MS

This is an AU based multi chaptered story. Loosely based upon the manga Fake or better said, many aspects were taken but not completely used. If you haven't read it and do enjoy yaoi, then I strongly recommend it. In this chapter the characters are young, while in the next they will be a couple of years older. Also, other characters like Touya and Yukito will appear after this introductory chapter. This is more of a prologue than anything else, so it's background information that will set up part of the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the CCS characters…

Every Second

Chapter 1: Two Friends, One Circumstance

"I've told you to stay away," Sakura cowered as she felt the sharp nails digging into her skin. Her foster mother was grinning maliciously as well as the men that were sprawled over the chairs around the poorly lit table.

The building that they currently occupied was a dirty hellhole, whose foundation was crumbling. The old walls' bricks were sometimes unpainted, as it chipped under the poor care it had received over the years. The stairs croaked every step you took, the banisters unsafe to any pressure that might be placed against them.

Sakura's eyes lingered over the obvious packets that littered the table, the knives and glittering gun the gleamed against the poor light afforded by the corner lamp. There was a white powder visible to the naked eye over a slight incision of the carton.

She shivered, her skin crawling as felt the eyes of the men that were currently watching the struggle. She bit her lip, a reflex that would stop her quivering as she saw the grins that covered their faces. They weren't strangers to her, as she had seen them come and go from the place at least twice a week for as long as she could remember.

She didn't want to know what the actual relationship her current guardian had with them, knowing that she provided a place to hide the merchandise, and sometimes themselves was enough to worry her.

Sakura may only be nine years old, but she knew all there was to see about the slums and the crimes that littered the neighborhood that she occupied. There were many things that happened to all that habituated this particular neighborhood if you weren't careful. Especially to a nine year old girl whose guardian was always desperate for the next score.

If only her father hadn't been imprisoned, she was sure that they would have left this place for a new home. Those had been the plans made on castles of clouds. Nothing like that was possible when you were dealing and mingling with the scum of the world.

It was only supposed to be the last scam, a last respite to gather enough money to finally leave this place they had found themselves trapped, but he had tried it with the wrong person. He had been set up for a much worse crime, and taken as the scapegoat. He'd already served 2 years of his sentence, and with more to go.

And then, things had progressed from bad to worse. He had been diagnosed with cancer while in the hospital over a beating he had received while in prison. Sakura had finally realized why her father had gotten so sickly every year. He had been so susceptible to every cold and flu that spread like wildfire in their neighborhood.

She had barely understood what that had meant in real life. He was currently dying, not wanting to divulge the place where he had gathered the money from his previous escapades so that she could bail him out. With their luck some other yutz had already uncovered the place and taken all that her father had scrimmaged throughout the years.

"She can stay," one of the men replied as Canare pushed her backwards somewhat protectively. Canare sharply turned to them, somehow shielding her young charge from their gazes, her own thoughts revealing the truth of their intentions.

She knew the only way to get the girl running out was to spook her in such a way that she would disappear from their dealings for at least a few days. That was enough to finish the current deal and let Sakura's presence slip out of their minds once again.

It was the only thing that she could do for the girl at this time. Reality was too harsh for their lifestyle, but she could shield her for just a bit longer before just existing brought her into a situation that she would not be able to control. Their world was a bastard place.

"Yeah, stay," she starting pulling back into the room, making sure that her hand slackened on the hold. "Maybe its time you entered the family business," Canare smirked, her teeth showing, the cracked tooth gleaming on the lamp light, registering the horror and comprehension of what was actually alluded to.

"No," she shouted as she fought free of her hold and ran toward the room. She slammed the door closed, the sound of the lock coming into place.

Most of the men laughed as they knew that the excuse for a lock would give away with just one hit. Maybe one of these days the bitch would actually just offer her charge as payment for her needed protection.

"Let's finish this," Canare walked back, hoping that the lewd expressions of her companions would soon be forgotten. Sakura was too beautiful. She was still a child, but that wouldn't deter any of the men that would screw anything with two legs that passed them by.

Still, there was only so much she could do to deter the inevitable. She could never understand what it was about that girl that had taken her brother's attention. There must have been something about her.

She needed to get away.

With that thought on her mind, Sakura took the small bag she used to go to her school and threw a change of clothes with the old books and texts. She swung it over her shoulders, strapping it securely as she opened the window of her room.

There was an old tree, decaying and dying on the side of her window. It's long and old branches came from the trunk which lay on the neighbor's yard. It had been her means of escape many times now.

Her breath hitched as she recalled the scrapping of the chair she had placed against the door a few months before. One of Canare's costumers had wandered to her own door after she had taken her usual shot of drugs. Canare was a user in desperate conditions. She had a good head for business when it came down to dealing it, but she was an addict to the substance as well.

She hadn't been able to sleep well in the nights. Her eyes had shot open when the scrapping of the chair filled the room with its groans. She knew that if it had been Canare, she would have simply slammed the door open.

The door stopped about three inches, when the secured rope stopped the door from going further. Sakura had placed her shoes on, grabbed the light pack she had left prepared over the meager desk that occupied the room and had leapt through the window.

One thing she owed to Canare was her cadence. She had never lied to Sakura in the events that were to take place while she was in her charge.

It was a good thing that Sakura was a very agile person, or she was sure that she would have slipped from the branches of the tree that groaned under her weight.

After they finished the deal, she was sure that her guardian would take her share of the merchandise and be in a state of euphoria for the following days. The men that came into the house could do whatever they wanted in there when she was so unresponsive to the real world.

There was only one place where she could be safe.

Sakura stepped out into the branch, letting the soles of her feet conform to the branches. Spreading her arms to her side for balance, she calmly walked toward the trunk. She embraced it as she dared to breathe once again. It was always nerve racking when that happened.

Looking through the darkened reflection of the branches, she descended. She looked to the sides of the tree toward the streets for shadows. There was none around.

She jumped from the lowest branch, landing in a crouch. Turning to her desired destination, she broke into a run. She turned the alleyways, jumped over the trash cans and bags that lay overturned in the streets and sidewalks.

He was the only one that could offer the sanctuary that she actually needed.

Syaoran awoke to a tap over his windowpane. He knew of only one person that had gotten into the habit of doing it. How she ever managed to stay on top of that tree on his backyard he had no clue.

Opening his eyes, Syaoran threw off the cover he used to sleep in and placed his feet in his slippers. The hardwood floor was cold beneath his soles. It was the middle of October and the night temperatures were currently dropping at an alarming rate.

"Sakura," he said her name as the tired 10 year old boy managed to open the broken window. It was a hassle to keep it propped while she scampered through the small leeway it left.

"Why don't you ever use the door?" He asked as he yawned widely into his palm. "You could knock you know."

She grinned at his exasperated tone. "I didn't want to wake your father." She whispered as she sat over the covers on his bed. She threw her school bag on the floor, her shoes landing beside it.

"He's not home," Syaoran informed her, following suit. He scrambled onto the bed sheets and covered his body with the material. It seemed like this was going to be one of those nights.

"Canare's up to her old tricks again?" he asked as Sakura unbuttoned her shorts and threw on her sleeping shirt. She settled and nested beside his body, both sharing the body heat that would help them get closer to slumber.

"Her pals are in the house," she muttered as she snuggled into his back.

"Alright," Syaoran yawned again, feeling her infectious reaction as he closed his eyes. "Father won't be here for quite a while, so you can stay a couple of days."

"Don't worry," Sakura leaned her head against his hair, her forehead against his neck. "I swiped some money the last week, so you won't have to worry about keeping me fed."

"One of these days you're going to get caught Sakura," Syaoran warned as he felt her hand sneak over his waist.

"I'm too good for that," the two kids turned in. They had to get up early for school the next morning and getting a few hours of sleep in the night greatly helped to deal with what the world threw their way.

Syaoran's father opened the door to his son's room as he came from his night's usual work. Morning was quickly following as the sky turned from its dark pitch to a lighter gray.

His attention was caught by the picture that was presented on the small bed. She had managed to sneak into the house once again it seemed. It wasn't that surprising to find the sleeping girl spooned over his son's body every other night.

He shook his head as he saw their bodies enter twined and tired. They looked like angels with no care in the world. It was so far from the usual sight in his world that he could only wince.

He could not comprehend why these two seemed so attached to one another. They had formed a fast relationship when they had started school and Sakura's father was still in the picture. Everything else was history as the saying went. They were more like siblings than friends with the way they dealt with each other.

He closed the door, slipping down the stairs toward the kitchen. He needed to leave a note for his son once again. It was going to be quite a while until he could return. Dealing with those drug lords and their stash of merchandise always took some dealing and bantering. It would be several days before he would return.

He looked around to the grim kitchen, the sinks and table full of cracks and old dirty surfaces. This wasn't a place he wanted to remain in with whatever was left of his years alive. He knew enough of the world he ventured in to know that guys in his line of work did not have long life-spans. It was just a fact of life he wanted to outrun, but was sure that he couldn't in the end. He had to do something before his son had to turn to his father's own tricks though.

Canare should be receiving the new merchandise that he needed to peddle. Sakura was much safer in this rag of a house than in her guardian's charge while she was under the effects of her addiction. It was quite a miracle to see that Sakura was still pretty much untouched from their world. Canare could be many things, but her promise to her brother had been kept in the minimum.

Still, there was only a matter of time. In their world, it was only a matter of time before you had reality knocking on your door and you had no choice but to let it in.