Sakura Kinomoto had called Kukai, asking him to meet her at the local park. Why? She'd thought she'd sense a clow card. Tomoyo was with her, of course(hence where she got the cell phone from). Unfortunately, the card had slipped away. Probably her imagination, anyway.
Still, she had other things she wanted to talk with him about. Important things. Possibly life changing things. She wanted to ask him about this... Riventon. Who was he, why did he steal the cards, HOW did he steal the cards.
Kukai was happy enough to head out to the local park, since he was near there anyway. He was still on the long patrol he had been on non-stop mostly since a few days ago. Hunting these two twin clowns had been the main thing on his mind. It made it easier to not think about whatever the dream problem he was having was.
Kukai had, however, decided that the best place to meet her was on a park bench. The Moonshot Fighter Espresso or whatever it was that Haruna had fed him was starting to wear off, and although he was fighting it, he knew he'd have to go sleep some soon. Hopefully he could get home without anyone noticing. Daichi was already sound asleep in his jacket pocket.
Kukai sat up as Sakura appeared on the path, and waved to her. "Hey. How're you? What's up?"
Sakura Kinomoto ran up and gave him a big hug, smiling. "H-hi Kukai-kun! I-I need your advice! Did you get my text? well, someone stole my cards. apparently it was a guy named Riventon-kun who Hannah-sempai might work with. He ambushed me after I gave my magic to Hannah-sempai because she was really, really hurt and I think she was dying and I didn't want her to die! And I wanna know if you know this Riventon or how I can find him?"
She then paused. "Are you okay? You don't look so good..."
Kukai acks as the smaller girl hops up and hugs him tightly, reaching up to pat her hair. "Aie! Hello! You what? I got a text about you needing questions answered..."
Then she says 'Riventon'. "Oh, well, crap." Kukai rubs his eyes and looks at her, more exhausted than usual. "Why didn't you tell anybody that Riventon had ambushed you? And... yeah, he does that sort of thing, especially if you're nice to Hannah or Lacrima or any of his 'kohais'. If you're weak around him, he messes you up."
Kukai sighs and leans back. "Oookay. So. Imagine if all the main world-controlling groups in the world had a singular group that was backing them up. That's Eclipse. Riventon is Eclipse's top field agent, and I'm pretty sure he's their leader or something. He is ruthless and a jerk and basically dead last on your list of 'I want to tangle with him.' His main skill is the ability to either copy or steal other people's powers and use them for his own. His next best skill is his sciency stuff - he makes evil clones of people, mutated youma, all sorts of awful things. Oh, yeah, and he hits like two trains duct-taped together, even at range. If he gets his hands on you, close your eyes and hope it's over quickly."
Kukai thinks for a moment over what all he can tell her about Riventon. He's not dozing, honest. "Wha? Oh. Yeah. My espresso is wearing off. I should have been in bed hours ago. I'm ok for now, though."
Sakura Kinomoto nodded. "I see... he stole the cards. On top of that, he had this weird clone of me and he was able to use the cards. I... I don't know how. Kero-chan sad it should be impossible.
Then she paled and just stared. "W-what? He's... he's that powerful? But I can't..." She clutched him. "H-he stole my friends! I can't just.... et him keep them, can I? And... and I don't know what else he did, but I think he's hurting Kero-chan. Kero-chan has been really, really quiet lately and... and he's sleeping a lot and I'm really worried about him."
Though her eyes lowered. "How... can I fight someone that strong?"
Kukai sighs and then hugs her tightly. "You're not the first person to have a clone made of you by Riventon's powers. She can use just about everything you can, too, if not quite as well. Don't worry. We'll figure out a way to get the cards back from him, I promise. And.. I dunno about your Kero-chan, but we'll figure out what's going on with him, too."
Kukai's quiet a moment. "As for fighting Riventon, he's not invincible. He can be pushed back by a large enough group. Or convinced to do things that help us and the world as a whole. Most of the time he's just interested in himself. He can be beaten" Kukai sighs. "Not alone, though. Alone, he'll probably grab you by an ankle and use your head to dig out your own grave. I'm sorry. That's just how he is. I don't know anybody that can beat him by theirselves. If you see him, call for help."
Sakura Kinomoto nodded, slowly pulling back. "I... I tried. But... well... I lost my phone in the fight. I didn't even have any of my magic at the time so I couldn't... fight back. Kero-chan made me run away, because otherwise... well, the other cards might have been stolen, too. I'm sorry." She stared up at him, then slowly lowered her eyes.
"I'm sorry to bother you with this. You look so tired. Is... is there anything I can do? Are you feeling sick? Do you need a doctor?"
Kukai sighs. "Look, Sakura. Put it like this. I once fought Riventon and two of his kohais, Lacrima and Lunatic Charm. It was me and Tuxedo Kamen and Kunzite. Ever seen them? Kunzite is practically three of me, and Tux is five of me and then some. We didn't actually beat him. We chased off the girls and then he sort of laughed and went 'well, this went according to plan', the machine he was defending went off and blew up, and he vanished off into the dark like we'd barely scratched him. You understand? Running away from Riventon is usually the best plan if you're alone or low on numbers. He is scary strong."
Kukai shakes his head. "Nah. My... um, Nadeshiko and Nagihiko, the Fujisakis, were... attacked the other night by a pair of magical clown twins, and they haven't been the same since. I'm trying to find the clowns and make them put whatever this was back to normal. Resting is something I can do after that." He looks at her, then pats her head. "I'll be ok." Even if he's not now.
Sakura Kinomoto nodded, staring. "Wait, he took on masked cape man? But he's amazing!" she said, shaking her head. "He's super, duper amazing and cool and powerful! And he took them on? O-oh. Oh wow. I... I really didn't have a chance, did I? I'm such an idiot..." she said softly. "It's all my fault. I should have just called from the beginning instead of... going alone."
She blinked a few times, then shuddered. "magical clowns? That sounds pretty scary," she said with a shake of her head. "They aren't still around, are they? I'd... rather not meet them. If I could avoid it. Do you think this Riventon has something to do with them, too?"
Kukai shrugs. "Yeah. Riventon takes on everybody and does fine. I've never seen him get scratched. And... yeah, right now, you probably didn't stand a chance. But you're not an idiot. Everybody's gotta lose a game eventually, you know? Just be glad you didn't lose it to some witch or youma or somebody really psychotic, like Queen Beryl was. All in all, I've never seen Riventon kill anybody, just punish them for being in his way. You'll know better next time."
Kukai looks over at her, then grins, patting her head. "They didn't sound so bad, except that they did some kinda magic to my friends I need to figure out. I don't think they're nearby - this has been several days ago. And this doesn't sound like his sort of deal - all of his things are infused with dark energy. There wasn't any dark energy in this." He sits up and stretches, rubbing his eyes. "Mmph."
Sakura Kinomoto nodded. "Okay. Next time... next time I'll be more careful and when he comes, I'll make sure to get help, okay?" she said, before grinning up at him. "I... I fought something called the noise the other day! I even used two cards at the same time! I'd never, ever been able to do that before! It was exhausting and I fell asleep after, but I did it!"
She then reached out and took his hand, trying to pull him up. "Okay, Kukai-kun. I'll walk you home, okay? I don't want you to get hurt." Oh my gosh she was trying to mother him. "And as long as you're sure. Is your friend in danger?"
Kukai grins and nods, patting her back. "That's the thing to do. If you see him, call for help. And that's good! That means you're getting stronger." He stands up and then pats her head. "OK. That sounds fine. I'm gonna go home and lie down. I'll see you later, Sakura. And no, no danger. It's all ok."