also plants."

“Animals and plants?”

"Yes, in its gene sequence, we found gene fragments of hedgehog. There is also cactus." Kaji Yoichi pulled out a gene sequencing report from the file, but considering the professionalism of it, no one else could understand it, so he just waved it.

Including Captain Long, the team members were not interested in the original report, but the conclusion was not difficult to understand.

"You mean, if it hides, it might become a hedgehog or a cactus? But Tokyo is so big, and hedgehogs are protected animals, mostly only in zoos, and they can still be used for work. How do you find a cactus?"

The Yabo people often use the creatures on Earth as a model to transform them and create super beasts. These super beasts usually hide in the appearance of the transformed creatures. If you want to hide a drop of water, the best way is to hide it in the sea.

This is a common tactic used by the Yabo people, and the TAC team is already familiar with it.

"Yes, it is indeed a bit troublesome."

"Anyway, this is a direction. The TAC team will patrol around the clock. Thank you for your hard work." Long ordered.

"understand!"

"Also contact the police department. If you come across any suspicious reports involving hedgehogs or cacti during your daily work, no matter how insignificant the matter is, you must contact the TAC team immediately."

Chapter 29 The Missing Black Cat

The first bunch of flowers bloomed in the sky, followed by fireworks that continued to rise into the sky. In an instant, the whole sky became a sea of ​​flowers.

"The fireworks display has begun!"

People in the temple fair, some shouting, some bargaining, some strolling, all stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sky.

People are often moved by grand scenes, which may be an instinct engraved in their genes. Facing thunder and lightning, facing the sun, moon and stars, humans who live in a daze all day long jump out of the fence at that moment and face their own insignificance and the grandeur of the world.

The gorgeous fireworks blooming in the sky are also a reflection of human beings. Forget the daily petty intrigues and deceptions, and make a wish or marvel in the sea of ​​flowers blooming in the sky. Empty everything temporarily and immerse yourself in a kind of perception beyond rationality.

In this situation, even shedding some tears is forgivable. It's just that the eyes are stimulated by the brightness of the fireworks and the smell of fire.

"That must be what heaven is like, right?"

"Ah."

Under the sky, three little girls wearing masks were holding hands and looking at the kitten, puppy, and bunny.

"Dad said that my mother is watching me in heaven, which is a very beautiful place. My mother is very happy, so I must be happy too."

"Yeah, that's what my mom said. She said the Daidoji family was too tired, so my dad went to heaven. Mom said he was a coward, but she also said that as I grow older, my dad will be watching me in heaven."