Amber and Emerald: Killer and Prey
Chapter 7
Confession
Well…so sorry for the long update. :( I got sick…again. Why me? Geez. XD Not that I mind staying home once in a while…neheheh…but I had some soup earlier…and I put hot sauce in it to add more flavour…and I ruined it. T-T Oh well. At least I have root beer…
So, enough of random ramblings. Enjoy the chapter, dear readers! :D Oh yes...and so sorry about the allignement yet again. :(
Syaoran stared incredulously at the girl before him. Had she really just admitted that she loved him…?
"Syaoran…kun…?" Sakura squeaked, feeling a wave of embarrassment come over her. Had she said the wrong thing, maybe…?
Syaoran blinked slowly. His fingers trembled. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to just snatch her away and have her all to himself, and forget all about Ayumu and Kinomoto Corp…
Sakura's fingers lightly grazed his cheekbone, snapping him back to reality. Both hearts were drumming eagerly, almost painfully. They just lay there, like that, for what felt like an eternity.
Syaoran finally managed to speak. "Sakura…" he whispered.
He lowered his head, and locked his lips with hers again, letting all of his worries go. At that moment, he didn't care about the Kinomoto Corporation. He didn't care about Mimasaka Ayumu.
At that moment, he cared about Sakura.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, and let them slide down to his chin. She felt at peace, and was sure then that she didn't want to leave this man's side.
They pulled away, panting slightly, when the door creaked open.
Syaoran, squinting from the sudden exposure to the light, looked over to see Tomoyo. She was gaping in horror, her whole arm shaking as it gripped the door knob. Neither of them knew what to say.
Tomoyo made a few whimpering noises, and footsteps walked rhythmically down the hall. Eriol slipped into the scene, putting his arm around Tomoyo's waist. "What's wrong…?" he started, but stopped when he followed the girl's gaze into the room. His face darkened. "What's going on here?" he demanded.
Syaoran blinked, his mouth hanging open, searching for the right answer. But Sakura came to his rescue…sort of.
"Whatever you're thinking, I'm sure it's wrong," she stated nervously.
"Syaoran…what are you doing…to my Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo squeaked angrily.
Syaoran's eyebrows creased, confused. He still didn't know what to do, or what to say.
Slowly, he moved off of Sakura. They stared at each other, neither of them moving. Tomoyo padded over and dragged Sakura off the bed, and out of the room.
Syaoran made a move to follow, but Eriol held out a hand to stop him. He walked out after Tomoyo, leaving Syaoran alone.
Syaoran leaned against the headboard, wondering what would happen next. He stared out the window; the rain was still coming down hard. So much had happened that day. Too much.
He grabbed his hair, frustrated beyond belief. He had no idea of what to do. He couldn't just not show up at Ayumu's. He would hunt be hunted down. But he also couldn't just bring Sakura to him, either.
Maybe…if I asked him if I could…keep Sakura…Syaoran thought helplessly, knowing that Ayumu would never agree to that.
He sighed. Basically, it was all Sakura's fault that Syaoran was in this mess. But Syaoran nearly laughed at himself for thinking that; he could never really believe that. Despite the situation, Syaoran was happier than ever before because he'd met Sakura.
Syaoran clenched his fists. He vowed that he wouldn't let Ayumu have Sakura. No matter what it took
Syaoran's cell phone awoke him. The caller-ID told him it was Ayumu, which was perfect as he had just had another dream. He flipped it open.
"Yo," he greeted, rubbing his eyes.
"Syaoran-chan." Ayumu's voice sounded a little bit whiny, impatient. "Are you near Hokkaido yet?"
Syaoran sighed. "No, sorry."
"How long would you say it will take you? It's boring here, with no one to play with." Ayumu chuckled, and Syaoran picked up a dangerous tone in it. "I can't wait to meet Sakura-chan."
"Yeah…"
An awkward silence settled in; Syaoran was confused. Why had the mood changed to this so suddenly? It definitely had something to do with Sakura, which worried Syaoran. He thought Ayumu had figured out who Sakura really was…but if he had, wouldn't he say something?
Ayumu…do you have some connection with Sakura…?
"Why would you say that?"
Syaoran snapped back to reality, cursing himself. He had asked the question out loud accidentally. He gulped.
"Oh, uhm…just wondering…" he said, still mentally kicking himself.
Another silence closed in, and Syaoran grew more suspicious. Maybe Ayumu really did have a connection to Sakura?
"No, it's nothing. I don't know her," Ayumu snapped suddenly.
Syaoran's eyes widened. "Ah…sorry…"
"Anyway, just…try and pick up the pace, please?"
Syaoran nodded, forgetting he was on the phone. "Yes." A long beep followed; Syaoran set his phone down, and reached for the little notebook.
As he wrote, Syaoran was increasingly disturbed by how Ayumu took his question. But he knew one thing for sure: the killer knew Sakura somehow. And it didn't feel like he knew her from any TVs or tabloids.
Syaoran sighed and scanned the page, adding a few more details here and there. His history with Ayumu was getting clearer.
'I stared at the man before me, a bead of sweat rolling down my neck. I did remember what I'd seen the night previous. He had murdered a girl violently in the comfort of his home.
I shook my head. "No," I lied, my voice cracking.
His gaze was ice cold, and pierced my own. He didn't believe me.
He reached over and touched my head. I almost jerked away, but managed to contain myself.
"That's quite a bump you've got there," he whispered into my ear. I shivered.
"S-sorry…for troubling you…" I whimpered, feeling queasy. I remembered last night more clearly now; it replayed and replayed in my mind. I covered my hand with my mouth. "Excuse me…"
Ayumu pointed the way to the bathroom, and I dashed down the hall. He watched as I threw up; even more proof that I was lying to him.
When I was finished, he casually handed me a glass of water. I drank it nervously, my heart pounding against my chest. He led me back to his living room and offered me a seat. I sat down hastily, trying not to look into his eyes.
"Good night, Syaoran-san," I heard him murmur. My head snapped up to look at him, disturbed by his words.
But then, my eyelids suddenly got heavier and heavier, and I found myself falling asleep. He had put sleeping powder in my drink!
When I came to, there was a light source above me. I looked up slowly; Ayumu was kneeling down, staring at me with pleasure. I realized I was underground – in a cellar or something.
"What…are you doing…?" I asked groggily.
He smiled. "You should feel lucky. I am going to let you be my…friend."
"What…I don't…want to be…" I choked out, becoming increasingly more afraid. "Murde…"
Before I could finish the word, Ayumu's smile turned to a glare and he reached down and tied a cloth around my mouth. Then another around my eyes, and even my nose.
"Sssh, Syaoran…" he cooed. Then he chuckled darkly and put what felt like earmuffs on my head. They must have been the kind construction workers use – to block out all the sounds of the noisy machines.
Everything suddenly got darker; I guessed he had closed the trap door. I tried to move, but I was being held down. I was still sleepy from the drink earlier; I couldn't even tell which way was up or down. I tugged at whatever bound me, but it was no use.
It was cold and wet. I didn't know if it was water or mud or anything else; my senses had almost been completely cut off.
Eventually I gave in and drifted off to sleep.
Where is this? How long have I been here? Who am I? Will I get out? It's cold. I think I'm hungry. Ouch…I can't move. I'm tied down by something. Why am I in here? What's happening? Is anybody else in here?
Something stirred the darkness. I looked up. Was I dead? Was I in heaven? Hey, who is that?
A shadowy figure loomed in the light. It reached down and untied the cloth around my eyes. He was a handsome man, smiling down at me. It felt like I knew him from somewhere. Hmm…
Next, he removed a cloth that was around my mouth, took off the earmuffs I was wearing, and also untied what was around my nose.
I stared up at the man, amazed. So many different things to take in. I blinked away from the light at first, but then I soaked it all up. I inhaled the wondrous scents wafting from the space above me. I listened to birds chirping and the wind moving the leaves…
Then the man did something to what bound me – I could move my arms now! He put down a bowl of food in front of me. I looked at him with wide eyes.
"You can eat this, Syaoran-chan," he told me, smiling as he ruffled my hair. "It's good."
I just looked at the food for a little while, then finally picked up the spoon and started shoving the soup into my mouth. I handed the bowl back when I was finished.
The man chuckled, and I smiled, too. He patted my head again, then grabbed the handle of the door.
"I'll see you again soon, Syaoran-chan, okay?"
I nodded, a little confused. What had just happened? What had been happening…?
It looks like I can trust that man, anyway.'
Syaoran knew exactly what Ayumu had done now. Although there was still more dreams to come, at least now he knew how Ayumu had coaxed him into his job.
It was a common brainwashing technique – well, common if you brainwash people a lot. He had seen many crime documentaries that explained it. You keep a person in a dark, dirty place with basically no senses, and certainly no human contact. If you keep someone like that for long enough, they will kind of…forget everything. From there, the captor will give small portions of light and kindness, eventually bringing them out of the 'dungeon' and retrain them to think like they are wished to.
Therefore, they are 'brainwashed'.
Syaoran rubbed his temples. He hadn't even considered that he had been 'brainwashed' by Ayumu. He sighed. He decided he wouldn't do much yet; he'd wait for the rest of the dreams to come to him, discover his full history with Ayumu…and then he would face him.
Syaoran put his head in his hands. It embarrassed him to have been in a state like that. Kept as a prisoner, treated – and acted – as though he were a poor child, touched by a rich man's kindness.
"I can't believe he went to such extremes…" he muttered to himself.
After pondering his dream, he remembered what had happened with Sakura and the others. What had they done with her?
He stood up and opened the door slowly. As he walked past a window in the hallway, he was surprised to see it was already getting dark again.
When he reached the kitchen, Syaoran saw Eriol sitting at the table with a coffee in hand. They exchanged a glance, and Syaoran sat down.
A silence passed between them.
"Syaoran…what exactly happened…with you and Sakura-chan?" Eriol finally asked.
Syaoran was stunned slightly at first, but smiled. He shook his head.
Eriol took a sip of his coffee calmly. They looked at one another for a few minutes, silent understanding passing between the cousins.
"Sakura-chan and Tomoyo-chan went out…"
Another sip of coffee.
Then Eriol sat forward.
"Tell me the truth," he said quietly. "Are you in love with Sakura-chan?"
Syaoran looked down, sighing. After a moment, he put his face in his hand. Then he looked up over the top of his fingers at the dark haired man in front of him.
"Yes," he whispered.
Teehee ~ a true, certain confession! To someone other than himself! :D And gasp – Ayumu BRAINWASHED Syaoran! Mwahaha! I wonder if you saw that one coming? Tell me in a review! ;) Thanks!
Review Replies for Do You Feel Safe:
Ihaine07: LOL I laughed when I saw the 'seductive prey act' thing. XD
Thunderous-Ice-Storm: Oh, I hope I didn't make you wait too long for an update...:D Yes...Syaoran should just make his move...but if he doesn't...will you get mad? AND REVIEW WITH YOUR ANGER? XDXD Don't mind me...
BunnyParfait: Whoa...I just got like a blast of Shakespeare from your review...or something...XD Thanks for reviewing~
Jasmine: :D Isn't it!
Starflex: Whoa! A one-sentence update consisting of implied sensuality? I think not! XDXD
krazypig91: That was...a good 'oh...' right?
SakuChan: Don't you love the fact that it could possibly be politically incorrect, but you love it anyway! XD I also love reviews - thank you! :3
brightestoflights: Well...thank you...although I wouldn't call this update 'soon'...eheh...sorry...thanks for reviewing! :P
Anonymous: Your mom!
uvr-b1u5'd: Whoaa big category. XD Well err two out of five is good, right? And don't count on a rating change! XD I'm 13, I don't write stories for 18+! XDXD (possibly read some maybe...or manga with 'mature content'...but I don't write em!) Thanks so much for reviewing! XD I hope it satisified you in some other way!
Yingfa07: Yay, a good chapter! X3 Not just interesting this time! Heheheh...and do YOU think Eriol and Tomoyo would let Syaoran put Sakura to death? Do you even think Syaoran would let Syaoran put Sakura to death! XD
michiko14: Hmm you liked it did you? :3 I hope you liked this one too...
Aki-Chan: Whoaaaaa there horsie! She ain't losin' nothin' to nobody! XD Read the response to uvr-b1u5'd!
orangelover: *plays dramatic music*
Kimmygoldenangel: Well - I can't resist the baby talk :P (Yes I can but XD)
Thanks everyone for reviewing!
