AN: Hi guys, I'm writing a new fic now. My other story, Favorite Girl, is still in progress too.
I really hope you'll like this one!
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.
Chapter 1 – Consequences
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Business is easy. You just ought to have some plans… some connections. Well, in some cases, a little bit of manipulation is needed.
Every business has a risk. The higher the risk, the higher the return, the more we can get.
In my job, the risk is much higher than the return. No sane person would take the risk, when in fact you may have no gain after all the bullshits you've done. Yeah… pain, but no gain. What kind of pain? Geez… I'm talking about death.
But I love my business. I'm enjoying my pain, and yeah… you can say that I'm not a sane person.
I'm Li Syaoran, and unfortunately I am playing the part of the regular businessman today, the boring one…
"I'm saying 18… united states dollars per mmbtu." Syaoran leaned back on the chair, studying the expressions of the other four men in the room.
Silence fell… except for the sound of woods getting burned in the fireplace, one in a goddam luxurious living room in one hell of a mansion.
"18? Sounds like the most expensive pipeline gas price in the world," the man who was sitting right in front of Syaoran laughed, followed by two of his colleagues. "That's none sense."
"Well… You can lighten the entire city with that. Bye bye, solar. Buy our gas, and imagine…" Syaoran leaned forward to the table, looking into their eyes, and saw anticipation in them. "…billions of dollars you can save in your pockets, instead of burning oil. What about that, Eric?"
The boss, Eric, leaned back on his chair. Then, a smile began to creep on his lips. "Well… Now that I think about it…" He looked rather amused, looking at Syaoran intently. "It is indeed a very interesting offer."
Syaoran smiled charmingly. "It is."
Before neither of them could say another word, one of Eric's assistant walked in. "Sir…" he whispered something to Eric.
"Bring her in."
The assistant walked back to open the door, which then revealed a young lady in a tight shimmering gold long dress. The lower cut of the dress was so high that it exposed almost her entire left leg. Her honey brown hair was tied in a loose bun, leaving a few curly strands. A big diamond necklace was attached around her neck, showing just how expensive the whole package she offered.
The atmosphere was suddenly getting intense and the air getting hot, as the men in the room gawked at the sexy newcomer. The assistant dragged her forcefully into the room; she was being very persistent. She arrived at the table, tears welling up in her eyes. It was difficult to differ between her fear and hatred.
"Well, well, well… Look, how gracious my client is." Eric couldn't hide his excitement, as he looked at his new toy, his eyes sparkling with joy. "He definitely knows my expectation." He cupped her chin, only to be snapped away by her. He then laughed, liking her fierceness. "Or, I should say… beyond my expectation." He turned to his audience, and they laughed amusedly. "Gentlemen, the highest bid: 800 thousand dollars."
The men whistled hearing that, admiring her face and body.
"Well, how about some warm regards to these young men?" He leaned closer to her and touched her shoulder tenderly, but she pushed away. "Well…" He was starting to lose his temper, and decided to play it rough. He gripped her hair, pulling her towards him, and hissed on her neck. "What say you?"
She let out a small whimper, trying to endure the pain. "Good evening…" She looked hopelessly at the men, and her emerald eyes found Syaoran's.
Much to his surprise, he immediately looked away.
"Good." Eric roughly let go of his grip on her, earning a small cry from her. "Take her to my room," he commanded sharply, and his assistant obeyed it right away. "So, where were we?" He sat back on his chair, and placed his hands on the table. "Right, about the gas price…" He let out a small chuckle, and turned to one of his employees. "Rob?"
Rob turned to Syaoran. From the look on his face, Syaoran could tell that he wanted a serious business. "Well… Unless you show us the data, we won't start any negotiation." He knocked his pen on the table, making sure that Syaoran got his point. "So…" he sighed. "Back to the basic… the economic limit. Show us first." He looked at Syaoran sharply.
"Right..." Syaoran tried his best not to laugh, nodding in agreement.
Bullshit. I know you're gonna take it.
Eric leaned closer to Rob… and although he was whispering very carefully, Syaoran could see what he was telling Rob.
'Make sure he knows about this.'
That's it! That's what the mission was all about. The person Eric was talking about, 'he', was the jackpot. Eric wouldn't get out of the building alive until he spilled some information –useful information—regarding that person.
"Well…" Eric sighed and turned to Syaoran again. "I'm sure Rob wouldn't mind getting occupied for a while. As we all know, the devil is in the details!" he roared out laughter… and Syaoran laughed, forcefully. "Well, Rob is the devil." He looked at Rob, who seemed very proud. "Always," he sighed, positioning his tie. "Enjoy your evening, Mr Li." He got up from his chair and extended his hand to Syaoran.
Syaoran stood up and shook his hand.
"Send my regards to your boss." Eric smiled.
Are you kidding? I'm the boss here. Well, you will see it soon… in less than 10 seconds.
Syaoran sat back and watched him leaving to his room, which was just a few meters from where the negotiation took place.
10…9…8…7…6…
"So—"
Syaoran took out his gun and shot Rob at his head before he could finish his sentence.
Nerdy, I'm sorry. I don't like you.
"What the fuck—" The other man stood up and panicky took out his gun, but Syaoran shot his heart before he could aim his gun.
Well, doesn't red suit you better? I don't like your shirt. It's blue.
Syaoran sighed and stood up.
"Shit—" One of the men guarding Eric's room cursed and aimed his gun at Syaoran. Unfortunate for him, Syaoran shot him first.
I guess you all need friends in hell.
"Dammit—" The other guard was about to shoot Syaoran, but again, Syaoran shot him first.
Okay, I've heard too much curses. It's getting really annoying.
As Syaoran walked out from the table, he turned to the last man sitting at the table.
"No, please… Don't…" he begged Syaoran, his whole body shaking.
What did he expect? Syaoran shot him nonetheless.
Nothing personal… I guess you're just unfortunate.
0… Time's up!
Syaoran stopped at Eric's door.
5 bullets, 5 down… So far, so good…
Syaoran kicked the door open, to find that Eric was putting up a hostage. He had the young lady and placed his gun on her head.
Okay, this requires some improvisation.
"Don't move, or she's dead!"
Syaoran looked at Eric in disbelief. The adrenaline rush had caused Eric to become so creative… but at the same time, ridiculous.
Interesting… How the hell can he be so sure that I won't let her die?
Syaoran watched his expression and could only read one thing: fear.
He doesn't know. He's just taking a chance. Little does he know that I don't give a damn.
The girl was trembling in fear, tears streaming down her cheeks. "No, please… I don't want to die."
Or should I?
"Please, no. Oh, God…" she begged desperately.
Young lady, shut your mouth.
"Shut up!" Eric shouted before Syaoran could tell her the same thing.
Syaoran chuckled in disbelief, and slowly aimed his gun at Eric. He looked at Syaoran in shock, his eyes widened.
"Whether you choose to kill her or not, it won't change anything," Syaoran told him calmly. "You're still gonna die."
"If I die, you won't hear anything about him!"
Hearing that, Syaoran looked at him coldly. He knew who Syaoran was looking for. He knew that a day like this would come.
"I'm the only one you can count on. You need me."
What he had just said forced Syaoran to laugh.
Really? Is that all you've got?
"Oh, this is one hell of a moment. Can't you hear yourself begging? Desperately…"
"LI!"
Syaoran looked at him without mercy. "I will make you beg, Eric… until you wish that you've never been born." He made sure that Eric heard every word he just said. "Don't make it too easy for me."
"You need me, Li… not only for now, but in the long run!" Eric was still persistent. He was going crazy, his grip on the girl getting stronger.
The girl whimpered in pain.
"You think you can just get to him!? We're just pawns to him!"
Syaoran was amazed at how hysterical Eric was. "Chess pawns?" He smirked in disgust. "Great sense of humor…"
"You will regret this!" His shouts were getting louder. "You will fucking regret this! You don't know what you're facing ahead!"
Oh, I hate this drama.
Eric looked at the girl and realized that she was no use. Moreover, she saw the whole thing. "Nevertheless, she's worthless." He decided to get rid of her, and was about to pull the trigger of his gun.
"No—" she screamed, and the bullet was shot.
The body fell onto the floor. No, wait… it wasn't her.
It was Eric. He was lying on the floor, his eyes opened, and blood was pouring out from his head.
Syaoran watched the scene in shock, his hands shaking. It had never happened to him before: his hands were shaking, God dammit! He couldn't believe what he had done. He had killed Eric.
He had always acted based on the plan, and he freaking knew that the plan was not to kill Eric.
"Syaoran, what the fuck was that? This isn't the plan!" his partner was shouting madly through the intercom in his ear.
Syaoran was speechless. He couldn't answer the question.
"Oh man, we're doomed. We're really doomed."
"Shut the fuck up, Eriol," Syaoran hissed and quickly walked to the girl, who was still shaking due to what had happened.
He was furious, out of control.
"Fuck, you are such a trouble!" He grabbed her arm forcefully and dragged her. "If you think you're lucky that I just saved your life, you have to think again."
She whimpered painfully, as he roughly dragged her out of the mansion. They reached the back yard… and Eriol was already there inside a truck, behind the driver's wheel. The back gate had already been destroyed.
"What the—" Eriol was about to shout at Syaoran, when he saw them getting on the passenger's seat. "Holy shit…" His jaw dropped, having no idea who the hell the girl was.
"No time to explain. Let's go," Syaoran bit out, closing the door. "NOW!"
Eriol quickly gulped and nodded, preparing to speed off. The truck left the mansion… and a few seconds after that, the bomb exploded. The fire consumed the mansion and left nothing of it in less than an hour, lighting up the night.
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.The base.
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Syaoran stormed into the house, followed by Eriol, who was dragging the girl.
4 am… The party was still going on. Loud thumping music filled the house. People were dancing, having fun. Some lesbians were kissing wildly, giving them free shows.
"Oh… C'mon, Tak," a blonde girl was playing flirty, but the guy laughed and backed off.
The guy, Takashi, glanced at Syaoran and said to the blonde girl, "Wait, he's coming." He approached Syaoran, and was about to tap Syaoran's shoulder. "What's up, man—" He noticed that Syaoran wasn't in a good mood, and backed off. He was then surprised to find that some girl was following behind with Eriol.
By then, all the people in the house already noticed that Syaoran had come back, and they all wondered what had happened… and most importantly: WHO THAT GIRL WAS
A girl with a jet black hair beamed happily when she saw Syaoran coming. "Xiao Lang—" she stopped when she saw the dangerous look on his face.
"What, Mei Lin?" her friend asked curiously, but Mei Lin couldn't guess what was happening. "What happened!?" she whispered frantically to Eriol, who only shook his head and shrugged.
"I've no idea, Tomoyo!"
Syaoran, Eriol and the girl finally reached the most important room in the house, which was guarded by some guys. All of them quickly put their guns down when they saw Syaoran coming. One of them opened the door, and so the three of them walked into the room.
"Well… whatever the reason is, make it good," the person behind the desk, the leader, warned. He was sitting on the chair with his back facing them.
One should know that it was a very dangerous sentence.
He then stood up and turned to face them, his eyes burning with rage. "What the fuck had just happened!?"
Syaoran braced himself to look at the leader, but nothing came out from his mouth.
"ANSWER ME !" the leader roared, so loud, that the girl let out a small scream.
"I miscalculated," Syaoran finally spoke.
"You… miscalculated…?" The leader looked at Syaoran in disbelief, his eyes piercing. He walked slowly to Syaoran, and Syaoran was prepared to take the blow. He punched Syaoran hard on the face, so hard that Syaoran fell down to the floor.
The girl gasped in horror, watching the scene.
"You're supposed to bring Eric to me! Not someone else!"
Syaoran wiped the blood from his mouth, as he listened to the leader's words.
"Do you know how long we had been looking for him!?"
Syaoran stood back on his feet, ignoring the pain.
"He is our key to find him… and we were this close…" The leader showed the gap with his hand. "THIS close..!" His hands were shaking due to his rage. "And suddenly… POOF!" He looked at Syaoran with disgrace. "He's gone!"
Syaoran closed his eyes, as he thought about it, admitting that it was his fault.
"Do you realize the consequences of your action!?" The leader bit out, unforgiving. "You disappoint me."
Those words pierced Syaoran's heart. He felt a sudden pain inside his throat.
The leader turned away from Syaoran, his back facing them again. "So, who the hell is this girl?" he asked, snapping his hands on the desk.
Syaoran chuckled painfully.
Funny… I have no idea.
"800 thousand dollars, he's talking to you," Syaoran's words made her jump, his voice unbearably cold.
"Oh, Sir. Oh, God… I-I… Please—" she stuttered. "I don't know anything about this. I-I just wanna go home." She was starting to cry again.
Go home? Yeah, nice joke… You wish.
"And where's home?" the leader asked, although they could tell that he wasn't interested.
"T-Tomoeda... I-I just arrived in Tokyo. A-at least, that's what I can remember," she answered truthfully. "I-I'm here to study."
The leader turned around to face them again and crossed his arms on his chest. "Is that so?" He raised a brow. "Where..?"
"T-Tokyo Daigaku..."
"Oh! Smart girl…" Now, there was amusement in his voice. "She can be your new classmate, Syaoran." He looked down and laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Oh, well…" The laughter stopped, and he looked up again.
To her horror, it was replaced by a death glare.
"You're so smart, but you can't fucking remember what happened!?" he snapped loudly, making the girl jump. "I'm talking about that house. Eric's... He was a yakuza."
The girl covered her mouth in her hand. "I-I didn't know about that. Please… believe me. I h-had just arrived in the airport. I-I was looking for a cab, and—"
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.Flashback. 3 days ago.
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The girl was waiting up in queue for a cab, when a guy who was standing behind her suddenly started a conversation.
"Just moving in?" He looked at her belongings, amazed at all the bags and the suitcase.
"Yeah… kind of..." She smiled.
Hearing that, he looked excited and happy for her. "Welcome to Tokyo! What an honor to have a beautiful young lady like you in this city." He opened his arms in such a friendly manner, but then he stopped short. "Sorry, that was too much." He scratched his head, looking very funny and easygoing. "It just came out… spontaneously." He grinned sheepishly. "I'm Ethan, by the way." He extended his hand for a handshake, and she took it.
"I'm Sakura."
He sighed, looking at the roads. "Well, the cabs are usually full in this kind of hour." He then turned to look at her again, shrugging. "Well, it's Tokyo. No wonder… busy morning. Just look at this loooooooooong queue," he joked.
She laughed, thinking that he was a funny and friendly person. "I can see that."
"Where are you going, by the way?" he asked curiously, putting his hands inside his pockets.
"Oh! Actually, I'm looking for this street." She spontaneously showed him the map she was holding. "Here… It's where my new apartment is."
Looking at that, he laughed. "Oh! You are one lucky girl!" He shook his head in disbelief. "I live just a block from there." He looked at her amusedly, nodding, and she gasped in disbelief. "Hello, neighbor..."
"Really..?" She was really excited to find a person she could count on.
"Yeah… small world, small world…"
"What a coincidence!" She laughed.
"Yeah, do you mind if we share the cab? You know, this queue is frustrating."
"Oh, sure!"
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.End of flashback.
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"And then… after we got into the cab, I can't remember anything." Sakura's body shook, as she recalled that incident. "The next thing I know, I-I woke up in this dress… and I was inside a v-very luxurious car… and then, I-I was at that house—"
"She was at an auction… the highest bid. They must have put a strong drug on her," Syaoran cut her off.
The leader sighed after hearing the story. "Well… you've seen everything, haven't you?"
She gulped, wondering what he was going to say. She knew that it wasn't going to be good.
"As a consequence, you have two options."
"W-what are my options?" She choked at the end of her sentence.
The leader looked at Syaoran intently… and somehow, Syaoran could feel that he was planning something.
"Either you stay here… or…"
"W-what is this place?" She started to break in tears.
It's a hell for a girl like you.
"You ever heard about Clows?" A creepy smile touched the leader's lips.
She thought hard, trying to remember. "Y-yeah..? I heard that they're some sort of gangsters, but I don't even know if they really exist. It's like an underground, illegal thing—D-don't tell me—" She gasped in disbelief.
The leader looked at her amusedly, thinking how naïve she was. "I am the Clow."
Syaoran could tell that she would have fainted if Eriol hadn't caught her.
"Young lady, you're talking to the leader," Eriol whispered to her, and she felt dizzier hearing that.
She then looked at Syaoran.
"Oh, he's Syaoran. We call him the Wolf, the successor."
She was even more speechless then.
"I'm Eriol, by the way," Eriol finished with a chuckle, not able to hold it back.
"Oh, God…" She couldn't find any other words. She hoped that it was all just a dream.
Clow watched her interestedly. "You can't live this place, unless…"
She was waiting for his sentence. Wait… she wasn't sure that she wanted to hear the rest.
"You die first." Clow took out his gun and aimed it at her head.
Welcome to the real world.
"What say you?"
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