This is an idea I've toyed with for some time. I really wanted to write something with CardCaptor Sakura characters and I finally got it to fit properly.

These chapters will be in short increments.

Not sure how many chapters this will span, but that doesn't really matter.

My goal is to upload once a week since these chapters will be manageable.

Before we begin: CardCaptors Sakura and all of their wonderful characters belong to the lovely people at CLAMP. I just borrow them for a bit.

Sakura sat quietly at the back of the room, a piece of her auburn fringe falling into her emerald eyes as she glanced over the accounting packet with worry. A pad of paper, balanced on her lap, sat ready to document the minutes of the meeting. She glanced up to the tall young man standing awkwardly at the projector, his light amber-brown eyes steady, but his hands visibly trembling at his side. Dressed in a black pressed suit, dark red tie, and thick leather shoes, he looked uncomfortable as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His brown hair, slicked down to his scalp with jell, was starting to fight the obvious attempts to tame it as a small curl slipped rebelliously to his forehead.

Sakura bit her bottom lip as the silence grew tighter. Sitting at the right side of the conference desk, her boss, Mr. Tsukishiro, had his grim face on, those unusual silver eyes softly gazing from one red number to the next. He was young for his position, but sharp and cut-throat. One of the many reasons he'd gain so much momentum within the company. His youthful face right now, however, was spilling with hard doubt.

"From these statistics, it looks as though the South Investment Branch has become our only source of revenue this past quarter," Mr. Tsukishiro said softly.

"Yes, sir," the young man nodded briskly and reached down to the side table to click a slide on his computer. The projector displayed a broken bar graph. "You can see my forecast on the line here." He tapped his finger to the arrow pointing down and the seven executives seated around the conference room straightened their backs. It caused an intimidating feeling that Sakura was glad wasn't directed at her. "This graph predicts three revenue quarters from now. The heavy spending of…" he swallowed, "…the corporate offices has created a deep impact on the company's budget."

"You're basically saying that the South Investment Branch is going to support our entire company with a year and a half?" The rotund CEO barked from his thick, comfortable seat. The female assistant at his back jumped in her chair in fear.

"If I refer to the previous graph, it has been supporting the company, sir," the young man corrected. Though fear had laced into her stomach, Sakura had to hand it to him.

The guy had guts.

"What of the North Branch?" Mr. Tsukishiro asked quietly.

The accountant frowned. "North Branch? You didn't… know?"

"We closed down the North Branch four months ago, Yukito," the Human Resources Executive piped in with a red fingernail touching her chin thoughtfully. The CEO's frown grew more pronounced on his forehead as Mr. Tsukishiro blinked in surprise.

"There you have it. We have downsized. The numbers should be better! What has caused this to happen?" the CEO demanded.

The young man clicked on his computer screen again and the bar chart changed into a pie chart. Sakura's eyes went wide.

"Corporate expenditure. Trips to the tropics, meetings held at the capital, garden parties for executive birthdays, high salaries," he pointed at each bar, and the room grew heavier with hostility.

"Nonsense!" The CEO roared. "Utter nonsense!"

"The forecast is right there in front of you. The South Branch can only do so much to compensate these charges," the young man countered quietly. "With minimum wage on the rise, this has cut even further into the budget. Our higher-ended invoices are growing steadily harder to pay. Our debt is only mounting. I fear it will become critical before the year is out."

"How did you not catch this before, Mr. Saiotime?" Mr. Tsukishiro turned to the Finance Controller at the far left of the table. The nervous man twitched in his chair, opened his mouth, but nothing came out. "How did this projected outcome slip through our sights? Even with the Northern Branch closure!?"

"He gave me permission to handle this meeting, sir," the young man spoke up with a nod to his boss. The Controller sighed quietly with relief. "I'm sure our CFO would have loved to step in, but he is on vacation at this current moment." He let that comment sink in for a bit before saying, "Our sales, both online and in-store, cannot compensate. We need to cutback and soon, or we will be declaring potential bankruptcy."

Sakura's mouth fell open slightly and a drop of fear slipped into her belly.

Bankruptcy…

Word count: 747.

Feedback would be wonderful. Even if this story is going to be in small portions, it's gonna be really sweet.

Like I said, I'm happy to finally fit this together with CardCaptors Sakura. Love the manga, love the show, and I've always wanted to give it the proper AU story it deserved.

Thanks for reading. See you next Wednesday.

blue...