Omg… 300 reviews… hahaha… wow… -hugs everyone-
Here's your chapter, Nani-chan (mwaha). Happy belated birthday. –gives special hug-
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wonderland.11 Sarutobi
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"And so, for the remainder of my disappearance, I was tortured for information about the whereabouts of the blueprints, and your guys' location, until I finally escaped," Syaoran concluded in a casual tone.
All he received were some blank, some surprised, and some gaping stares.
No wonder he looked messed up when Sakura found him.
"No, really guys, I'm fine. No need to jump up and ask me how I am," Syaoran said dryly.
Meiling rolled her eyes before meekly punching her cousin on the arm. "We tried finding you."
"I know," Syaoran assured. He pulled himself from the wall he was leaning on.
"Do you even have the blueprints?" Sakura asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
He glanced at the ceiling and then looked at her, flashing her a blank smile before exiting the back and heading out to the bar. She watched him leave in confusion, not sure whether to take that as a yes or a no. Sakura concluded by the other's exchange of bewildered glances that they didn't know if he took the blueprints either. She was about to follow Syaoran, thinking he was leaving, when Kuma's voice halted her:
"He's prob'ly jus' gettin' a drink," he commented, his voice rough. "Come join us, Kinomoto girl."
She glanced at him from over her shoulder. "I am not a girl." She was a woman, thankyouverymuch.
"Well ya look like one wit' that outfit and all," Kuma said, making a hasty gesture with his hand. "Sit."
Sakura eyed him warily, but took a seat when Jamie pulled a chair over for her to sit on. Kuma dealt the cards and passed them out – even to her. She raised an eyebrow at the faced-down cards.
"Since you're new, you have to play," Rika's gentle voice said. She was standing by Sakura's chair, smiling. "It's a tradition that Kuma insists on keeping up."
"It's also tradition that the newbie bets the highest," Dev said, grinning wickedly.
Sakura narrowed her eyes, but dug into the pocket of her coat and pulled out her wallet. She glanced in it, deciding she had enough money, and nodded. "Fine. I'm in."
Kinomoto Sakura never turns down a challenge.
"Aa… I'd be careful of Sakura-chan," Takashi said, observing the game thoughtfully. "We used to play poker when we'd stay at the station late at night. Sakura-chan can get very lucky…"
"Huh," Dmitri muttered, lifting his cards up and scanning them. "Even luckier than me?"
Takashi tapped his chin. "Well I don't know…"
Meiling slipped out of the back and made her way to the front. Rika had switched the open sign to closed, so what was once a normally crowded bar was empty. Syaoran stood behind the bar table, a shot glass on the surface and a bottle in his hand. He was pouring himself a shot of whiskey. Meiling slid next to him, watching him down the drink in one go. He brought the glass back down on the table, sighing.
"She's not supposed to be here."
The raven haired girl raised an eyebrow. "Kinomoto?"
"Hn." He refilled his glass.
Meiling's eyes glinted in amusement. "What, are you worried about her?"
Syaoran cast a cool glance at his cousin before drinking. "No. It's just more troublesome now that she's involved."
She took the bottle from him, and the glass, and poured herself some. "It's not her fault. It's not like she asked to be involved, or knew what she was getting involved in."
"Still." He tilted his head back and narrowed his eyes at the ceiling light. "It makes me wonder why she of all people was framed."
Meiling shrugged, putting the glass and bottle away.
"Her boyfriend," Syaoran started in a mutter, "the head chief of the Tokyo police, Kaname… he had a tattoo like ours."
She looked at him in surprise. "Are you sure?"
He nodded. "Why would I make this up?"
"I don't remember ever knowing a Kaname when we were around…"
Syaoran shook his head. "Neither do I… But then again… the last time we were there, I recall a new group of people being brought in… He might have been apart of that group."
"Probably," she mused, leaning on the table. Meiling craned her neck around so she was looking up at her cousin. "Have you told her about it? About Kaname?"
He shook his head.
"You should. And while you're at it, tell her everything else."
Syaoran lifted his eyes up, confused.
"I know you, Xiaolang. You haven't told her e-ver-y-thing."
He snorted and looked away.
Meiling placed her hands on her hips and eyed him, demanding: "And why haven't you?"
"It doesn't really change what she knows already," he said calmly. "She knows we once worked for Subaro. She knows what we did. That is all she needs to know."
"She needs to know everything to understand fully."
"It is none of her business," Syaoran said, rounding on his cousin angrily. He then sighed, seemingly calming down. "Kinomoto and I aren't very close, Meiling. I can't just go babbling my – our whole life to her."
"She's apart of it now. She needs to know," Meiling said simply, standing up straight. She placed a hand on Syaoran's shoulder and patted it in understanding. She started to walk to the back room when she paused and looked at him, smirking. "You know, I've never known you to get so worked up over anyone – let alone a girl."
He looked at her mildly irritated. "What are you trying to imply?"
Meiling smiled pleasantly before disappearing into the back. "Nothing, dear cousin."
---
Shortly after Meiling disappeared into the back, Syaoran followed after, only to find the room loud because of the talking.
"Man!" Dmitri threw his cards down, perplexed.
Even Dev looked perplexed because he wasn't ranting in Spanish about one thing or another. Kenji looked amused, and Jamie was laughing while shaking his head in disbelief. Even Kuma had thrown his head back to let out a rather rough laugh. Sakura was sitting there, arms crossed, a smug and triumphant smirk on her lips.
"Beginner's luck," Dmitri grunted.
Syaoran deduced that Sakura had won in her first game against them. Even he couldn't help but look amused at this. No 'newbie' usually won in their first game.
"Like Yamazaki-kun said," Sakura said smoothly, reaching over the table and pulling the money to her side, "I can get very lucky."
Takashi and Meiling exchanged glances and snickered.
"Rematch!" Dmitri demanded.
Sakura snorted, counted her money, and stuffed it into her pocket. "Unlike you boys, I know when to walk out."
Syaoran came over and rested a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "And we were just about to leave."
She nodded and stood up, shaking hands with the men at the table, and then with Rika and Naoko. Takashi gave her a hug before she shook hands with Meiling. The Chinese woman grinned as she said: "Don't let my cousin get to you that much. You call me if he does anything. I'll come beat him up for ya."
Sakura couldn't help but smile at that as she nodded and waved goodbye to everyone, trailing after Syaoran. They left Red Light and made their way down the street, Sakura still disguised as Masako, and Syaoran as Ji-sensei.
"Ne, Syao – Ji-sensei, what're we going to do now?" Sakura asked, looking up at him.
"Let's head back to the hotel first," he replied. "We'll figure out what to do from there."
Sakura shrugged off her coat as they finally made it back to their hotel room. She slumped on the bed, laying on her stomach with her arms folded and her chin tucked against them, watching as Syaoran sat in a chair by the window. He removed his glasses and set them on the table.
A question suddenly struck Sakura.
"Syaoran…"
He looked at her with a quirked eyebrow.
"How did… you and the others end up 'working' for Subaro anyway?"
He shrugged carelessly and averted his gaze to the window. "One thing leads to another and the next thing you know you're doing the last thing you thought you never would."
She sighed. He wasn't telling her something – again. What else was new? Sakura rolled over and laid on her back, staring at the ceiling. "What exactly made you guys want to leave Subaro?"
Syaoran closed his eyes thoughtfully. "It's not that it was a spur of the moment kind of thing… We've been wanting to for a very long time…" She looked at him as he opened his eyes again, a distant look crossing his face. "And then we finally had our chance… so we took it."
"Mm. I see…" Vague. Again.
Ever since Syaoran told them what happened to him when he disappeared, he's been rather quiet. It was rather unnerving, Sakura decided, that Syaoran wasn't being his cocky self. She wanted to say something and have him retort something back – some smart aleck comment. But she didn't know what to say, and the two sat in silence for what felt like an eternity (when in reality it was only a minute or two).
"Sakura…"
"Mmm?" She pried open her eyes, having closed them earlier.
"You remember back at your apartment, when I first started explaining to you what happened?"
She nodded, confused. "Yeah, what about it?"
He pulled the sleeve of his shirt back, exposing the tattooed barcode. Syaoran was frowning. "And I was going on about how 'they' came back?"
"Yeah…"
"They as in… Subaro…and his little army… or group of soldiers or whatever…"
"I figured that much," Sakura said, slightly impatient. "What're you trying to get at?"
"Kaname has a tattoo… like mine, and the other's."
She raised an eyebrow. "…So?"
"Only those of us that were part of… Subaro's special team of assassins had barcodes… like mine," Syaoran said slowly, turning his eyes to her.
Sakura froze.
"I think Kaname still works for Subaro… I think Kaname was the one who framed you."
She looked at him, and then shook her head. "No… He wouldn't do that. Why –"
"It makes perfect sense that he framed you," Syaoran interrupted rather snappishly and impatiently. "He's the head chief of police. He works for Subaro. You just so happened to be close to Kaname… and the closest thing to me. He probably planted the evidence against you. It wouldn't take him much effort to get evidence from you. A fingerprint. A strand of hair…"
Sakura sat up and glared at him angrily. "Kaname wouldn't do that!"
Syaoran stood up and glared right back, laughing derisively. "Why? Because he loves you?"
She slid off the bed and stood in front of him, growling. "He just wouldn't!"
He looked at her sardonically, sneering. "You are so naïve, Sakura. Face the facts: your lover boy isn't all he's cracked up to be."
"Shut the hell up, Li," Sakura snarled, taking a step closer so they were practically against each other, Sakura's head tilted back so she was glaring right into those mocking amber eyes. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"And you're just too foolish and blind to accept the truth," he retorted, eyes narrowed. "I thought you had more sense than that, Sakura. I thought you looked at the facts. But I guess I was wrong. You're too blinded by those fake sweet words of Kaname's to see that he –"
Smack.
His head snapped to the side from the force of the slap. He raised a hand and touched his throbbing cheek in surprise, turning his head to look at a very flushed Sakura. It was obvious he had gone too far, because she was standing here, clenching and unclenching her fists and trembling (from anger), her eyes flashing as if debating whether to punch him this time.
"Bastard."
And with that last spiteful word to linger between them, Sakura grabbed her coat and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her in the process. Syaoran stood there for a while in the silence before slumping down in the chair with a long sigh. He ran his fingers through his hair and glared at nothing in particular.
Baka.
---
Sakura stormed out of the hotel and into the streets of the city. She wasn't really thinking about where she was going, all she knew was that she wanted to get away from him; from Syaoran. She knew she shouldn't be angry, and that he was just trying to get her to see that Kaname could possibly be the one who framed her, but…
"Why? Because he loves you?"
Emerald eyes darkened as she stared daggers at the ground, still walking, not caring for the people she bumped into.
The way he said that… and the way he laughed… it was like he was mocking her – which is exactly what he was doing: mocking her, taunting her for her naivety and foolishness; as if saying the very thought of someone even loving her was just as foolish as she was.
Angry tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she pushed her way through a crowd of people.
It's been so long that she felt like crying. It made her only hate Syaoran more. It made her angrier, more upset. It made the tears even harder to fight back. She was an adult now. One would think she'd be able to get over such things as letting words get to her. Especially since they were coming from Syaoran, she shouldn't care. She shouldn't care. So why was it bothering her so much? Why was she so angry, so upset?
"And you're just too foolish and blind to accept the truth."
Sakura hugged herself tightly as she walked faster.
"You're too blinded by those fake sweet words of Kaname's…"
She didn't care or notice when she started to run, or when people started shouting 'hey's!' and 'slow down!'
She couldn't get the image of Syaoran's amber eyes glaring at her, staring down at her mockingly.
She couldn't get the sound of his derisive laughter out of her head.
Syaoran, you bastard.
Kaname loves me.
I love Kaname.
Kaname –
Sakura felt herself collide into someone. Stars flashed before her vision as she felt herself falling back, but then the person caught her wrist before she could fall all the way. She blinked dazedly. Worried hazel eyes were staring at her. The person brushed back black bangs that had fallen over their eyes.
"Daijoubu desu ka?"
That voice…
Sakura blinked wildly, vision focusing.
Hazel eyes.
Black hair.
Sakura's breath caught in her throat.
Kaname…
"Oi, daijoubu?" he repeated, letting go of her wrist and waving a hand in front of her face.
Sakura blinked. "Ka –" She caught herself, remembering that she was disguised and bowed hastily. "Hai! Gomen nasai."
"It's fine. It's my fault, too," Kaname assured, making a gesture with his hand, as if waving it off. He then smiled. "I hope I didn't hurt you or anything."
She shook her head vigorously, finding herself blushing. "No, you didn't. I'm fine."
Kaname sighed in relief, before eyeing her thoughtfully. "You look… familiar. Do I know you?"
Sakura quickly ducked her head, squeaking: "Iie."
He chuckled. "Right. Of course I don't know you. Well, sorry again… eto…"
"Masako. Ueda Masako," she murmured without looking up at him.
"…Ueda-san." He smiled, holding a hand out for her to shake. "I'm Yamato Kaname."
Sakura shook his hand.
"Well, ja ne, Ueda-san," Kaname said, placing a hand on her shoulder before walking on.
"Ja…" Sakura turned around to watch him leave, murmuring: "Kaname."
She sighed and held her hand over her heart. It was beating fast the whole time Kaname was standing right in front of her. She was worried he'd recognize her.
…Not that she had anything to worry about… Kaname wouldn't frame her… Sakura frowned, watching as his figure disappeared in the mass of other bodies.
Would he?
And what was he doing there anyway?
Probably police business… Sakura figured, shrugging it off and turning around, walking.
She couldn't really bother herself to care, not after Syaoran was being a total jerk. Sakura glanced over her shoulder to where Kaname previously disappeared. A part of her wanted to follow him… to tell him it was her, but then, even if she felt like she could trust him, she just couldn't go telling him. It would ruin her cover completely… Sakura lingered in front of a coffee shop. There were a lot of students in there, but the thought of coffee made her mouth water. Without a second thought, she pushed the door open and went inside.
---
Three hours.
Three freaking hours.
Three freaking hours since she freaking left.
What could she be doing for three hours!
Walking? Touring the city? Watching a movie – WITHOUT HIM?
Syaoran growled to himself as he paced the floor of the hotel room. His brow twitched and his fingers found themselves constantly being raked through his tousled hair. It wasn't dark yet, but it was almost dark, and who knows what could happen to her when it's dark! What if she got lost? It's possible she got lost. Ugh. Why did she have to go and get herself lost? Now he has to go and find her…
He paused at the door.
But she might not be lost. She could really just be watching a movie, or walking around the city. But why in all the world would she want to walk around the city in the middle of winter? He hated the cold. He couldn't imagine anyone mad enough to want to walk around in it. But then again Kinomoto Sakura's a mad woman. Not to mention she was very angry when she left. It might take her a lot of time and cold weather to cool off… But does it honestly take three freaking hours to cool off? Who knows? He wasn't a woman.
Something could happen to her – or could've already. And who knows what she's capable of doing when she's mad? She might go and babble her cover to anyone who'd listen!
Syaoran paused.
She's probably doing that right this moment!
Aha! I got you now, Kinomoto Sakura! Trying to blow our cover… I'll teach you…
He pried open the door and stalked out of the hotel room to find her.
Not because he was worried, or because he thinks something horrible might happen to her (because she can take care of herself, he concluded), but because she could blow their cover!
He couldn't let that happen.
Syaoran stalked through the city, peering into stores and restaurants, looking for any sign of a girl with black hair. Too bad there were a lot of girls in school uniforms with black hair. Now if only she had her normal hair color it might be easier to spot her… Why do women have to be so difficult? Instead of storming off like that, couldn't she just lock herself in the bathroom? Or maybe just stay in the lobby of the hotel? Did she honestly have to go stomping through the city?
He figured the woman's going to give him a heart attack one of these days, no matter how young he is.
Close to an hour had gone by and the sun had already set. It was dark as Syaoran found himself dragging his feet into a park. The street lamps were going on one by one. It was less crowded in the city. He was probably the only one in the park. He sighed as he slumped on a bench, eyes closed and head tilted back. He had no luck in finding the female cop. She had probably returned to the hotel room while he was absent… if he was lucky, anyway, which so far, he hadn't been.
His ears twitched when catching the sound of something creaking. Syaoran opened his eyes and sat up straight, scanning the park. His gaze landed on the swings where he saw someone sitting, swinging gently, head bowed. And he realized, with a relieved sigh, that it was the woman he was looking for. Syaoran pushed himself up and walked on over. Sakura lifted her head when hearing footsteps and blinked when seeing a very angry Syaoran glaring at her.
He pointed at her accusingly. "Do you have any idea how long I have been looking for you!"
Sakura blinked again.
"I mean, honestly! Three hours you were gone and no word as to where you were going! And then I spend like, almost an hour looking for you! What were you doing this whole time anyway?"
"Walking around…?"
"Walking around! For FOUR HOURS? Woman! Next time walk around the hotel!" Syaoran snapped. He was tempted to grab his hair and pull it out, but restrained himself.
She stared at him speechless.
So he was worried about me this whole time…? Her lips tugged into a smirk.
"What're you smirking about?" Syaoran demanded.
Sakura stood up and adjusted her coat. "Oh, nothing… And I'm sorry for making you worry."
"Damn RIGHT you should be sorry!" he retorted haughtily, and then protested: "But who said anything about me being worried?"
"Nobody…" Sakura hummed. "And I'm also sorry for getting mad at you about Kaname. For all I know, he really could have framed me." She shrugged and started to walk.
Syaoran remained rooted to his spot.
Sakura looked at him from over her shoulder, an eyebrow raised. "Are you just going to stand there or what? I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."
He blinked, and then hastily jogged to catch up to her.
Women.
They're the biggest mystery in the world.
Syaoran couldn't understand how she could suddenly go from angry to okay in just… four hours. Well, four hours was a lot of time, but… still. One moment she was protesting that Kaname would never do such a thing… and the next she was agreeing with him?
He honestly didn't understand women.
Or Sakura in particular.
---
"You both know what to do, right?"
Sakura and Syaoran nodded to Meiling as they adjusted their earpieces.
"No screw ups…"
"We're not going to screw up," Syaoran said simply as he put his glasses on. Both him and Sakura were dressed their parts: Syaoran as Ji Liang, and Sakura as Ueda Masako.
"Be careful out there!" Takashi called from his seat. They were all situated in a van with monitor screens. They had set up video cameras in the building where the convention was taking place, and from there they could monitor what's going on, who goes in and who goes out, etc. Kuma and Dev were sitting at the front of the van (driver's and passenger's seats), and Takashi, Naoko, and Jamie were monitoring the screens. The others were back at the bar. Sakura and Syaoran nodded to them before they slipped out of the van and on to a corner two blocks away from where the convention was taking place. They waited until the van drove off before they started walking.
"Syaoran…"
"You know not to call me that out in public," he reprimanded.
She pursed her lips before correcting herself, "Ji-sensei… "
He turned his gaze on her and grinned (a rather cocky grin, mind you), "Yes, Masako-chan?"
Sakura eyed him before tilting her head up and closer to him as she kept her voice low, "I saw someone yesterday."
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow as he turned his head to look at her. Their faces were so close…
She nodded as she steered her lips closer to his ear, whispering, "Kaname."
He narrowed his eyes just as she pulled away and resumed a casual walking pace. "You didn't –"
"No, I didn't tell him it was me, if that's what you're wondering."
"…" Syaoran sighed before looking forward. "Why do you think he's here?"
Sakura shrugged. "No idea."
They decided not to think about it much as they joined the crowd of students entering the convention hall. Sakura kept close to Syaoran as she silently marveled the inside. The level they came upon was the second level and at the very center of the ceiling was a glass plane with kaleidoscope patterns. The building took on a circular shape with an opening at the center and railings surrounding it. People were scattered about to look at inventions some students or scientists had brought in. Banners hung from the ceilings, each banner with a mascot and the appropriate school name written in Kanji. Each banner represented a school that everyone was coming from all across Japan – and the world. The only other languages Sakura could determine being spoken in that building was Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean. Everything else sounded unfamiliar to her. But she didn't dwell on it as she scanned the crowd and murmured to Syaoran:
"So which one do you think is Sarutobi?"
"Mm… no idea," he answered lowly and pointedly bitted out: "It would have been helpful if Meiling or someone had showed us a picture of him."
"Oh hush, cousin," a small voice from their microscopic earpieces snapped. "Sarutobi has never showed his face in public before. This is his first appearance. Mingle with the crowd. I'm sure he'll make himself known eventually."
"Hai, hai," Syaoran replied flippantly.
They walked around the convention, noting police cops scattered around here and there. It was such a huge event that seeing a cop was a frequent thing in that building. Sakura and Syaoran decided to go downstairs where an open café court was open to everyone. More inventions were displayed downstairs, and it seemed like that was the area where everyone was gathered at. Sakura looked bored, to say the least. Science was never her favorite thing. Syaoran appeared fascinated by the inventions. She removed herself from him in order to get a drink from the café shop where she ordered herself a tall coffee. Ah coffee, she mused after her first sip. Such bliss. She was about to go back to Syaoran who was currently questioning a student about their invention when she spotted a familiar person in the crowd.
Sakura blinked when realizing that familiar person was Kaname. What was he doing there? He wasn't wearing his uniform. He was conversing with an older man, the older man appearing around his fifties with graying hair, spectacles, and light brown eyes. Sakura conveniently scooted a bit closer as she busied herself with her coffee, pretending to be engrossed with what a student was saying about their invention as she moved a bit closer to hear what Kaname and the man were saying, but before she could catch any of their conversation, Kaname and the older man exchanged hand shakes before splitting. Sakura turned around to see they were going and let out a 'hoe' when she bumped into Kaname… again.
"Aa… Gomen," she mumbled, bowing apologetically.
He was about to wave it off when he squinted at her. "You look familiar…"
"Eh… heh…" She pointedly avoided her gaze as she felt his lingering look.
"…I know!"
Sakura's heart started to beat wildly in her chest, nervousness creeping up on her. Does he know it's me…?"
"You're the girl I bumped in to on the street!"
Relief swept over her (and maybe a bit of disappointment).
"Hai…"
"What was your name again?" Kaname asked politely, smiling.
"Ueda Masako."
"Yamato Kaname, if you don't remember."
Sakura glanced up at him from over her cup as she took another sip from her coffee.
"You're a student, yes? What school do you come from?" Kaname asked curiously.
Her mind went blank momentarily but she was relieved when Syaoran came over and answered for her, "Osaka's All Girl High School." His voice was smooth, sharp and dry, and Sakura knew Syaoran didn't sound pleased to see Kaname.
"Aa…" Kaname smiled and held out a hand toward Syaoran. "I am Yamato Kaname."
Syaoran took his hand and shook hit stiffly. "Ji Liang. I am a professor at Ueda-san's school."
"I'm assuming your field is science?"
"Hn. Physiology and chemistry, to be precise."
"Aa! Just… out of curiosity, you don't… really look Japanese."
Syaoran smiled. "I am from Beijing."
"Well that makes sense. Are you here for Sarutobi's presentation?"
Syaoran nodded. "Yes. I am curious to see what he has to show us… and to see him in particular. He never makes public appearances."
Kaname nodded in agreement and was about to say something else when an announcement was made that the presentation was going to start in fifteen minutes, and for everyone to gather into the theater.
"Well, it was nice meeting you two." Kaname bowed to Syaoran and Sakura before leaving.
Sakura and Syaoran exchanged looks and then followed the crowd into the theater. Students, professors and visiting scientists came in and took their seats. At the bottom was a stage with a large overhead projector set up and a podium. Syaoran had bought popcorn and Sakura gave him a look when he was chewing loudly. She snatched the popcorn from him and he was about to protest when the lights when off and the only lights on were the ones emitting from the stage. Sakura slumped in her seat and popped popcorn into her mouth as the man that Kaname was talking to earlier walked out on to the stage and behind the podium. He adjusted the microphone before tapping it and clearing his throat.
"Welcome, everyone. I am Professor Sarutobi…"
Obviously, no one knew this man was Sarutobi until he presented himself, so after the momentary surprise, the theater erupted into a round of applause for this secretive man that kept himself hidden from prying eyes for so many years. Sakura's eyebrows rose. What was Kaname doing talking to Sarutobi?
She didn't think much about it as Sarutobi went ahead with his presentation. He didn't have a physical invention to show off, but with the overhead he showed his plans for an invention, if you could call it that. Sakura saw it as more of a creation. It was details and plans for what Sarutobi called the 'perfect humanoid' or 'perfect fighter.' Apparently by inserting certain chemicals into a person's body, they could adjust their stamina and strength and their senses. They could make a human superior to how humans are now; could make a human run greater distances, jump higher heights, stronger than ten men, quicker, faster, stealthier, smarter… Throughout the whole presentation, the audience remained awed and entranced by Sarutobi's presentation. Sakura glanced at Syaoran to see his expression unreadable, but his eyes narrowed the whole time.
After that, there was a loud round of applause from the students. To create a perfect humanoid was a feat that no one could accomplish. Many have tried, or wanted to try, but it seemed impossible until now. Sarutobi added at the end that no such experiments have ever been tried since an incident two decades ago, but all Syaoran could think when Sarutobi said that was: bullshit. Later on, other scientists came to introduce their own experiments, and Sakura closed her eyes to tune them out. She only came there to hear Sarutobi. And now that she did, she saw no point in listening anymore. She didn't understand much of what was going on, or why it was impertinent that they heard this, but she knew she would find out later after the convention.
"Wonderful presentation, Sarutobi-san," Sakura praised as her, Syaoran and several others came to talk to him.
"Why thank you." He smiled, clearly pleased. Sarutobi adjusted his glasses. "I don't believe I caught some of your names."
Sakura bowed. "I am Ueda Masako. I come from an all girls high school in Osaka."
"Ji Liang." Syaoran introduced himself, smiling.
"Aa! Professor Ji… I have heard some wonderful things about you." Sarutobi shook his hand animatedly. "Top professor in physiology and chemistry."
Syaoran's smile slightly widened.
"Ne… Professor Sarutobi, out of curiosity…" Sakura started. "How come you never made much public appearances?"
Sarutobi chuckled. "Because I kept myself locked up for so long trying to perfect this… perfect humanoid." He grinned as he pushed his spectacles up to the bridge of his nose since it was sliding down. "And it was better that way to keep myself hidden from the media."
Sakura nodded thoughtfully. "But why now?"
He gestured for them to follow him as they wandered around the convention building. "I have only just recently finished those details and outlines, and I wanted to show to the world that creating a perfect humanoid is possible. We are entering a new era, Ueda-san. Technology only continues to advance as days go by. Humans continue to advance."
"What do you wish to accomplish with this perfect humanoid?" Syaoran asked, eyebrow raised.
"A perfect fighting machine," Sarutobi answered. "And a way to increase human life expectancy and stamina. At the moment we don't have enough resources to make everyone into the perfect humanoid… resources are limited to one or several others. But with this perfect fighting machine… it could be of good use to the military."
"Does the military support you?"
Sarutobi nodded. "It is no secret that they do. They encourage this experiment."
"I see…"
"Sarutobi!"
They all looked over to see Kaname coming over. He glanced at Sakura and Syaoran and smiled at them before looking at Sarutobi and shaking his hand. "Excellent speech."
Sarutobi smiled. "Why thank you."
Sakura was going to ask something else when she bumped into someone, knocking the coffee over in her hand and causing it to spill on her jacket. "Hoe…!"
The person apologized over and over and Sakura made a dismissive gesture with her hand as the person offered her some napkins. She hastily started wiping the coffee stain off as she muttered things beneath her breath, not noticing the weird look Kaname was giving her. Sakura sighed and tossed her coffee cup into a nearby trash bin, along with the napkins. It was only when she came back that she noticed the strange look Kaname was giving her. Sakura blinked in bewilderment. "Nani?"
"…" He shook his head. "No… Nothing. You just… reminded me of someone." Kaname smiled.
Sakura blinked again before averting her gaze, trying not to look nervous. Syaoran quickly asked Sarutobi some questions and the two fell into a rather intellectual conversation that Kaname intervened into every now and then. Sakura made a note not to say anything at all, and to avoid Kaname's gaze. She pretended to be interested in other things such as that kid's robot that was currently hay wiring and going out of control… Sakura giggled at the sight before Syaoran said it was time for them to go. She smiled brightly at Sarutobi and Kaname and bid them goodbye before following Syaoran towards the exit.
An image of a auburn haired woman with emerald eyes beaming at him from across the dinner table at a restaurant popped into Kaname's mind, and before they could get very far, Kaname grabbed Sakura's wrist.
"Sakura?"
She froze.
He knew immediately that it was her.
Sakura cast him a glance before hastily pulling her wrist from him and hurrying out of the convention with 'Ji-sensei.'
"Sakura! Wait!"
And he knew for sure that it was her when her and the man started running. And Kaname knew as well that the man was Syaoran. He hastily summoned the authorities. "Get them! Li Syaoran is with her!"
There was some commotion as the cops started to run after Sakura and Syaoran.
"God damn it," Syaoran cursed beneath his breath as he pulled Sakura with him.
"Go to the park. We can't afford a high speed chase in this van. Try to lose them!" Meiling instructed from their ear pieces.
Syaoran and Sakura complied by rounding around a corner, Sakura tearing her jacket off and Syaoran tossing his glasses aside. They needed to change their appearance as much as possible. Sakura felt the cold wintry air bite at her the moment she pulled her jacket off, but it didn't bother her that much since they were running and trying to ditch the cops. They would glance over their shoulder every now and then to see how much distance was between them and the authorities. Sakura would stumble every now and then due to how fast Syaoran was running, not to mention the fact that he was holding her hand and practically dragging her. She picked up her pace though and managed to run along side him after without much difficulty. They made several twists and turns and ran down alley ways before they stopped between two buildings.
Sakura and Syaoran tossed their coats into the dumpster. They discarded their contacts and Sakura hastily pulled her hair up into two pig tails in an attempt to look different and maybe throw the cops off if they found them. Sakura was panting, her cheeks flushed from the cold and the adrenaline rush as she looked at Syaoran. Her hair was messy and her clothes crisp and in disarray. Her lips were parted as she panted, wisps and clouds of breath forming and dissolving in front of her. To say the least, the sight of her like that… made Syaoran want to do something he hadn't done since he was feverish.
"What now?" she asked breathlessly.
They could hear the running footsteps of their pursuers.
Think, Syaoran, think!
They were getting closer.
Syaoran did the only thing he could do.
He suddenly pinned Sakura against the wall as his lips came crashing down on hers. Her eyes widened as his tongue invaded her mouth and his hands came down and grasped her thighs, lifting her up a bit and pressing her more against the wall. She melted against him involuntarily as a hazy fog clouded her mind. Her eyes closed over and her arms went around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist as she all but kissed him back just as fervently. The cops ran over and came to an abrupt stop when seeing the two making out. All they saw were two students kissing, and they exchanged looks before hastily running off, deciding the two weren't the culprits they were chasing after.
Even when they left, Sakura and Syaoran didn't stop.
Her fingers raked through tousled black hair as his hands rubbed up and down her thighs, gripping her tightly, vaguely making her realize that there would be red streak marks on her legs after. But she didn't care. All she could concentrate on was how soft and wonderful Syaoran's lips felt, and how warm and hot his body was against hers, and that he was doing something wonderful with his tongue.
---
I'm in Heaven when you kiss me
Show me how you miss me
Take me with you back to Wonderland.
---
To be continued
YOSH. Updated. Finally, I know – I finally updated the day before I start school again, haha. Oh geez. I don't want to go to school…
Anyways… THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS. I was so excited to see that I have 300… 300 reviews that I know I don't deserve considering how long it takes me these days to update… but they make me happy. It's nice to know a lot of people are enjoying reading this. –pets everyone-
On another note: I love how my internet decided to stop working the moment I'm done with this chapter. And then it worked again but as soon as I uploaded the document to FFnet, it stops working... AGAIN. And to make matters worse... THE POWER DIES. -dies- And after the power came back... the 'net still wasn't working... ugh. You have no idea how much I hate this chapter now just because of all that. -scowls-
But anyway... just so you guys know... your reviews amuse me. So keep reviewing!
--FT
-walks off muttering-