AN: I promised a quick update and I hope I supplied. I do have to say though that I was a little sad by the decrease in reviews since I added the last chapter for my fans :( I hope people are still reading because I only said I would finish it because many of my fans kept begging me to

SYAORAN'S POV

"Now that we are getting closer to port, I think its time to discuss how we take care of Derek."

Eriol sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "He is still in the hold, as per your request."

Syaoran nodded, "We need to figure out how best to kick the bastard out at Carouse. I'm tired of having him on this ship. We need to get rid of him and make sure he is not a problem any longer."

"We should probably let him out of the ship last, so we don't disturb the rest of the crew."

Syaoran set his gaze on Eriol, "Disturb?"

He nodded solemnly, "He is furious, he continues to slander and threaten. I have had to keep myself from cutting out his tongue just to keep him quiet."

"He will be released after the rest of the crew disembarks then given a reduced portion of the haul and a warning, if I ever see his face again after that, I will kill him."

ELSEWHERE

"That little tramp!" growled Desmedona. "Running off with PIRATES and ruining my plans." The Captain of Sakura's ship had arrived earlier with the news of the pirate attack and Sakura and Tomoyo's abduction.

The captain gave some big sob story of the crew being subdued and tied up as the pirates were stealing all of the valuables from the ship and Sakura valiantly fighting them off before she was taken aboard.

Well Desmedona would not let Sakura get away that easily. She pulled out a pen and paper.

Sakura's arrival has been delayed, but you will have her and our plans will go ahead as we discussed. More to Follow.

-Desmedona Kinomoto

She quickly addressed it, grabbed her travel bag and walked out the door. She knew where she could find her niece and this one little hiccup would not ruin the plans she had set in place years before.

Sakura's POV

It had only been a few days since they had decided to head back to Carouse. Despite her aching muscles she managed to continue on during training and now it was another morning of practice.

She headed out to the deck for her now daily routine, and as she had grown used to Syaoran was already out warming up. Their interactions had been minimal and lately when they practiced they did so in silence. She still blushed when she saw him without his shirt and quickly turned her gaze away from him.

She continued the exercises, which were so ingrained into her muscle memory she no longer had to think of them. Her routine was nearly over when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Tell Jin I said you are ready to start learning combat and strategy."

Sakura looked up right into a pair of amber eyes. Then looked down, "Jin keeps telling me that my muscles need more work though."

Syaoran gave a smile, "You should still continue these routines, as you can see I still do exercises to be prepared. You are now at a point though, where you are ready to learn some new skills."

Sakura smiled mischeviously, "So I will be able to fight you soon?"

Syaoran chuckled, "Not anytime soon, in fact you may never beat me. I haven't been beaten in a fight yet, if I had I would probably be dead."

Sakura got a determined look on her face, "Captain Syaoran Li, I will not rest until the day I am able to beat you in a fight. I will be the best pirate the world has ever seen."

"Well you certainly are progressing beyond average, but I will not let you win easily so you better be prepred Miss Kinomoto."

"It's Miss Kinomoto now? Well fine Captain Li, I will beat you one day and I'll try to take it easy on you."

"I look forward to it."

TOMOYO'S POV

"Here you go," Tomoyo said, handing Eriol a plate of food.

"Thanks Tomoyo, you are the best."

"No problem, but who knows about all of this?"

Eriol leaned in, "Only you, Me and Syaoran know about Derek being in the hold all though some of the other crew members probably suspect."

She shuddered, "I am just afraid of what he could do to Sakura when he is let out. I think it is very possible that he could go after her."

"Syaoran wouldn't let that happen, he's met many people like Derek before and he won't let him or any other man get near her."

Tomoyo nodded, "He really likes her, too bad they are both too stubborn to do anything about it."

"I think I forgot to tell you, He has started calling her by her first name and If my suspicions are correct, I think she is now doing the same."

"That's so Kawaii!"

Eriol laughed, "I have left out the best part though."

"Which is?"

"You and I are going to make sure that the sparks fly between them in Carouse, If they aren't together by the time we leave we won't have done our job correctly."

Tomoyo squealed, "Wonderful, I have been drawing up ideas for dresses that would drive Syaoran wild if he gets the chance to see Sakura in them! I will start making them as soon as I can get my hands on some material."

"Exactly, and I will make sure Sakura gets to meet lots of new men in Carouse, which will make him see red."

"Meanwhile, I will talk with Sakura about how popular Syaoran is with the ladies of Carouse, which I am assuming he is."

"Tomoyo, the moment I met you I knew I had a fellow conspirator."

She smiled warmly and flushed a light pink, then after a moment gave a slight frown. "We have a problem, how can I get a hold of the materials I need for Sakura's makeover?"

"Not an issue, once we get to Carouse the girls will help get everything in order and of course you will have a portion of the haul."

Tomoyo raised her eyebrows in surprise. "We never assisted in acquiring wealth from another ship though and who are the girls?"

"Inconsequential, you will be paid for your time aboard the ship as you have been working while here. Granted your portion will be less than other members of the crew who have been on the ship since the last time we ported. The girls are some friends of the crew living in Carouse, Takashi's fiancé, Syaoran's cousin and so on."

"Do any of them pose a threat to our plans for Syaoran and Sakura?"

Eriol shook his head, "No one in the direct group. There are definitely a few women in Carouse who would like to get their hands on Syaoran, but you can use that to your advantage while talking to Sakura."

She smiled mischievously and took out two mugs and filled them with wine, "It is nice to have a co-conspirator, isn't it?"

Eriol leaned into Tomoyo and grabbed one of the mugs, "Let operation Matchmaker begin."

SAKURA'S POV

Sakura had just finished her workout with Jin and was especially excited to begin mock fighting with him. He would present an attack and Sakura had to block it. The she would try to fit in an attack. It had been very rough to get the upper hand even in just a practice session but whenever she missed a block Jin would not hit full force.

He began talking about looking for when an opponent was vulnerable to attack and how to prevent yourself from being in a vulnerable position.

"Okay Sakura, you go rest, rumor has it we should be at port by tonight."

"Really?"

"Yup, Mika is actually downstairs splitting the haul right now so the finances will be all sorted when we port."

SYAORAN'S POV

He sat behind his desk as the door swung open and Eriol walked through.

Eriol handed Syaoran a pile of papers. "Here is the inventory Mika made up, and then underneath that is a list of repair supplies that Tai has requested. Mika has already deducted the projected restocking and repair costs and from that has a suggested division of the booty he would like you to approve."

Syaoran nodded as he flipped through the papers scanning their contents, "What is our estimated time of arrival?"

"Takashi says it won't be long now, the land is in plain sight and we will be porting soon. As soon as the distribution of the bounty is set, Mika will be needing your assistance with passing it out as the crew disembarks."

He nodded, and flipped to the final piece of paper, which he initialed, giving his approval. "Staying at the inn?"

"If we didn't stay there Meilin would be furious."

Syaoran nodded, resigned.

Just then Takashi ran into the room, "Captain we are aboard we are going to need all hands on deck."

"You heard him Eriol, go help round up the crew. I will help Mika prepare to distribute the booty."

SAKURA'S POV

Sakura ran up to the deck when they made the call.

She saw Eriol shouting out orders. She hurried over and asked, "What can I do to help?"

Takashi walked up, "We are actually all taken care of at the moment, the men are just dropping the anchor now, Just enjoy the view as you see your new home for the next couple weeks."

Sakura looked up over the side of the deck and saw a city full of lights, It looked a little run down though. Not nearly as nice as the town she grew up in, but she could here the faint calls of people in the street and some music probably coming from pubs and inns nearby. The fresh air hit her face and she could not wait to be let loose in the city.

Tomoyo came up behind her smiling, "Are you excited?"

"I feel like my heart is about to explode! I will finally be able to go where I want, when I want and now no one will tell us what we are and aren't allowed to do. We'll be free to do what we want!"

"I know and I can't wait! Eriol was mentioning that there are girls in Carouse who are friends of the crew, I really want to meet them."

"Okay everyone line up for your share," barked Syaoran.

The crew lined up to disembark as Syaoran began passing out every ones share. Sakura and Tomoyo waited in line until their share was given to them. Eriol popped out of nowhere and said, "Hey guys, you go on ahead and we will meet you at the Stolen Ruby, It's the inn three blocks up. You guys head over there, we should only be a few minutes more."

SYAORAN'S POV

He just finished handing out everyones share and turned to look at Eriol, "Lets do this fast."

Eriol was already walking down the stairs to the hold. Syaoran pulled out his key already following him down.

Derek sat in his cell scowling at Syaoran and Eriol as they came down.

Syaoran unlocked the cell door and threw down the bag containing his reduced cut of the haul onto the floor.

Derek bent down and picked up the bag then looked back up at them.

Syaoran scowled and barked, "Follow! Let's get one thing straight, If you in any way mess with my crew I will kill you, if you show your face to me again I will kill you." Then he turned around instantly grabbed Derek by the throat and threw him against the wall, "and if you EVEN think of going near Sakura again I will kill you very slowly and painfully. Do you understand?"

Derek picked himself up off the ground and started on the path to disembark. "I will play by your rules for now Li, but one day I will be the one to kill you," and with that he walked off the ship and into the night.

Syaoran frowned after him.

Eriol looked over, "I am surprised you didn't kill him that night."

"I don't kill members of my crew and you know that, they get kicked and then if they step a toe out of line, they die."

"Well we have to get going, Sakura and Tomoyo are over at the Stolen Ruby now and it would be best if we don't leave them alone there for too long."

SAKURA'S POV

The streets were full of drunks and it made her a little nervous but she managed to put that aside and put on a brave face.

Tomoyo stopped in front of her, "This is it, The Stolen Ruby Inn. Come on Sakura lets go in."

She opened the door and was amazed by the crowded tables and bar. She had never been in a tavern setting before and was completely entranced. Some ladies were sitting on top of the bar as if they owned the place as various men tried to flirt with them. Two tall men were sitting in a shady corner huddled over a map. There were many tables of men who were accompanied by lascivious looking women who flirted incessantly. She quietly sank into a chair at one of the few empty tables.

Tomoyo followed right behind, "A bit overwhelmed?"

"Yeah."

Sakura tried to shrink into the shadows just like she had seen others in the bar do. She surveyed the room again and saw the two men with the map had left.

"What are we supposed to do?"

Tomoyo looked over and said, "I'm not sure, most people seem to have a drink though…"

Just then the door opened and in walked Syaoran and Eriol. They surveyed the room and finally caught sight of them and started walking over. She noticed that the girls on top of the bar had hopped off and started heading over to their table as well.

Eriol smiled down at them as he took his seat, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Syaoran continued standing as he was twirled around by a woman in a low cut red corset dress with jet black hair.

"Syaoran Li, you couldn't even take time to say hello to your cousin?"

"Hi Meilin…" groaned Syaoran.

The woman named Meilin sat down and the other three women accompanying her followed suit.

"Meilin, let me introduce you to our two new crew members, Sakura and Tomoyo," said Eriol with a kind smile on his face.

Meilin looked over at Sakura and Tomoyo as if seeing them for the first time. "Hi girls, I am Meilin, to my left is Chiharu, that is Naoko and Rika."

Sakura stood up and said, "wait I know you, I think! Chiharu… aren't you Takashi's fiancé?"

Chiharu groaned, "Well at least that part is true, Yes I am his fiancé. I hope he hasn't been feeding you to many lies. He actually came up with this whole tragic history of how he was from a wealthy family and kidnapped, he told strangers that one for a solid month!"

Sakura blushed a little bit, "Yeah I think he may have told me that one…" a little embarrassed that she had his story.

Tomoyo smiled, "It is so nice to meet you all! I have important questions though, primarily where can I buy cloth so I can get Sakura and I out of these dull pants and linen shirts."

"I know just the place, lets go shopping tomorrow," said Rika.

Just then Tai, Jin, Mika, and Takashi came from an entrance leading towards the portion of the inn, which held the rooms.

Jin snuck up behind Meilin and put his hands over her eyes, "Guess who?"

Meilin peeled his hands off and turned around to look at him.

Meilin flipped her hair back and with an indignant expression replied, "You wish."

Takashi sat next to Chiharu and Mika and Tai squeezed in my Rika and Naoko.

Tai looked over at Syaoran, "We took care of lodgings for the whole crew, our rooms are all in order. We have the top two floors."

Syaoran nodded in approval while Chiharu started yelling at Takashi for telling lies again.

Mika who had now wrapped his arm around Naoko fondly said, "We have also heard reports that-"

Cutting him off Syaoran replied, "Yes I know he is in town. I paid off the first person I saw, it is unfortunate but unavoidable."

"who-" Sakura began, but was promptly cut off by Eriol who leaned in and whispered, "I have no doubt you will find out soon enough."

Sakura grew quiet as she tried to think about who this mysterious man could be.

Rika and Tai were now whispering to each other affectionately, while Meilin glared daggers at Jin.

Tomoyo in an attempt to break the ice said, "What is good to drink here?"

Meilin seemed to perk out and said, "They have an excellent spiced rum, I'll go buy a round for the table, my treat." She stood up and then paused with her hand stuck out, Syaoran rolled his eyes and took out a few gold coins, which he put in her outstretched palm. Meilin gave a satisfied smile and turned around to go get the drinks.

"So how did you guys end up as crew members?" asked Naoko curiously.

Tomoyo launched into the whole story with a few interjections from Sakura.

Rika smiled, "Wow what an adventure."

Chiharu sighed and said, "I would love to go out to sea."

At that all of the men at the table began to look increasingly uncomfortable.

Meilin arrived back and started passing out the drinks. With a little edge in her voice Naoko asked, "Why did you say we weren't allowed to go onboard again?"

Mika replied looking extremely nervous, "we already talked about this Naoko…"

Chiharu piped in, "I remember the reasons, women are bad luck aboard a ship and that we wouldn't be able to defend ourselves in a fight."

Sakura downed a big gulp of her spiced rum, feeling uncomfortable with the turn of conversation. She enjoyed the taste and her whole self seemed to heat up from the inside.

Meilin growled, "Syaoran that excuse was bull shit from the start and you know it. I went through every bit of training you did when we were growing up. I am more than capable of defending myself! Also if there are already women on board it couldn't hurt to have a few more."

The men all exchanged wary looks.

Syaoran began calmly, "You make a valid point, but let us have no more of this talk until tomorrow at which point I will be happy to hear you out, but for now lets have one night of rest and enjoyment."

This appeased most of the girls although Meilin still seemed agitated. Eriol stood up and said, "Tai may I have the room keys for a moment, I would like to figure out the optimal room arrangements. " Tai handed Eriol the small bag containing the room keys. Eriol then looked over at Tomoyo, "Perhaps you would join me, that way you can select the rooms you and Sakura would be most comfortable in."

Tomoyo stood up gracefully and smiled kindly, "I would be delighted to accompany you."

TOMOYO'S POV

As soon as she left the room with Eriol she turned to him and said, "Adjoined rooms?"

"Exactly, Syaoran and Sakura will be one door away. "

"Wonderful," replied Tomoyo, "and I will make sure Sakura gets a refill on her drink when we get back."

With that they started picking out who would go in which room.

SAKURA'S POV

She had just finished her first glass of rum and without even a moments wait Meilin handed her another full glass, Sakura leaned over to her and said, "I'm not sure I should have another, I don't think I have a very high tolerance."

Meilin gave a saucy smile and said, "You won't build up your tolerance with that attitude. A few more won't hurt."

Sakura was a little hesitant but if she was going to fit in eventually she needed to learn to hold her liquor. So she took a big swig.

Syaoran was being unusually silent, but looked all mysterious and handsome in the soft lighting of the bar, Sakura giggled at the thought.

Eriol and Tomoyo entered the room again sitting down.

"Well we have the room arrangements sorted out now," declared Eriol.

Syaoran stood up, "It's about time you two got back. I think I will head up now. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow."

Eriol tossed him a room key and said, "Have a nice night!"

Sakura was finishing up her second drinks as everyone told stories about their adventures.

Tomoyo smiled and handed Sakura a third drink after that, "Aren't these delicious?"

Sakura nodded and began work on this third, unable to turn down a gift from Tomoyo but knowing full well she would not be having a fourth. The room seemed to be heating up and Sakura knew she was tipsy.

Mika got his key from Eriol and then he and Naoko walked upstairs together. Sakura blushed knowing that they would probably be sharing a room tonight. Then she remembered that she too was free to live whatever kind of lifestyle she wanted to know, she was no longer constrained by the strict rules of upper class morality.

She looked over at Rika and Tai as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and lightly nibbled on it as she blushed.

She blushed scarlet, suddenly wanting someone to do the same to her, as she got butterflies in her stomach. Sakura stood up a little shaky and said, "I think I will head upstairs too now."

Eriol handed her a key and Tomoyo looked on and said, "Do you need help getting to your room?"

Sakura smiled reassuringly and said, "No I should be fine, thank you though." Then stumbled up the first few steps of stairs before using the railing as her guide."

She was flushed and excited wondering what could possibly be going on behind all of these bedroom doors and then embarrassed to be thinking such things. She just had a sudden urge to be held and for some reason Syaoran kept popping to mind. She found her room, near the end of an old creaky hallway, put the key in and turned the knob.

The room was a lot nicer than she anticipated, it had a big soft bed and a separate small room to get ready in with a big fancy mirror and a porcelain wash basin underneath with elegant painting all along the rim. She went back and saw yet another door, and looked over to see what was behind this one.

She entered and the room was covered in darkness.

Suddenly she was pushed up against the wall with strong hands keeping her firmly in place. Her heart was racing and slowly began to feel all warm and excited.

She looked up and saw the face of Syaoran who looked just as surprised to see her. He loosened his grip on her.

"What are you doing in my room?" asked Sakura innocently.

"You are actually in my room right now, my guess is our rooms connect," he replied. Sakura wasn't sure if it was her imagination or the rum but his voice sounded husky.

As if just noticing he quickly let Sakura out of grip entirely only for her to lose her balance and fall face first into his chest.

Syaoran knew right then that she was intoxicated and so picked her up and sat her on his bed.

"Syaoran?"

"Yes Sakura?"

She felt even more excited as he said her name and took note of his tossled hair and lack of a shirt.

"Do you find me attractive?"

Syaoran looked shocked and had to sit down too.

"Well…"

"What?"

Syaoran looked away as he noticed the neckline of her shirt was hanging extra low.

"Yes, you are very attractive."

Having an instant moment of bravery she locked her arms around his neck and engaged in a long kiss. It was completely different than her first one with Derek. Syaoran's lips were warm and soft, at first he remained unresponsive but then as if an animal had taken over he wrapped his arms tightly around her and began sucking at her lower lip. Sakura was in heaven and moaned loudly which Syaoran took advantage of now using his tongue. Sakura quickly straddled him continuing the kiss. She felt as if she had caught a fire and she would die if this kiss ended.

She rubbed up against him driving him wild and began to feel something hard. She had begun to take off her shirt when Syaoran suddenly broke the kiss.

He lightly pushed her away and said, "Sakura how many drinks did you have tonight?"

Sakura was confused but manage to slur out a breathy, "three.."

With that Syaoran picked her up carried her back to her room and dropped her on the bed. "Goodnight Sakura."

SYAORAN'S POV

He dumped her on her bed and headed back to his room, incredibly frustrated. He couldn't stop thinking about that sexy little vixen who had just wandered innocently into his room and then tackled him into a passionate kiss…. which was just about to turn into something more…. No stop thinking about her, he told himself. He walked over to his washbasin and dumped the whole thing over his head.

Try and forget about her for tonight and just go to sleep.

AN: I kept debating on where to end this chapter and I think this is the perfect spot. My goodness Sakura sure got frisky in this chapter. Next time we will be seeing a lot more plot development. I am extremely excited for the next chapter and the big twist coming up!! I hope you guys enjoyed and be sure to REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW. PLEASE, It really means a lot to me to have lots of reviews.

TeenUren- We lightly touched on what is to come this chapter but you will definitely be seeing more of the upcoming plot in the next one :D

ChaoticPhoenix27- yeah there are several different aspects to the plot, which will be coming into play soon. You may even be able to guess some of what is coming up if you read carefully hehehe

Humbleblossom-paulina- Hope this update was fast enough for you. Thanks for reading!!!!

AngelEmCuti- Thank you so much for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter.

YingFa07- You are paying attention to good things. I haven't figure out whether or not that answer will be in the next chapter or the one after that :D