Chapter 2

A few hours ago...

"So this is going to be the venue for your next concert, Sakura." Tomoyo said while she led the way towards the conference hall.

Sakura walked in and smiled. She looked at the ceiling…the carpets…the vastness of the conference hall. It seemed empty and she couldn't quite believe that in only a few days it was going to be transformed into a concert hall filled with an air of elegance.

She walked to the center and opened up her arms and closed her eyes while turning around slowly. She wanted to have a feel of the place. She couldn't help but smile. She loved music and she couldn't wait to share that love with the people who will be coming.

Tomoyo looked at her best friend quite fondly. She wished that Sakura would always let herself go like she was at the moment. Ever since…she held herself back, only showing who she really was to a chosen few.

Sakura slowed and stopped spinning then looked at her manager and best friend. She smiled. Tomoyo smiled back and approached her.

"So I guess I don't need to ask you what you think about this place." She commented.

Sakura broadened her smile. Nope.

Tomoyo took in a breath. She then scanned the vast conference hall. "It's going to be another event, Sakura." She then turned back at her best friend before continuing, "I already have the perfect dress for you. I sent it over an hour ago. Check it out when you get home tonight and tell me about what you think tomorrow. I'm going to finalize the setup and the last minute details tonight."

Sakura nodded. Thank you, Tomoyo. Ne, Tomoyo? You didn't make the dress…over the top like the last time, did you?

Tomoyo couldn't help but laugh. "Of course not. And hey, that last dress was so perfect for you. You looked so kawaii!" She put her hands together and had that dreamy look that Sakura knew all too well. Sakura couldn't help but shake her head.

Anyway, hey Tomoyo..can I ask you something?

Tomoyo nodded her head and waited for Sakura to ask.

Do you think that I could take the next couple of months off? 'Nii-chan is performing at Berlin, England and France during the next couple of months and asked me to come and join him. He wanted me to check out some music academies there.

Tomoyo seemed to contemplate on what to answer. "Are you planning on furthering your musical studies abroad?"

Sakura bowed her head a little shyly. Tomoyo smiled. "Sure. Why not?"

Sakura looked up at her best friend. Her smile brightened, lighting her face. Thank you, Tomoyo-chan. I've always wanted to learn classical music in Europe. 'Nii-chan said that he's going to introduce me to some of his friends there. He said that their skills are really one of the elite.

Watching her best friend, made an impression that somehow Sakura was like a child, very innocent. But she knew the real reason why Sakura was apprehensive in simply going for her dreams. She knew that she was being professional, asking her first since she was her manager, but still Tomoyo knew the real reason why Sakura felt the reason to ask her permission. It had something to do with what happened years ago that changed all of their lives.

XxXxXx

"Damn it!" Shaoran cursed as he slammed the car door shut. He waited for Eriol to get in before he started the car.

"Calm down, will you?" Eriol said. He was used to Shaoran's real personality. He was one of the selected few who saw it being best friends and all since the Academy.

As Shaoran hit the accelerator, he forced himself to take a deep breath. He forced himself to calm down. All the while, Eriol said nothing. He understood perfectly well that Shaoran was trying to get it back together. Shaoran was a logical, professional man who lived the code to the letter and gave everything to his work. Eriol knew that Shaoran can keep a straight, stoic face for as long as he needed to but he lets his anger show when possible to get his act back together. Eriol's role in all of that was to keep a cool head and say nothing.

After a moment of keeping the silence, Shaoran finally said, "I have a feeling that something is going to happen."

"Yeah. I have the same feeling too. We need to find more witnesses and fast, not to mention we have to step things up."

It took a while before Shaoran answered. "Let's review what we've got. We must have missed something. Those fucking bastards aren't as good as they think they are. It's impossible that they don't have an MO. Every criminal has a MO."

It was silent inside the car for awhile. Both men were reflecting on a lot of things at the moment. They had just finished following up a lead which turned out to be nothing. It was frustrating because they knew that time was against them. They were dealing with professionals who seemed to have a long crime track record to be so efficient that they still weren't caught. It seemed that the more time passed, the more untouchable whoever was responsible seemed to become.

It wasn't always that way. Shaoran could remember the first case. He was still considered a rookie but his performance earned him the title 'the rookie'. He was fresh from graduation, only serving for six months at that time when he encountered the first case. At first, he didn't know that it was connected or that it was somehow part of this intricate web that he now found himself in. He even had a different partner then.

It was already past midnight. Shaoran was on his way home from his shift. He had just turned in his paperwork and was looking forward to bed, his day off the next day. But as he was driving the familiar roads leading to his home, his cell phone rang, a emergency message. It said to report ASAP to the address downtown Tomoeda, near the suburbs and old neighborhoods.

With a sigh, Shaoran turned his car around and headed towards the location. At that time, GPS was still 2 years shy. Getting to where he had to go took his skill in navigating the streets of Tomoeda. As he was driving, his phone started ringing again. It was his then partner, a senior detective who had been on the job for almost 35 years, Nishi Nakajiro.

"Nishi-san," Shaoran greeted.

"Are you on your way to the crime scene?"

"Yes. I'm 20 minutes from there. I'm guessing you are already there."

"Yes –" Nakajiro was about to say something more but movement caught his peripheral vision. His instinct told him that he had to check it out. "I'll see you here in 20 minutes. I see some movement. I'll see what it is."

"Nishi-san, wait for me. I'm going as fast as I can," Shaoran quickly said as he stepped on the gas and turned on the siren. "It is not a good idea to investigate on your own."

"Don't be ridiculous. Get here in one piece. I have two police officers here and the crime scene investigators are in approximately 15 minutes aside from the coroners. I'll see you in a few minutes." With that Nakajiro ended the call and went to investigate.

Shaoran cursed and raced towards the scene. It was known through basic training that it was not advisable to investigate a possible murder suspect within the vicinity of a crime scene alone. The chances of civilian or someone with a badge was higher. Besides, Shaoran's guts were telling him that there was something wrong. He couldn't put a finger on it but he felt that there was definitely something wrong.

When Shaoran arrived there in 12 minutes, there was something eerie about the air there. He quickly took his gun out and tried to walk the perimeter. The front door was open. There seemed to be no movement inside. He told himself that he should check the outside first before he checked inside.

As soon as he took careful steps by the side of the house that led to the backyard, he noticed blood on the concrete. Shaoran clutched his gun tighter, prepared for anything. He continued towards the back and saw the bodies of two officers on the ground. He quickly sprinted to their sides and felt for a pulse.

When he found none, he quickly took out his phone. "This is Detective Li Shaoran, requesting backup and assistance to crime scene on 851 Shinjoki street. Officers down. I repeat, two officers down and one detective still missing."

"Copy that, Detective Li. More assistance is on their way to your location."

He quickly replaced his phone and started looking for his partner. He saw Nakajiro lying down almost by the pool. He rushed over and felt for a pulse. He was so engrossed with his partner that he failed to notice the arrival of reinforcements.

"Nishi-san," Shaoran uttered loud enough to alert the others that he was out back, Nakajiro wasn't responding. Pretty soon others were at Shaoran's side trying to help with Nakajiro.

Nakajiro's eyelids flickered. Shaoran immediately felt hope sweep through his being. "Nishi-san," He said.

Nakajiro's eyes took a moment longer to focus back on Shaoran. "Blood triad…" He whispered.

Shaoran and a crime scene investigator looked at each other for a split second before returning their gazes to Nakajiro. "Nishi-san, what-"

"Blood triad…" Nakajiro repeated before he went into shock.

Shaoran watched his partner die that day. He died before any medical help could arrive. Nakajiro gave the first clue Shaoran had, Blood triad. At first it didn't mean anything. He had a hard time grasping what it meant. Plus he put it on hold as he was still tasked to help solve the case that they were called for that night and he was without a partner.

It seemed that it was a home invasion. Under close scrutiny, it was more than that. Nothing was taken only the lives of the occupants of the house, aside from the three men in uniform. In the end, it remained a cold case.

It wasn't long after that first case that he was paired with Eriol and ever since they have been encountering cases that involved Blood triad and a lot more.

Shaoran unconsciously clenched the stirring wheel harder. Remembering how his battle with the Blood triad, what they stood for, and the people or person backing them up or ordering them, Shaoran couldn't help but feel like it was a never ending ordeal to try and find solutions as more and more questions are handed to them. But at the moment, he was content with the fact that after a long time, he and Eriol had a credible, willing witness.

XxXxXx

It was lunch. After filing the last of his paper work of his previous case, Yukito finally was able to take it easy. One down, another twenty or so homicide cases to go. As a senior detective, he had his work cut out for him.

His phone started ringing. He checked the caller id and grinned. "'Sup, Touya? Calling about Sakura again?"

"Yeah. Her concert is coming up. As usual, Kaho booked me and can't get back on time. Do you mind-"

"Filling in? Sure, no problem. But something is up. You don't usually call and inform me of something like this. What's wrong?" Yukito said, his voice growing serious. There was a momentary silence on the other line.

"Listen…I have a really bad feeling that something is going to happen near Sakura. I don't need to tell you that I'm no there at the moment so I can't look after her."

After talking awhile, Yukito hung up the phone. He leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes. Touya's sense of foreboding was usually impeccable. His instincts are sharp, especially when it came to his family…meaning Sakura. Having seen her go through something really dark years back, forgetting her voice, slowly getting her to open up with the help of music was something that Touya took in really hard. He would never admit to it though. But he had blamed himself for not being there to stop it from happening.

That warning…his warning…Yukito had to take it very seriously. Based on years of experience, Touya's warning are not really without basis. They were usually something to be taken seriously. If he hadn't chosen to become a pianist, Yukito thought that he would excel as a detective. He smirked at the thought. It wasn't something Touya would consider easily.

He shelved the thought as he allowed his mind to drift back to Sakura. Sakura. She was safe at the moment. She had let him know that she was going to be with Tomoyo that afternoon, checking the venue of her next concert. He could tell that she was excited about it as well as nervous.

She had come a long way since then. He truly wished that Touya was wrong this time. He truly hoped so.

XxXxXx

A gun went off. It was a single, clean shot. Then there was complete silence.

(to be continued…)

Well, finally I've finished with chapter 2. I won't keep this long so please do send in your reviews so that more or less I know what you think and for those who have read the previous version, hehe, well I hope that you guys could see the changes that I've already incorporated since chapter 1. I hope to hear from you guys soon. Thanks for reading!

Michiko