OOC: The first scene might be a little confusing. If it's too hard to figure out what's going on, please tell me and I'll rewrite it...

Chapter 3: Faceoffs

This is why Father didn't want Mother to take me out on walks, little Sakura thought. She shivered, crouching further back behind the corner of the broken wall. Mother did not move.

That man laughed.

"You won't get away with this," Mother said bravely, holding her head high. She stood in a space just between two still-standing sections of the wall, framed on either side by the ruins. "You'll be killed before you can go far."

There it was; the sound of soldiers and shouting voices, coming closer. Sakura stared at Mother's skirt, which blew in the wind, and peered around the edge of the wall, made braver by the sound of her father's soldiers.

"You won't be around to worry about it," the dark figure replied, laughing that eerie laugh. He did not spare a single glance for Sakura. "And my Li masters will no longer worry about... you."

He lifted his hand up. Fire and lightning crackled in his fist. Mother stood her ground, facing him. Sakura grabbed the edges of her own skirt and twisted them in her fright...

----

Sakura shook her head violently, clearing the memory away. The accent of the Li kingdom. It was now only the second time she had heard it, but she remembered it vividly.

No. That man had sounded older, his voice deep and strange, frightening to listen to. She remembered all too well... This man who had taken her captive, whoever he was, was not that man. But, it was that same accent. She could not be mistaken...

"Let's go." She gasped; suddenly the blade was against her neck again, and his hand was on her arm, urging her to move. "Quickly."

She looked around as he urged her through the ruins. The guards that had just passed by them were out of sight, and there were none others in sight. Was it possible? That there was a lapse in the guard? And the man who had found her... he was no ordinary man, if he had found such a weakness.

He stopped them when they reached the broken wall, pulling her into the shadows again. This time, the shadow was deep enough to hide them well; he did not withdraw the sword from her neck. She found that she did not mind. It was strange, but... though her heart pounded faster, she was not afraid.

She heard footsteps again, and realized after a few moments that they were coming from the other side of the wall. While they hid against the inside of the wall, the guards would pass them right by. As long as they were silent... She held her breath. What did this man think of her, that she did not call out to the guards to rescue her?

The footsteps passed by once again, without a pause. Were her father's guards inept? No, it was simply impossible, she thought, to be able to cover the wall entirely at all times. But how long had this man observed the guards to be able to realize when and where to do it?

Without another word he pulled her again, out into the open, lowering the blade, and suddenly a voice echoed down from the sky.

"You there, stop!"

Sakura ran.

----

Syaoran pushed her out as soon as the coast was clear, about to sheathe his sword when he heard the shouts.

They had been seen.

The girl took off running as soon as he let go of her, away from the city. If they both got away, he would catch up to her later. But now -

He looked around quickly, taking quick stock of his surroundings, and cursed. There it had been, the fatal flaw in his plan. Two sets of guards were approaching, one from inside the city, and one from outside the city, both having heard the shout.

What Syaoran had failed to notice when sneaking into the city was that a guard had been posted on top of the broken wall -- most likely to oversee the hill that sloped downward sharply outside of the castle. Had there been a guard there during the daytime? No - it was probably less necessary...

He took off running after the girl.

Or tried to.

He choked, falling back against the wall, and gasped for breath, grabbing at his throat. His cloak had caught on the rock.

The sound of boots scrabbling against stone and feet pounding on the ground seemed to fill the air around him. He cursed, grabbing at the tail of his cloak, and tugged. It did not come free. What was it caught on? He couldn't see through the shadows.

I'll have to cut myself free, he thought grimly, pulling the tail end of the cloak as taut as he could.

---

Outside of the wall, the ground of the city sloped sharply down a hill. Sakura ran, propelled by gravity, until she could barely slow herself down. The sound of shouting followed her down the hill.

She looked behind her. She could see figures running toward the wall, and in the moonlight, another person climbing down the side of the wall - the one who had called out, perhaps? No one was running toward her. Had they somehow not seen her? It seemed impossible.

Her had-been captor was still there. Squinting, she could just barely see him - was he tugging at something? His cloak? She saw him reach for his neck, grasping at something there, but he could not run.

She stood there for a long moment, undecided.