WOLVES REIGN
CHAPTER TEN: One Day to Late
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—Three Days Later—
February 9, 2012
Kyoto Precinct Office
11:34 a.m.
Detective Luc rubbed his temples, eyes shut as a headache began to form. For a week now he felt like they'd been going in circles, catching a lead and then losing it. It was a never ending process, in which, he was ready to throw in the towel and give up. For years he was responsible for solving the numerous deaths regarding two highly respectable gangs and their constant war in Japan. His partner, Detective Sheldon had been assigned to him after she lost her wit in Hong Kong, China regarding the gangs and he—as the weeks went by—finally understood why she'd been transferred to another country nonetheless. Now that he really thought about it, Detective Sheldon had been transferred twice, before making it to Kyoto; Hong Kong to Tokyo to Kyoto. The blond detective was relentless and never played by the rules. Papers began to pile up, reports on both their objectives and the mistakes Detective Sheldon began to make. Twice in the past week, she broke the rules, forcing the department of Kyoto police to follow up on leads that went nowhere, without warrants, without jurisdiction, and with little cause to what they were doing. For some reason, the woman was dead set on believing Sakura Kinomoto and Syaoran Li were the main suspects in numerous disasters. The evidence did point towards them, but that's all it was, minor evidence and no feedbacks. The desk phone lit up like Christmas lights, receiving a groan from him. Pressing the speaker, Detective Luc growled into it.
"This better be good Terada,"
"S-sorry to disturb you, but…there's a kid here." The voice that answered was shaky and truly apologetic. Not saying anything, Detective Luc stared at the window of his office. Officer Terada pointed at the kid standing next to his desk. "He's from…"
"Send him down to file a report for whatever—"
"It's about Chris Tangle," Officer Terada stated, wincing slightly at the fact that he just cut off his boss.
Taking a deep breath, Detective Luc began to rub one side of his head in agitation. "Who…?" the silence that fell made him glance up. Terada was making faces and hand signals, not wanting to speak over the phone. The kid standing next to him shifted impatiently, not noticing as he looked around the large office. "Send him in and find out if we got information yet on the warehouse fire."
"Yes sir," Luc hung up, blowing out air as he got to his feet. The guest opened the door then, dark eyes round as he glanced first at the wall covered in posters of wanted felons to Detective Luc's desk, covered in paper works and files. Waving to the chair in front of his desk, he made a quick glance at the billboard covered in tarp, glad their current assignment was hidden from view. The last thing he needed was a snooping kid starting rumors.
"I'm detective Luc, how can I help you?" he stated professionally, hiding all sense of exhaustion in a slip of words. Hand out he shook the kid's hand, taking in the sweaty palms shaking tremors.
"Tai Delson," he glanced around the room again, admiring everything. "I talked to the police downstairs and they sent me up here." Tai began, bringing his gaze back to Luc finally. "My…my friend is missing,"
"Chris Tangle," Detective Luc sat back, trying his best to rack his brain on who exactly Chris was. He couldn't remember and for the life of him, he didn't want to ask them to bring in a record. "There's obviously a reason why they sent you here, otherwise the police usually deal with missing cases."
"Chris is dead," that took Luc by surprise, staring awkwardly at Tai. Then it clicked just as Detective Sheldon opened the door and let herself in. Chris Tangle had been a recent suspect presumed dead after the bombing of a small town pizza joint, all linking to Syaoran Li and Nick Haruto, two suspects from rivalry gangs and released without plausible cause.
"Tell me, mister Delson, what brings you here today regarding your friend." Evidence, he thought, it's all about the evidence.
Kyoto University
1:08 p.m.
Sakura bolted up, sweaty and sticky and immediately regretted her sudden action. Her inside churned like they were on ice, numbing her stomach to the point where she flipped and aimed for the trash bin under her desk. The moment her body hit the floor a pain echoed dully through her bones, rattling them until she was able to move again. Making sure nothing was going to come out, she blew out a breath and sat on her knees before her trash pin. It took her mind a moment to register that she was awake, however groggy. The cold room smelled of lavender and medicine and a hint of strawberry. Nothing made sense, who she was, the why she was there, and where there was. Eyes flitted around her room, trying to figure out where it was she sat and how she got there. The last thing that flitted into her mind was the club. The music had dulled her senses and her body felt like it had been hit by a sledge hammer, twice over. A noise came from behind her and she whirled, brown hair sticking to her sweating face. Kyle stood at the door, leaning against it with his arms crossed. He held something that looked like papers against his folded limbs. Lying on the bed across the small room was Tomoyo. Her sound snoring indicating she was fast asleep. Confused, Sakura started to get up and stopped at the pain.
"This must be a shock to you," Kyle commented grimly, approaching her. Offering to help her up, Sakura shook her head in confusion. His jean jacket brushed nosily against its own fabric and she had a vague memory of the dress she'd been wearing. Looking at her clothing now, she realized she was in an overly large tee shirt with blood shot eyes the size of the shirt, a caption saying: Still not enough Caffeine, was written in bold pink letters. "Sakura are you okay?" Kyle asked when she began breathing quickly, hand against her chest.
"What happened?" her voice sounded rushed, unsure. Her throat was on fire, like she'd been screaming bloody murder. Then it hit her; she had been screaming bloody murder recently. Movement on the bed caught their attention as Tomoyo, bed hair and sleepy eyed sat up in a yawn. Seeing Sakura, her expression changed and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Oh sweetheart," Tomoyo said stumbling off and sliding down in a wince of expressions. "You're awake, are you okay?" Tomoyo asked, arms wrapping around her friend comforting.
"What's going on? What do you mean I'm awake?" Sakura's eyes rounded in pure horror, heart hammering against her chest desperately. "What happened…?" she stopped, noticing the cuts on her friends white complexion. A flood of memories hit her like a scene from a movie someone paused for her. Hyperventilating she shook her head in denial, mouthing words that wouldn't leave her sore throat.
"You've been out for a few days." Kyle cut through, numbing her. His expressions weren't the caring ones that Tomoyo had. In fact, his dull blue eyes were anything but emotions. She stared at him, refusing to believe anything. Showing her the papers in his hands he gave them both an apologetic look that didn't meet his dull gaze, red hair swept over his shoulder in his usually tie as he placed the paper before them on the floor. "I'm sorry, Tomoyo will explain, but Meilin's been moved from the dorm room and its best…" he stopped, seeing her horrifying confused look. "It's for your safety," he left without another look back, the door shutting softly, yet loudly in her ears. Sakura had a vague sense that Kyle just said goodbye.
"Tomoyo…" Sakura trailed off, eyes glistening with tears as she stared at the paper on the floor, a letter of apology in feminine handwriting with smears and marks from the person that wrote it; Meilin.
Tomoyo took a second to speak, eyes scanning over the letter as well. Taking a deep breath, she tried to catch Sakura's gaze. "Touya told me what happened. He says it's for the best that you don't see anyone from the mansion anymore." Tomoyo's arms tightened around Sakura's shoulder instinctively. "I'm sorry, it was Syaoran's request that Meilin move rooms so she doesn't make things worse. He's the one that made the decision for…well everything. You never woke up when they brought you to the mansion. I was so worried, Kaho said you'd be fine once it was out of your system, but you never woke up." the words flowed out of Tomoyo, hitting Sakura like ice from a machine.
"What did Syaoran say?" Sakura blinked, tears slipping down her face as she turned to face Tomoyo finally. It was like she hadn't seen her friend in more than a year, Tomoyo's pale face covered in marks that were slowly healing, large amethyst eyes filled with concern. When she didn't answer quick enough Sakura pulled away, sliding painfully across the floor and picking up the letter Kyle set down. "Tomoyo tell me exactly what Syaoran said." Her hands crumbled into a fist, taking out the apology letter she didn't want to read.
"He said he can't see you anymore, you're only a liability and if things continued then someone's going to end up dead." Sakura nodded lips in a thin line as she struggled to not freak out. Her chest tightened considerably and she stood her legs weak from lack of use. "Saku…"
"He can't break up with me if we never went out, right?" she asked weakly, sniffing as she held in the worst kind of pain imaginable. "I just have to pretend they didn't exist, like I never became friends with a roommate that didn't exist, I never took a drug that almost killed me…nothing happened. Just like that," bits and pieces of memory hit Sakura as she spoke. It wasn't much, but she quickly understood what happened in the time she was sleeping. Sleeping because of a drug she was forced to take. Her body still remembered the excruciating pain of burning on the inside.
"Sakura…I'm—"Tomoyo stopped mid word as Sakura's emerald gaze changed drastically. It was almost like no one was in there, in Sakura.
"I need to get to class, if I even still have a class." Sakura spoke in a monotone voice, barely above a whisper as she shifted to get her clothes. She smelled of days of sweat and medicine, but she didn't care. The sudden desire to flee had her moving in shaking tremors to pull off her shirt and find new clothes, any clothes that were hers. Since the day she came to the University she hadn't worn her own clothes.
"Sakura you can't just ignore everything," Tomoyo finally said when Sakura managed to pull on a pair of leggings and a pink tank top.
"Ignore what? Nothing happened, Tomoyo." Sakura lifted her shirt up, examining a thin pink line across her abdomen. Since waking up, she felt like memories had been lost forever and little by little she was regaining that memory. A patch of stitches used to be an inconvenience against her stomach and now they were gone, in place of them was a thin pink line, healing and slightly itchy. Tomoyo was on her feet, taking Sakura's hands away from her old wound. Sakura pulled away just as quickly, looking for her boots. "Isn't this what Syaoran wants, for me to pretend like nothing happened, like they never entered my life and RUINED IT?"
"They attacked us both," Sakura looked up at her then. Tomoyo looked so small in her red blouse and dark jeans. She was lightly touching the marks on her face, on her knuckles and hands. A bruise was healing just below her brow, yellow and dark against Tomoyo's beautiful skin. It was a great contrast to her black hair that it was hard to not notice the fact that she'd been attacked.
"They slipped you a drug too, didn't they?" Sakura asked calmly. The shock on her friend's face made her bite down on her tongue, anger rising and falling like a wave as she turned and gathered up her white knee-high boots. "We were guinea pigs in their game of war," Sakura said slowly as she slipped into her shoes easily. "If Syaoran thinks that forgetting they exist is going to work then fine, I'll forget everything so long as neither side of this fucking war hurts us again. The pain I felt…I can't tell you, it's like they tore a piece of me out as well. I don't want to remember what I went through. I'm sorry, you may feel differently Tomoyo, but I think what Li is trying to do is the right way to go."
"How can you say that?" Tomoyo's eyes were wide as she watched Sakura grab her math text and bag. "I can see it in your eyes, you're hurting and you won't let it be expressed…"
"Tomoyo…!" Sakura whirled on her friend, shaking and almost in tears. Hands clenched and unclenched into fists as she struggled to breath and find the right words.
"You love him, you love Syaoran just like Rika loves Haku and I…" Tomoyo stopped, watching Sakura's tears finally slip down her rosy cheeks. "You love him and he just put a bullet in your heart."
"There's no such thing as love when we just met a week ago." Her body hurt as she gave Tomoyo one last look, leaving her dorm room and vanishing. Words echoed her mind and she quickly squished them as she slowly walked down the corridor. Her legs were protesting with every step, her head screaming to let the tears that already began to slip down her face, to find sanction.
It took her a bit to get her bearings as she walked down the hall and through the mess of students leaving their dorms to class. The two days she spent sleeping, made her weak and exhausted. Her book bag felt heavier than it should have been against her shoulder, causing her to stop a few times to switch arms. It was probably best if she didn't move so suddenly, but she had wanted to escape. The need to flee sent her adrenaline crashing into her blood stream that she almost forgot she'd been injured. Breathing harshly, Sakura held tighter onto her bag hoping the change of weight would help. Her free hand shot out to the wall for support as she slowly walked down the hall to her math class. She knew Tomoyo was right; she couldn't just shut out the world and pretend what Syaoran did was nothing. It was all she could do though. Unless she wanted to stay in bed, crying her eyes out and wishing that she had a time machine, she needed to finish living a life she wanted before meeting the wolves. The crowded halls began to mesh together like blobs of dark colors, making Sakura stop in her advance down the stairs. A flash back hit her senses and she struggled to breathe correctly as she remembered the club, remembered the dancing and how she got pulled away from her friends. They fought for her, but she'd been so weak, so entranced by the music and the colors that she couldn't figure out why her friends had gotten upset. Rika's face entered her mind, reminding her that she was now one of them. Shaking her head to get the image from her mind, Sakura all but took the stairs two at a time to get away from it all.
At the bottom of the stairs it hit her. A slap to the face felt about the same thing, a dull ache that leaped off her skin and dug dip into her skin. Pressure against her chest made her cough excessively, one hand on her throat as the burning began and the other against the wall for support. In a clatter her bag fell, spilling out the contents and she slipped to the floor with it, wanting to save the rest of her belongings before the world saw them. It was too much; everything was becoming a mess she couldn't handle. Making sure she wasn't going to cough again, she began to put her stuff back into the bag, letting the stinging feeling of her throat slowly dull away. She needed to grab something to drink before it becomes a volcano, but in her hurry to flee she'd forgotten. In her minds eye she saw a water bottle sitting on her night stand and if her memory served her right, a few other medicinal items as well. Someone, she was assuming Tomoyo, had been taking care of her while she was in a coma. Getting to her feet weakly, ignoring the looks she got from some students, Sakura made her way down the hall and out the doors. The fresh air hit her, assaulting her senses into overload. The air smelled of rain and gasoline and some passing student's perfume. Her chest felt like an ice cap as she walked towards the main building, taking a short cut away from the parking lot and around drying puddles of rain. Mud began to stick to her boots and she ignored it, stomping in the water as an aftermath before slamming into the building with her hip.
A few people turned and stared at her entrance and she flushed, wondering why so many people were bothering to even look at her twice. The warm building was doing nothing to keep up with her blood pressure and she shivered awkwardly, folding her arms and stomping across the rugs in front of the doors. A few girls began to giggle as they hopped; getting mud and rain water off their shoes, some guy's ogling their skirts as they lifted bare inches from their thighs. Bypassing them, Sakura made her way towards the math department, hoping desperately that she still had a class. She couldn't even begin to wonder if she still had a music and psych class. The stress was making her smile, glad she had something that wasn't related to the gang; a gang that didn't exist. Sakura's head hurt as she thought of the note crumbled up, Meilin's apology and solitude unread and lying on the floor of her dorm room. Shaking her head visibly, she passed by the windows and stopped. The suns rays peeked through gray clouds, lighting up areas of the courtyard. Some students were taking in the rays, reminding Sakura that she'd been asleep for three days—days that must have been gloomy. The cars parked across the way glinted with droplets and she absently wondered how long it had rained and whether it let up just once. Absorbed in her thoughts and feelings, she felt the pressure of someone running by in a hurry, mumbling and grumbling that they were late as they bounded down the hallway. Coming out of her reverie she started walking again, only to hear the distant wail that slammed into her.
A car blared in the parking lot, echoing into the hallways of the university. A sudden panic attack made Sakura loose her bags a second time, her heart hitting her chest in sync to the car's alarm system. Eyes wide she stared around her, seeing darkness and lights instead of the universities hallway and students. As the car continued to blare she felt like her body was going to leap from her skin. She knew it was a memory her body was trying to forget, that she had forgotten until now. Trembling, her knees slammed to the ground as she searched desperately for her iPod, wanting to block out the noise. Her elbow was drumming with a new pain, her stomach on fire as her throat began to close up. Hyperventilating she barely made out her belongs when a stranger tried to help her. Snapping, she grabbed her iPod and fumbled desperately with her earphones. People began to stare, stopping in the hall as they watched her. Others walked by at a snails pace as they tried to get a good look at the girl having a freak-out against the floor. The car's alarm finally stopped but she could still hear the honking, the screeching, and the yelling inside of her mind. The night of her drugged induced mind, she had run away, almost got hit by a car, and yelled at for stepping in the way. She remembered it all, but it was a blur like it hadn't been real. Finally managing to untangle her blue ear phones, she placed the desperately into her ears and hit the play button. Kesha "Dancing with Tears in my eyes," played mid-song and she let out a strangled sort of cry.
Breathing deep, she gathered her stuff haphazardly, shoving them into her black book bag before making a run down the hall. The music was loud enough she didn't hear the people around her whisper and comment on her behavior, it helped block out almost everything except the words themselves. It was like the perfect soundtrack for her sudden life, the crumbling world Touya didn't want her to get involved in, yet she had. He should be happy now; Sakura though absently and quickly blocked her own thoughts and feelings as she rounded a corner and continued to run. The math department was near by and if she continued to run, her legs wouldn't give out on her. If she continued to run, then she knew she could finally find some kind of peace just long enough to make it through the day. At least that was the theory as her lungs burned and her legs ached, her book slamming against her healing side with the comfort of her bags fabric. Her white boots weighed against her, bringing her down but she continued on like the devil was after her; in truth, her mind was the devil and she would never get away from that
Kyoto Precinct
2:57 p.m.
Detective Luc was seeing Tai Delson out, his heart hammering against his chest in pure delight. As much as the tragedy of losing a friend was, he was far more excited about brand knew evidence he just learned about one of the gangs. Tai had no idea what he was talking about, too worried that his friend may be alive and amongst the living than to comprehend that he may actually be dead. After getting a physical description of Chris Tangle, the two detectives took down as many notes as they could, hoping they found a new lead they could follow up on.
First it was research, as Detective Luc barked out orders to bring up anything they had on Chris Tangle; he stormed across the precinct to a large white board. The board was already covered in lines and colors, pictures of suspects and leads they lost. It had new evidence of the two bombings they couldn't figure out and pictures of bullet holes in crashed cars; the white board was all about the war of the gangs. Getting a red marker, Detective Luc wrote Chris tangle in bold letters at the top above Syaoran Li and the Toki Pizza joint. A week ago there had been an incident leading away from the pizza place, witnesses placing motorcyclists leaving in a hurry down the road to where they had found a few crashed vehicles and bullets belonging to unregistered weapons. Maybe there was something about the pizza joint that was important, maybe it was just a pizza joint caught in the middle of everything.
His headache remained throbbing against his temples, his exhausted body sore from lack of sleep. Arms crossed over his broad chest, he took a step away from the board and examined what they had so far. So many incidents, numerous deaths, tattoos that indicated and helped the police identify some of the people uncovered, but all of it gave them a dead-end. Most of the bodies were casualties of a war that the police were genuinely way over the heads for; strangers that just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. What got Detective Luc in a frenzied migraine was the bombing of a high-end corporation. Shang Corporation denied them a chance to find out why their Japan-run corporation had suddenly lit up the sky with no trace of foul play, no trace of video surveillance catching suspects going in or out. It had been the worst dead-end so far and only because Shang Corporation brushed it off as a mere loss. Now that he was thinking about it, rumor was they were cleaning the disaster and making good on progress to renew the Corporation building like it had never been bombed in the first place.
Officer Terada approached, catching his attention. "According to Tai, Chris went to the university until two months ago, when Tai filed a missing persons report." Detective Luc stated more to himself than to the skittish officer staring at the board like it would jump out at him.
"Why did he file a missing person's?" Terada asked, holding onto a printed out sheet as he watched Detective Luc make lines across to the University of Kyoto.
"They were roommates for two semesters, when Chris didn't return to the dorm room after a week, Tai went in search and discovered he hadn't been going to classes either," Was the simple response, which to his own ears sounded normal.
"Its college, maybe he dropped out."
"I asked that, but Tai was dead set on his friend going missing. Did you pull up the report?" he turned away from the board long enough to take the printed out paperwork.
"Yeah, we never followed up on it. Chris Tangle had been arrested twice during the month of his supposed disappearing act, but not by Kyoto's division." Terada glance at the board as Luc went over the paper, following the dark lines going across the board like a tornado.
"He was in Hong Kong," Luc's brow raised a fraction as he stared at the police report. "Charged for possession and an unregistered weapon, and then charged again when fleeing from an act of terrorism, which was dropped when he was released. Someone in Tokyo bailed him out all the way in China, I see."
"We have the autopsy; he died the same night Toki's Pizza had numerous explosions going off in the parking lot." Detective Luc almost laughed at that, feeling bad knowing the kid was dead and yet his friend was set on him being still alive.
"How did our college student die?" Detective Sheldon asked as she clacked into the room, arms crossed over her suit and resting casually against her weapons belt, highly amused by the lines going in circles against the white board.
"A heart attack," Officer Terada answered after a moment.
"Really…? So a twenty-something year old college student charge with possession and weaponry in another country goes missing and is found dead from a heart attack at a pizza joint?" Sheldon's brow was arched as she gave them both an amused look that said she wasn't as stupid as the rest of the world.
"Detective please get the morgue on the phone, I would like to speak with a…Doctor Shai Michelson." Luc asked, staring at the autopsy report and going over vitals and substance levels. Everything was clean and as he listened to Sheldon speak to someone on the phone, he had a feeling it wasn't going to be good.
"There is no Doctor Shai Michelson nor are there any records of a Chris Tangle having been in the morgue, dead or alive." She finished after her short conversation on the phone. Officer Terada chocked, staring blankly at her then back at Luc as he just stood there, contemplating the words.
"Of course not," Luc began a circular motion against his temples staring at the autopsy report. "Terada find me where Icy Christian lives, we'll have a talk with her." nodding, the young officer scrambled to find records and call her, leaving the two detectives to look over the board.
"What are you thinking?" Sheldon's obvious amusement made Detective Luc's head hurt all the more. Staring at his partner he gave her a dull expression.
"We're going to find out why Chris went missing and why he died without his poor friend Tai ever knowing about a funeral." He answered blandly, lips quirked up slightly.
"You're going to exhume the body then?" she guessed and his lips quirked even higher as he nodded.
"If there is one, yes,"
Luc glanced at the officer as he returned, hands together as he began ringing them like a nervous wreck. There were times he felt bad for the boy having to deal with gang-related work, but other times he just wished the kid would man up and get things done with. Waiting for him to give an answer, Detective Luc handed the paperwork for Sheldon to look over. "Uh…it looks like Ms. Christian lives at the Li residence." Officer Terada finally got out, finding his voice from the shock he faced.
"Of course she does," Detective Sheldon commented, reading the reports with a laugh.
Kyoto University
Café lounge
4:39 p.m.
She'd managed a clumsy-filled day with nothing but earphones and the drive to go on. It was difficult, but she was doing it. Not once had she'd taken her earphones away from her ears, during class had been difficult and she still managed it without a word from the professor. She'd been mildly surprised that she still had a class. It only donned on her that college doesn't take roll like high school did until she was seated and the professor moved on with the lecture. Something she should have remembered if her mind wasn't in the clouds. Throughout the period memories assaulted her, smells and distant sounds. It was maddening and she had a feeling it was only the lingering effects of whatever had been put in her. When she left at the end, some of the students were talking about her bizarre behavior, making her all too aware that some of them just might be part of the Cobra's or even Wolfs. Avoiding her friends had been the tricky part; twice she'd seen Tomoyo in the halls and turned to walk the other way. Once she'd spotted Naoko, but thankfully she'd been busy talking to someone in the hall to have noticed her at all. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in over three days and as she went in search of the cafeteria, her stomach began to growl consistently.
The cafeteria was large, covered in a bronze color down to the flooring. The drapes covering the large windows were a golden brown, the tables were a lighter brown and the floor would have been gold if it weren't for the numerous carpets covering large parts of space. Feeling like she'd walked into a seventeenth century dinning hall, Sakura headed towards the familiar smell of coffee and desserts, her stomach screaming to be fed. Eyes casted down, she avoided the look of students as she passed by, headphones on blast to drown out the noise of her surroundings. It almost felt like she was a recovering addict being judged by her peers. Standing behind a blond and her date, Sakura avoided their gaze as she read the menu and stared hopelessly at the desserts behind the class. Her stomach growled and screamed and she was sure it was louder than the music blasting from her headphones. Resting a hand against her stomach as inched closer and closer towards the counter, everything sounded good. Her mouth began to water at the rich smell of ground coffee and hazelnut, her eyes straying towards the machine as it spewed out hot substances into a cup. Never before had she wanted something so badly and as she watched the young barista make another batch of cappuccino, she couldn't help but feel a monster within want to take everything away and run.
As the person in front of her ordered, Sakura quickly made up her mind about which dessert would satisfy her sugar low and which drink would help kick the need to curl into a ball and ignore the rest of the world. That's exactly how she felt; depressed and afraid. Her body was weak and as the day continued to go by slowly she only felt the effects of being in a coma for three days. It was too long, at least for her. The drug had taken a huge toll on her mind, body, and soul. She could still taste the last drink she had before the drug took hold, could still feel the burning sensation run down her throat and into her stomach, acting like a leech as it sunk teeth into her blood stream. She remembered the bits and pieces of lights forming together to make a bright blob and the melting faces running away from her. All day she kept seeing a face with two different colored eyes, not knowing why or who it belonged to. She didn't think he'd been the culprit for drugging her, but he had a huge impact in her life. His eyes were mesmerizing, one blue and one a light hazel almost gold in color. The cafeteria was starting to remind her of that one eye, scaring her into withdrawing instantly into her self. Someone tapped on her shoulder and she whirled around, still seeing the face of her mystery man.
"Your order," the guy said his eyes wide as he took in Sakura's scared expression. Breathing out she smiled weakly, flushing crimson and turning to the waiting cashier who gave her the same expression.
"Um…upside down hazelnut latte please?" she eyed the dessert as he wrote her order down on a sheet of paper. "And that cake at the end, covered in chocolate." Her tongue felt heavy as she thought of the sugary goodness, her stomach agreeing to the extra saliva. Sakura watched as he walked towards the glass encasement, her eyes following his long arm to the dessert and back again. Finally feeling like something went right in her life she lifted her bag and went in search for her wallet. Her hand met with her book and few pens she tossed in there, fingers brushed over her notepad and the spiral rings. Her eyes began to bug out as she realized her wallet wasn't there. Thinking that was a lie, she all but buried her face into it as Kesha started up again with a new song in her ear, followed by an impatient cashier.
"Are you going to pay or what?" he gave her a weird look, taking in the headphones and her black rounded eyes. If she felt like a recovering addict earlier just his stare now was bringing the familiar feelings back. Sakura gave him a moment stare down, his black hair held back by a blue hat that matched the rest of his outfit, including the design of the café insignia.
"Hold on I swear it's in here," Sakura got out, losing her balance slightly as she shifted the weight of her bag against her upraised knee. Her hips protested at the new impossible movement, reminding her that she had fallen the other night and had taken a nose dive out of a cars window. That was something she will always remember before her mind went black. Fingers pushed aside her books and pens, random objects and a hair tie she didn't think belonged to her. Everything else seemed to be in her bag, but her wallet and as she searched more she heard the cash register make that familiar ding and lifted her head up. "What—?"
"You can't hide forever," Chiharu said calmly, her brown orbs sharp as she took Sakura's purchase. The cashier made a weird gesture for them to move on as he took the next person's order. Moving only an inch away from the counter, Sakura glanced uneasy at her friend. Chiharu wore a black long-sleeved shirt with a low v-neck that revealed a white lacy top underneath and a lot of cleavage.
For a brief moment Sakura had a heart attack in thinking the little black mark on Chiharu's chest was a tattoo before shifting away. "I'm not hiding," placing her earphone back in Sakura snatched her cake and sighed when Chiharu lifted it above her head. "Seriously Chiharu, I haven't eaten in god-knows how many bloody days."
"Sit," Chiharu pointed at a table in the center of the cafeteria, the large cushioned couches invitingly as they circled around a round, low table. Takashi waved, his large glasses slipping down his nose as he continued to speak on his cell phone. Sakura blew out a huff of air, knowing if she didn't do as her friend asked she wouldn't get her food back. Chiharu grinned as Sakura moved towards the seats.
As they got closer to Takashi, his voice seemed to get lower and lower before hanging up entirely. Sakura made a face before eyeing the brown seats circling the table. From the looks of the cushion she figured she'd fall right into it, get too comfortable and fall asleep; again. Sleep was the last thing on her mind though. "I'm not going to talk about it." Sakura said suddenly, letting her body melt into the seat, crossing her legs. Hands went out for her drink Chiharu still held hostage.
"Good we don't want to hear it." Chiharu commented with the biggest smile Sakura had even seen. She knew something was up with them, especially the way Takashi began to fidget in his seat flipping open his phone and closing it. Out of all her friends Takashi had always been the one to reveal secrets. He had a habit of using his hands to give away his nervousness and as she watched him play with his phone she realized she didn't want to k now what it was. Pulling out her cake, she tore a small piece off, her body giddy with excitement for food. "I'm surprised you went to class today."
Sakura swallowed, "I'm not trying to get kicked out." she got out and decided she'll just bite into her food like a savage. Both her friends sat on the opposite side and watched her, judgingly. Sakura ignored the gaze and let her mind wrap around her music, her stomach agreeing to the junk food now feeding her empty calories; calories she hadn't had in three days.
"Li left the country," Takashi blurted, getting a smack from Chiharu. Sakura's body froze in time, her mind stopping all intelligence and her mouth pausing mid-chew.
"Seriously Takashi, we can't tell you anything." Chiharu hissed as she smacked her boyfriend again. His dark gaze were apologetic, aiming that look to Sakura as she finished what was in her mouth and began nursing her latte.
"In my opinion good riddance, he never was a good looking guy." Takashi continued. Sakura couldn't help but feel for the guy as he got assaulted once again. She knew once he got started, he couldn't stop until his opinions were out and he'd told at least one myth of fact.
"Takashi!"
"Not that I would go after a guy, I'm just saying. I heard that after the warehouse incident they…"
"Takashi shut up!" Chiharu finally placed a hand over his mouth, eyes wide as she looked at Sakura.
"No its okay, Chiharu. Listening makes me ignore everything else in my head." Sakura forced a smile that didn't meet her eyes as she looked back at Takashi. "What warehouse incident?" Takashi had a moment of frozen conflict as he looked from his girlfriend to Sakura, then back again. His body seemed to rotate in his spot, getting a comfortable position to start his rumor.
"The night of you're, uh…you know…"
"Takashi…" Chiharu warned lowly.
"A warehouse exploded at Biwa Lake, I…they asked me to help them hack into the police data base to erase any evidence that the Li's were involved with anything regarding the lake. I found a lot of evidence pointing towards some guy named Wraith McCain Cobra and Wolf Chang Li, it was one of their warehouses or was, it exploded when Touya and Syaoran went..." Chiharu hit Takashi's arm, pointing at Sakura. They had lost her spiritually. Sakura stared at one spot on the table as she zone out listening to Takashi speak. The name sounded familiar, but where she'd heard it from she'd forgotten. Whoever had used the name had been extremely angry, the tension building inside of her body began to radiate with sweat and flashes.
"Sakura, everything okay?" Chiharu asked as Takashi took a bit out of his bagel to keep from talking more. Sakura nodded slowly, but she wasn't nodding at her friend's question. Deep down she recognized a sort of smell that hit her inner senses as the hot flashes began to subside. The name Wraith had been spoken angrily and with a rising vengeance by someone that smelled heavily of lake water. All day she'd been getting flashbacks from the other night and now it was assaulting her nose. Trying to place why she had smelt something like moss and lake water, she gave her two friends a strange sort of stare ready to ask about it when Chiharu spoke first. "Look Rika's coming…" Sakura turned around, not seeing Rika at all but the man with his arm draped over her and it all came crashing into her.
Syaoran didn't want them talking to her, didn't want her involved with his life and wanted her to forget he ever existed. Sakura felt a kind of betrayal of promises being broken as she remembered the crumbled apology note in her dorm room. She no longer shared that room with Meilin. "Li is no longer in the country," was what Takashi had said. Sakura couldn't help but feel grateful and depressed that he ran from his own doing. Haku made eye contact with Sakura, blue eyes sharpening for the briefest moment before the couple stopped. Whispering something to Rika, he kissed her temple and made a bee-line for the café's counter. Sakura knew he was avoiding her and said nothing as Rika approached them. Her brown orbs met Sakura and held them.
"I'm surprised you're allowed to speak with me." Sakura blurted before she could stop her self.
"So she does have feelings," Rika's voice sounded strained and Sakura frowned.
"What…?"
"Tomoyo told me what happened this morning, I'm sorry Sakura." Rika moved to sit down in the empty seat beside Sakura, her knees brought up to her chest as she reached to take Sakura's arm. Instantly she pulled away and pushed back, the chair moving with her body.
"You've gone to the other side then, right Rika?" Sakura didn't bother hiding the venom from her tone, ignoring Chiharu's whine as the two friends stared at each other. Rika glanced over at Haku as he ordered their coffee before folding her thin arms across her chest and sitting back in defeat. "I understand if you can't speak with me, being on their side an all." Christina Perri's "Jar of Hearts," began to play lowly in her ear as she stared at Rika, taking in her friend's cold posture. She couldn't help but think Rika's black dress and white leggings were a complete contrast to her feelings and the brown chair she sat on.
"What are you talking about Sakura? I'm on your side, but I personally think what they decided is the right one. You almost died the other night." Her words hit home and as Chiharu whined on the other side and Takashi chocked out a forced cough, Sakura couldn't help but narrow her eyes.
"We almost died the day before that at the restaurant or have you forgotten that bit of detail. Isn't that the day you decided you're going to follow after Haku and become one of them?"
"Look I know you're upset and jealous, but…"
"Jealous, Rika...? I'm not jealous, I'm far from. I almost bloody fucking died from some stupid drug and the only thing Syaoran can think of is to push me away like it never happened and leave the country! He didn't ask me, he didn't even come to see if I was still alive. Touya's probably dancing in his excitement that I'm not following in his footsteps!" Sakura yelled, her voice echoing through the cafeteria. Few people turned to gaze at her, adding to the already feeling of being judged.
"You guys—"Chiharu started to say when Rika spoke up.
"Touya went out of his way to protect you. No one knew Cobra was—"
"Cobra," Sakura laughed, head shaking as she gave Rika a once over. "Touya went out of his way to lie to his only sister for years, keeping the fact that during his time in Kyoto he became a feared member of the wolves and now my best friend is one of them, while Cobra is targeting me using me as a pawn in their game to get at the wolves." She got to her feet, shaking with hatred and depression. It wasn't a good combination and as her weak body pushed with the adrenaline of their argument she felt a kind of addicting energy course through her.
"We're only doing it to protect you." Rika answered lowly.
"We…?"
"Us," Rika waved her hands at Takashi and Chiharu, her other going around to seek out Haku. "The wolves, your friends, your family—the least you can do is be grateful."
"I don't need protecting,"
"You almost died Sakura, of course you need—"
"I almost died! That's the key-word, almost." Sakura shook her head, letting her hair fall from the clip and into her eyes. Lips tight she slipped her other ear phone back in and grabbed her book bag. "Look thanks but no thanks. I don't need protecting from anyone; it's over and done with. Enjoy the rest of your day with your new boyfriend and his beloved gang." Sakura didn't bother glancing at Chiharu and Takashi as she grabbed her coffee and made her second escape in one day. Her chest hurt as she passed Haku, not bothering to make eye contact as he opened his mouth to say something.
Students in the lounge watched as she hit a chair, making it clatter loudly. Swearing, she paused for a brief moment to untangle her headphones and continued walking. She had a moment of déjà vu as her iPod finally played the paused song from before. B.O.B "Don't let me Fall," echoed calmly and rather loudly and Sakura had a moment of wonder; it was almost like her iPod was sync with her mood. A soundtrack of her life was the last thing she wanted. Between the tears and the fear of losing her friends she didn't bother changing it, her boots weighing her down the ground as she walked through the corridor and out of the warm cafeteria. A wind picked up around her, numbing her exposed face as she walked towards who-knew-where. As long as she was walking and heading away from her friends that's all that mattered to her. Droplets of water began to hit her gently, feeding to the already cold atmosphere. Stopping in her tracks, she looked up and blinked as rain began to shower her eyelids, her nose, and her lips. The acid water trailed down her neck and into her clothes. Closing her eyes she let it all come down, wishing she could melt away with the rain indefinitely. A flashback hit her senses and this time she welcomed it, remembering the sprinklers of the dark park, remembering the cold eating away at her skin and bones and remembered the warmth of Syaoran's body as he carried her. It was the one memory she will hold dear, considering it was the last moment they shared together. Tears mixed with the rain and she finally let her head fall back, eyes opening.
A long figure stood before her, usual black hood covering his white-blond hair and face. Sharp blue eyes stared at her with a kind of concern she wish wasn't in existence. New feelings began to assault her and she bit her lip, keeping from letting out the first thing that came to mind—hatred for who he was and what he represented. A dark green string went from his ear into his sweatshirt, disappearing from view. Pulling out her own earphone, she quirked a brow and waited. It was obvious he wanted something otherwise he wouldn't be standing before her like a lost dog. Another figure caught her attention and she turned slightly, catching sight of the white-haired girl blending in with the shadow of the Universities building. He turned to glance at her as well, not budging an inch at the sight of his comrade watching them. Turning back to Sakura, he let out a breath making her wonder if he'd been holding it.
"Can we talk?" the famous question came out, making Sakura huff out a laugh. "I wasn't part of their plans, they sent me away for a reason." he added. Sakura stared at him in confusion and he sighed, removing his hood and allowing the rain to drench him. "Mireille hurt your friend, drugged and left her for her dead. There's nothing I can say to change what she did and…"
"Jonathan what do you want?"
"To talk, that's all I promise." He winced at the feel of the rain soaking his jacket, the cold seeping into the cloth fabric. "Preferably out of the rain,"
"Why should I trust you?" Sakura ignored the rain and ignored the goose bumps rising on her arms and legs from the chilling wind.
"Kinomoto…" Sakura flinched at the use of her last name, instinctely thinking of Syaoran and his constant use of formality. Catching her pain, Jonathan changed tactics and held out his arm for her. "I'll tell you anything you want, answer any questions. We'll even go somewhere that I know no other member of Cobra or Wolf will go."
"What about her?" Sakura asked, indicating the female figure against the wall.
"Aisha wants the same thing, to apologize for Cobra's actions against you and your friend." he said with ease, making Sakura almost think it otherwise.
"You mean you both want to make up for shoving drugs in our throats."
"Sakura I—"
"Let's go," she cut him off, surprising him into dropping his arm as he stared blankly at her. Sakura gave him a fake smile, the expression not meeting her gaze. "You don't have to answer any questions or grovel for forgiveness…well maybe the last part. Just promise me one thing Jonathan."
"Anything,"
"No killing me today," Jonathan smirked at that, hand out in agreement. Taking it she squeaked as he pulled her forward, wrapping his arm over her soaked shoulder. She glanced behind her after a second, seeing the shocked expression on Rika and Haku as she walked away with Jonathan and Aisha. She knew what she was doing, but to them it was something else entirely and right now all she wanted was some closure. If Syaoran can pull a drastic move to keep her safe, then she could do the same thing as well. At least she wasn't running to another country to do so.
Hong Kong, China
3:46 p.m.
Syaoran flipped up the windows cover as the plane rattled and shuddered to land. The gravity pushed at him, forcing him to relax uncomfortably in his chair. Being the only passenger it felt different as he became one with the chair, body pressed against it in order to keep from feeling nauseas. A bump as the plane's wheels made things shudder even harder, coming to a glide as the plane forced its way to a stop on asphalt. His drink splashed around in the bottle, reminding Syaoran of an earthquake. A moment later a light went on, illuminating the empty jet with a calm atmosphere, the pilot's voice spoke in Chinese as he announced their safe landing and time zone. Resting his head back against the chair he ignored it all, eyes on the window and the land outside of it. The vast world of Hong Kong, China was nothing compared to the ocean they flew over hours before. Hong Kong was his home and least favorite place to be. The last time he'd been home, his friend and comrade had been accused of exploiting an operation that had nothing to do with him. Syaoran will always feel guilty for what happened, having been the one that assaulted the police in order to get at the enemy hiding within the task force. Since the day Chris had passed, the guilt of their last mission together played at his consciousness. He'd help bail the man out, but not after the Hong Kong police threatened, abused, and tried their hand at making Chris Tangle talk. An elderly man woke Syaoran out of his reverie, resting his wrinkled hand on the chair before him and indicating it's now safe to get off the plane.
Syaoran thanked him, gathering his belongings and stepping away from his warm seat. The sun blazed overhead as he stepped out, a line of men wearing black bowing respectfully and awaiting him to descend from the cab. Another part of Hong Kong he would always detest is the amount of attention he would receive just by stepping foot on the land. It was almost like he held a huge sign over his head that Syaoran Li returned to China. He always hated the attention of being a Li and one of the most highly respected CEO's only son. The black asphalt looked inviting as he stepped carefully down the steps, wishing he could just make a run for it, escape and be done with everything. Ignoring the greetings and excessive bowing he disappeared inside of a black limousine at the end of the line of respectful men doing their job for money. As the car pulled away from the private jet his family owned, Syaoran opened his laptop once again. He had more than a million emails to go through, dealing with his families business as well as finances. Their last operation left his wallet more than dented. The explosion of the warehouse and brought in the cops and federal investigators. If it wasn't for Takashi they would have had the detectives back at the mansion wanting answers.
His chest felt tight as he thought of that night and tried hard to push the vivid memories from his minds eye. Bringing up an app on his computer, he typed in his password and waited for it to load. He couldn't help but wonder about Sakura, knowing the moment she opened her eyes she would most likely be hysterically angry at him. He promised to keep her safe and so far he hadn't done his job. Karma kept her from being safe, continued to play with her and use her as a guinea pig. The night Eriol came to retrieve them from the park, he'd made his decision to leave Sakura Kinomoto and to keep her at a distance in order to save her life. Even Touya agreed it was the best move for her sister. That night all hell had broken loose, a war had broken out as Touya extracted information from their only hostage. Wraith knew one of his own would be captured and anticipated what would happen next. The man everyone feared would always be one step ahead of them, but this time the Black Wolves will be ahead of Cobra and his obsession to gain power. At least that was the theory.
Nearly an hour later, the limo pulled to a stop in front of a large Chinese style mansion. Home sweet home, Syaoran thought bitterly as the door opened and one of the many servants came to open the door for him. His black clothing reminded Syaoran of an alien invasion and as he stepped out, he ignored the bowing and the greetings and walked towards the entrance of his childhood home. Briefly he heard a snide remark about his mood, wondering where it came from. Everyone knew when Syaoran was in a foul mood to stay away, allowing the only person that could deal with such behavior; his mother. Syaoran paused at the threshold as Yelan Li came forward wearing her usual traditional gown of red and black flowers, her hands missing as he hid within her kimono. Long black hair sat atop her head, gems and barrettes holding it in place even as she bowed her head in greeting to him, her slender hand coming forward for him to take. One thing he learned growing up in the Li household was to respect his heritage and the way of it. Taking her cold fingers into his own, he bowed and kissed her knuckles in greeting.
"Xiao-Lang what are you doing here?" Yelan finally said a moment later, bringing her hand back to her person as she watched him through a dark and sharp gaze.
"Is that anyway to greet your only son mother?" he tried to keep the sarcasm out of his tone, but she caught it eyes narrowing even more as she addressed his mood with ease.
"Funny," she glanced at his laptop tucked under his arm and the stone stare he held. "You're just like your uncle; running at the first chance of trouble. What happened?"
"I'm not running, there was business here I needed to attend to. Where is Wolf?"
"In his studies," she waved a delicate hand towards the ceiling. "Since you've made your presence known I'll be seeing you at the meeting for your father's company expansion. Shang Corporation has finally signed that bill and we need to get this done with before they change their mind again. Understood Xiao-Lang?" her posture changed as she held the authority that rose in her tone of voice.
"Yes mother," he flinched slightly at the sound of his cell phone going off. Sharp eyes narrowed in on it. "Excuse me," he bowed his head to her before flipping open his phone and making a harsh march towards the stairwell. Servants dashed to move out of his way as he walked casually up the flight of stairs. "What is it Tsukino?"
"Detectives showed up at the mansion today, looking for Chris Tangle." Syaoran stopped at the top and stared at nothing, brows knitted together. "Icy told them to sod off and now they've presented a warrant to exhume his body for some investigation. I think they were waiting for someone to deny them information. She's a hysterical pregnant mess and ready to blast the first Silver Cobra she finds. Sera's trying her best to keep her contained, but they're exhuming her boyfriend man, I don't think we can keep her home for much longer."
"What kind of investigation…?" Syaoran trailed off as he thought about that. "Didn't I tell you to take care of his roommate!"
"We did or rather Eriol tried but the kid must have gone to the police anyway." Haku's voice echoed his ear drums. Syaoran could barely make out a feminine voice on the other side urging him to say something else. "There's something else you should know…"
"What is it?" Syaoran asked, barely hearing Rika's shrill voice telling Haku off or she'll do it.
"Kinomoto…she was just seen with Haruto and some chick…Aisha I think was her name."
Heart hammering against his chest Syaoran clenched his jaw, knuckles piercing into a tight ball as he assaulted his laptop. Taking a deep breath, he continued walking towards the study. "Not my problem. Deal with the Detectives and figure out why they're disrupting Chris' grave days after we finally put him to rest. I'll be back in Kyoto next week."
"Got it," Haku hung up, but not fast enough. Syaoran heard the comment directed from Rika and knew Sakura's friends will start something. Not my problem, Syaoran reminded himself. He made a promise to keep Sakura safe and keeping her away from him was one of them.
To be continued…
I already know most of you will kill me for that.
But, however…it's not a story without a twist and I like twists.
Happy Halloween.