A/N: Once again, due to the slightly graphic and bloody nature of the torture scene, I'll advise the weak-hearted to proceed with caution. I'll put up a warning for you guys to skip over that scene if you want. Apart from that, I only have one word to say to you all.
Enjoy!
He was still being held down, though now they had removed the stick from his jaws. His stomach was bruised and it hurt to breathe but apparently, they were not yet done with him.
"I hope that quenched your thirst, boy." The woman smiled a sick smile as she traced his jaw line with her wicked nails. Her dark eyes glinted with malice as she purred softly, "Now all that's left is your food."
"Go… to… hell…" he rasped weakly, his throat raw from all the acidic bile that he had been forced to vomit for the past couple of hours. They must have done that to him at least five times, waiting for him to wake up whenever he passed out from the lack of oxygen, so he could not be sure but it could have taken longer.
The woman merely gave him her sickly-sweet smile, venom dripping from her honeyed tone as she spoke "Let's see how long you can retain that attitude, boy."
(TORTURE SCENE! PROCEED AT OWN RISK.)
The man moved back to his side to grasp his aching jaw as he pried his mouth open once more. A thick, plastic pipe, probably thicker than his nostril was shoved into his mouth and down his throat but it was too big and refused to go down. Tears of pain prickled his eyes and streamed down his cheeks as the man did not relent, pushing the pipe further in.
Blood came gushing out of his nose and filled his mouth with its tangy flavor as they applied more force. Syaoran would have screamed as he felt his cartilage crack under the pressure, but could not with the pipe stuck in his mouth. He could not breathe as they pushed it further and further inside his body through his esophagus. He wheezed like a drowning man, unable to breathe in or out, his lungs feeling ready to burst.
The woman merely cackled crazily, her cool, soft fingers wiping off one of the tears from his cheek as she brought it to her lips. Licking it softly, she grinned down at him. "This is just the beginning." She told him as the pipe finally reached his stomach.
Once the plastic tube stopped moving, he was able to resume breathing, painfully and carefully.
A funnel was placed at the end of the pipe jutting from his bleeding mouth before the woman picked up a bowl of some sort of dark greenish-brown slop that she poured into the pipe through the cone. Feeling like retching at the foul odor it gave of, Syaoran began to choke as it started coming back up but the woman merely laughed at that.
The men held him down for another hour or so as the slop was absorbed by his stomach, so that he could not vomit it back up before they began pulling the pipe out slowly, yet not the least bit gently. Syaoran felt himself slipping into a state of half consciousness half shock as whatever it was that was in the slop began to affect his senses.
The last thing he heard before he was completely consumed by the darkness was a soft giggle that strangely enough, reminded him of Sakura.
(END OF TORTURE FOR LITTLE WOLF;) )
-0-
Syaoran woke to the sensation of soft, cool fingers gently massaging his throat as a foul tasting concoction trickled down his throat. His body grew rigid as his eyes snapped open. Even though he was still very weak, his hand shot out to capture the thin wrist belonging to the person currently making him swallow the poisonous drink as he spat out whatever it was.
Before him stood the princess, dressed in a pale pink dress, one of her slender hands holding on to a mug which probably held the blend she had been forcing down his throat.
"What are you trying to give me now, Hime?" he hissed venomously, his throat aching as he spoke, the foul taste in his mouth making him slightly sick. "More poison? Haven't you enjoyed that enough? I thought you'd have come up with something new by now."
"S-Syaoran," Sakura looked at him through wide-jade colored eyes. Shock displayed across her features clearly, but Syaoran knew it was just another trick. His grip on her hand tightened and she winced, "Sy-Syaoran, you're hurting me."
"Am I?" he narrowed his eyes, tightening his grip even further before rough hands grabbed his arm and wrenched his hand away from the princess's wrist.
"Kid," Kurogane growled, surprised to see the teen act in this manner. Just a few hours ago, he had been trying to get away from them, begging them not to hurt him, but now he was the violent one. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"
"You don't scare me, Kurogane-san," Syaoran replied angrily as he struggled to free himself from the red-eyed man's grip. Despite his enraged appearance, the ninja could detect hints of fear flashing across Syaoran's features as the boy's eyes kept darting to the hand that held his arm. "I-I'm not scared of you. Now let me the hell go!" he cried, kicking out with his right leg all of a sudden but unlike the last time, Kurogane was much better prepared. Evading the attack, he swiftly moved forward and pinned the chocolate-haired man to the bed.
"Hime," he barked at the jade-eyed girl, startling her and making her jump, "give it to him."
"H-Hai," she nodded, swiftly moving to his side as Syaoran tried to throw the older man off of him.
"Let me go!" he cried, shaking his head to keep her from pouring the liquid in his mouth as he pursed his lips. Sakura looked helplessly at Kurogane who was finding it somewhat difficult to hold the boy down without hurting him further. He did not want a repeat of earlier where the boy had broken his arm by trying to hit him.
"Pinch his nose," he growled, throwing his entire weight on top of the teen to keep him from moving, hating every second of it. But they had to give him the medicine. Sakura had found some sort of toxin in his blood and it was trying to destroy his body from the inside. If they didn't do something about it, Syaoran was never going to recover.
With crystal tears streaming down her cheeks, Sakura did as instructed, whispering a soft "I'm so sorry, Syaoran."
The boy tried to hold his breath, refusing to give in till his lips started turning blue. Watching him scrunch his eyes, as he struggled not to breathe made Sakura rethink her decision. She was just about to let go when he opened his mouth with a loud gasp, tears of helplessness and fear prickling his eyes as Sakura poured the medicine in his mouth. Keeping his nose covered, she forced him to swallow it, looking away as with a quiet sob as he looked at her with nothing but betrayal flashing in his eyes.
"No you're not, Hime." He whispered brokenly. "None of you are." He didn't struggle anymore after that, though it still took another ten minutes for the medicine to take effect on him.
His breathing slowed down as he slipped into a somewhat fitful sleep, soft whimpers escaping his lips as he furrowed his brows in discomfort. Sakura fell to her knees right by his bedside, heart wrenching sobs shaking her small frame as Kurogane climbed off the unconscious boy.
Clenching his fists in helplessness and anger, the ninja turned on his heels and swiftly vacated the room, walking out on the balcony.
-0-
Rubbing her eyes, Sakura sat up. Gingerly looking around, she noticed she was in the dream world, but as far as she could tell, no one else was here but her. The soft pale pink petals of her namesake caressed her bare arms and cheeks as she walked around the blank emptiness.
After almost half an hour of walking around and not finding anything, she headed back to the place where she had first woke up, stopping in her tracks when she noticed an orange, flame-like aura emerge in this world. The owner seemed powerful. Almost as powerful as the dimensional witch.
"Ah, Princess," the man, who seemed close to Fai's age, turned around to flash a smile in her direction. "Greetings."
"Do I know you?" she narrowed her eyes slightly in suspicion. She had never seen this man before, and she could not recall Sakura-san having ever met him before either.
"No," he shook his head, sending a mop of messy black hair flying every which way. "But I know you." He smiled at her. She could tell that his grey eyes were unfocused and were looking right through her, yet somehow, she knew that he knew where she was. "I brought you here because I need to talk to you."
"Talk to me? About what?"
"How about I tell you who I am first?" he said calmly, though she could sense his amusement. "My name is Nixon Blaze, and I'm-"
"The Oracle!" Sakura blurted out, her eyes widening in surprise. The grey-eyed man chuckled when she flushed in embarrassment, realizing that she had cut him off.
"It's alright." He laughed, "although that is not what I was about to say. I was going to tell you that I am a good friend of Fai. I never really cared for my title, so you can call me Nixon."
"S-Sorry." She bowed her head in apology, "Kurogane-san told me about you."
"Ah," he nodded, his expression growing serious after a while, "Princess Sakura, have you gone through Syaoran's memories of his time in captivity yet?"
"H-his memories?" she repeated dumbly before shaking her head. "No. I-I didn't think about that."
"Hmm… I wouldn't have expected you to, you were a lot more worried about him in general, am I right?"
"H-hai."
"Here." He held out his hand, palm upside. A small, fiery-colored bead rested in it, the colors swirling and shifting like burning fire, but when Sakura picked it up, it was cool as ice. "You're going to need this when you do."
"What is it?" she asked, looking back at the dark haired man.
"It's an extract of a powerful magical essence." He replied. "I wish I could have given you more but that is not possible for me."
"Arigato, Nixon-san." she smiled softly before remembering something. "Do you know if Fai-san is alright? Is he with you? Why didn't he come along?"
Nixon's expression darkened as he looked away. "No. He is not."
"Y-you mean…"
"The hunters have him."
A/N: I hope you found this a good read. Please drop me a review and let me know. Till next time.
Ja!
