Her Rising Saviour

Chapter Fourteen – Strength!

Two weeks had passed since Natsuo Hamada had made his grand entrance into the law firm, and Sakura hadn't seen him since. He had come on her days off, conveniently. She had a feeling that was Syaoran's doing, and although she was grateful for it, she was also a bit ticked about it. She wanted – needed – to prove to herself that she was strong and could handle her emotions about Natsuo. It was something she just needed to do.

Today, however, she knew that her test had presented itself.

When Syaoran brought them into the office, he seamed weary. Her first clue. And when she opened the planner on the computer, she realized that Natsuo had an early morning appointment with Syaoran scheduled.

Ten minutes before his appointment, as Sakura worked away at her computer, Natsuo Hamada appeared at her desk. He wore a large grin that would make anyone shudder and gag.

Sakura tried her best to smile, and somehow, it ended up looking genuine. "Good morning, Mr. Hamada. Mr. Li is just in his office. He's been waiting for you. I presume you know the way?"

Something flickered across Natsuo's eyes – surprise? Well, honestly, she appeared extremely calm. A complete contrast from the last time he saw her. But the glint quickly disappeared and he leaned across her desk, giving his infamous crooked grin.

"And if I said I didn't know, Sa-ku-ra?" He dragged out her name on each syllable.

Sakura gritted her teeth for a second, stopping herself from shuddering. She put on her sweet smile again. She knew he knew where Syaoran's office, since they had met there since Kenji had given Syaoran the case. She had only been doing her job by asking. But, she also knew she'd get in trouble if she turned him down if he claimed not to know where the office was, no matter how much the voice in her head screamed at her not to leave her desk.

She kept a smile on, "Do you not know where his office is then?"

Natsuo smirked, "No."

Sakura stood up and, pushing back the warning voices in her head, she left her desk. She forced her smile not to waver, "Please follow me, Mr. Hamada."

Natsuo nodded, still smiling sickly as he began to follow her down the hall.

b.K.d

Syaoran looked up to a knock on his door. Papers of the Hamada-Sasaki case was spread across his desk.

"Hey," said Eriol, a serious look on his face. "Can I speak to you for a sec?"

Syaoran looked down at his watc h and sighed, "Quickly. The bastard is supposed to be in in ten minutes."

Eriol nodded, stepped in and closed the door. He went to Syaoran's desk, refusing to take a seat in one of the two comfy seats in front of the desk. "Listen, I've been thinking..." he took a deep breath. "I've been thinking to use Sakura in the case, as a witness."

Syaoran felt himself stiffen. "I'm not sure she'd be okay with that..."

"Hear me out first," Eriol pleaded. "I've spent almost three weeks trying to get Rika to talk to me about her and Hamada's relationship. Last night, I finally got her to open up. She kept claiming that they were in love and he was the sweetest...well, anyway, her story was bull. So her boyfriend – the doctor – came in with her last night, and she opened up with him there. He practically forced himself onto her their first time, but it wasn't nearly as bad as with Sakura. She bought his BS-filled story about him loving her and only wanting all of her."

"But she stayed with him," Syaoran clarified. "That's a big difference between her and Sakura."

"Yes, but," he continued, "Hamada practically raped her their last time together. I asked Dr. Terada to check her health records, and it says that nearly nine months ago, she had to switched birth-control prescriptions. It takes a while for the body to adjust to the new prescription. With the kind she switched from, it takes two weeks. She told Hamada this, and two days later he went after her. She warned him, and he basically told her 'fuck it' and continued. And the rest you know."

"He left her as soon as he found out that she was pregnant," Syaoran nodded. He sighed angrily and ran a shaky hand through his hair. "So, basically, you want Sakura because you have a witness of a previous rape..."

"He doesn't have a rape-record," Eriol told him, though Syaoran already knew. "And neither woman has any medical records as evidence of their rapes. But," he looked away somewhat nervously, "Tomoyo has pictures of Sakura after the rape..."

"What?!" Syaoran nearly jumped out of his seat. "Does Sakura know of this?!"

Eriol seemed almost ashamed, "No, she doesn't. Sakura, as you know, refused to go to the hospital. When Hamada fell asleep, Sakura ran to Tomoyo's house. While asleep, Tomoyo carefully took photos of her bruises. It's enough evidence of abuse."

"I can't believe you'd keep that from her," Syaoran sighed loudly, shocked, and fell back into his chair. "But I can understand why you'd do that. And why you need Sakura to be a witness and prosecute against him."

"Will you talk to her then?" Eriol asked, hopeful.

Syaoran sighed and ran a hand through his hair nervously again. "Yeah..." he paused and looked down at his wrist to his watch. He frowned, "Where is he? He was supposed to be here five minutes ago. He hasn't been late before..."

All the sudden, he stopped. He felt himself grow cold as his eyes shot up to Eriol in a panic. Eriol seemed to understand and his nostrils flared, "Is Sakura working today?"

b.K.d

Sakura hated the way the hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she could feel Natsuo's gaze on her. It was unnerving. She was clenching and unclenching her cold, sweaty fists. When she turned the corner to Syaoran's corridor, she nearly sighed out loud in relief.

It was then, however, when she put her guard down that a hand grabbed hers and tugged her back. Before she could scream, her eyes wide and panicked, his other hand clasped over her mouth.

"Hush," he whispered into her ear. She whimpered.

He dragged them into the closest office – emptied – and locked the door behind him. Right away, he pinned her to the wall and pressed himself to her, holding her wrists down against the wall above her as he began runnin g his nose along her jaw, neck, shoulder...

Sakura whimpered again, her hands in tight fists. She could feel her fingernails digging into the skin of her palm.

"L-Let me go," she demanded. No matter how hard she tried not to, he voice still wavered.

Natsuo chuckled against her skin. He moved her hands so that he could wrap one of his hands around both of her wrists, holding them above her head. He began running his hand down her blouse covered stomach.

"Natsuo," her voice was a bit stronger. "Natsuo, let go of me before I call security."

"Does he love you?" He asked roughly. He gently bit down onto her neck and she squirmed. "Or does he merely lust for you? Didn't I warn you that women like you cannot be loved...just lust for? Didn't I?"

"Stop it!" She told him, her voice surprisingly stern.

His hand tugged the blouse out from her skirt, and his hand inched up over the skin of her stomach. Suddenly, he stopped and stiffened. He jumped back, wide eyed. He looked down from her face to her stomach, and then back up. The blouse she wore was baggy, hiding her stomach. Hiding her growing baby bump...

"Y-You're pregnant?" He asked, shocked.

Sakura's eyes were blazing. She was not the same, push-over girl from his past. She knew she was stronger. She kept his gaze locked as she tucked back in her shirt and rubbed her sore wrists.

"I'm married," she told him sternly, coldly. Of course, he didn't need to know when she got pregnant in hindsight to her wedding. "I'm pretty sure that means I'm allowed to get pregnant."

And then, his eyes glazed over. And Sakura immediately recognized the look of lust glowing in his dark eyes. She stood her ground firmly, waiting.

"Fuck," her mumbled loud enough for her to hear. "Fuck, that's hot."

At first, Sakura was completely confused. If it was so 'hot', then why the hell did he leave Rika? She scoffed, quickly coming to the appropriate conclusion; she was pregnant with his child, and that created responsibility. It wasn't – thank GOD! – his child nestled inside Sakura's body.

Suddenly, he made a move toward her, but she was ready. She pulled back her hand and slapped him, hard, across the face. There wasn't a lot of force behind it, but enough to surprise him and stop him in his tracks. His head snapped from shock. He grabbed his face and faced her eyes, wide eyed.

Her hand remained poised in the air, ready to strike again. She held his gaze. "I am not the same girl you ruined all those years ago. You stay away from me. Away from me, my husband, my family, and my friends. You got that? Stay away!"

Natsuo was still rubbing his cheek in comfort when the door swung open. Sakura's head snapped toward the door to see Eriol looking back at her, the look of relief settling in his face.

"Sakura," he breathe d out the breath he had obviously been holding. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, her legs suddenly shaking. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He gave a quick glare to Natsuo, who was still too stunned to speak, before stretching out his hand for her. Sakura quickly took Eriol's hand, letting him pull her to him. He held her close, protectively, as he walked her down the hall.

"Sakura!" She heard Syaoran's voice call.

She and Eriol stopped to see him rushing down the hall toward them, his face paled with worry. He stopped in front of them and immediately wrenched her away from Eriol, pulling her to him. He began raining kisses along her hairline.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," he chanted between kisses, squeezing her closer. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you ? Why the hell did you leave you desk?!"

"I'm fine," she promised and gently pulled away. "He didn't do...much," she wanted to say he didn't do anything just to make sure he didn't worry, but knew she'd be caught in her lie. She saw the look of concern sketch deeper into his forehead. She leaned up on her tip-toes and kissed his forehead, trying to rid the worry-lines. "I'm fine, Syaoran. Honestly. You should get into the meeting with him."

"Are you nuts?!" He demanded. "I'm not leaving you right now – !"

"Yes, you are," she pulled away and winked. "I held my own, don't worry."

Syaoran gave her a confused look. "Huh...?"

She giggled softly, hiding the scared tremor from nearly being raped again run through her body. "You'll see."

Syaoran opened his mouth to protest, but Eriol stepped forward and wrapped a friendly hand around Sakura's shoulders. He looked straight ahead to Syaoran. "Don't worry, I'll watch her for you. Nothing can happen while you're in the meeting, anyway. Besides," he paused and gave a meaningful look. "I'd like to speak to Sakura, if you don't mind."

Syaoran seemed almost hesitant, but he finally sighed loudly and nodded. He leaned forward and kissed Sakura briefly. "We're still going out for lunch, got it?"

"Yes, sir," Sakura saluted mockingly. "And please," she kissed his cheek and then caressed the spot softly, "please don't let him get to you."

He swallowed, not wanting to promise such a stupid thing, but nodded anyway. "Okay."

She smiled and let go, then let Eriol lead her down the hall a bit to his own office.

Syaoran watched her turn down the corner, then turned his flame filled glare toward the office he had watched Sakura and Eriol exit from. Sure enough, seconds later Natsuo stumbled out. The look of stun and shock across his face.

Syaoran opened his mouth to ream him a new one, when he caught sight of his cheek. He smirked, stifling a laugh.

There was a large, red hand print across his cheek, and Syaoran knew exactly who left it there.

b.K.d

Eriol kept a friendly hand on the small of Sakura's back, gently guiding her to his office. Once inside, he closed the door and directed her in one of the two large, comfy burgundy-leather chairs in front of his desk. She sat, but instead of him taking the seat on the opposite side of the desk, he sat down beside her in the matching chair to the one she sat in. He reached for her hand and ignored her confused frown.

"First, how do you feel?" He asked seriously. He moved his other hand to hover over her stomach and looked up to her eyes to ask permission. She gave one jerk of a nod and he gently placed his hand on her slightly bulging stomach. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine," she answered honestly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"That was quite an episode with Hamada, Sakura," Eriol began cautiously. "I...I wasn't sure if it could have been too stressful on you."

Sakura got hint of what he meant and jumped to her feet, knocking back the chair a few inches. Her hands flew to her stomach, her skin pale and cold. "Y-Y-You think that the baby...?"

Eriol jumped up as well and gently grabbed her hands, shaking his head, "No, you would know if you miscarried. If you feel fine, then you're fine. But, just make sure to tell Syaoran if anything changes. I don't know too much about pregnancy myself..."

Sakura sighed in relief, still a bit shook up as she allowed Eriol to gently push her back into her chair. She sat back down, her hands still on her stomach protectively. She heard Eriol sigh loudly, and looked up to see his eyebrows hitched close together as if in deep thought.

She frowned knowingly, "There's something else, isn't there?"

Eriol nodded with another sigh, "Sakura, there's something I have to ask of you...and I know you won't like it, but I need you to seriously consider it." All Sakura could do was nod, and so he continued cautiously. "As you know, I'm in charge of Rika's case. And though I can't go into great details with you about it, Hamada seems to have left quite an impact on her, some of which you can relate to."

Sakura's eyes widened in recognition, He...He raped her?!"

"In the eyes of the law, yes," Eriol sighed angrily. "In her eyes...no. But, if she'll allow it, it will hold up in court as rape. But, he has no recorded past or rape or abuse, and she has no evidence of it by this time. All we have is one young woman's word. So I was thinking, if we could use you as a witness, since you were in a similar position, and there's evidence..."

"Wait," Sakura stopped him, anger flashing in her eyes momentarily. "What do you mean you have evidence? How? I didn't even go to the hospital."

Eriol tinged pink, either from shame or embarrassment. "Um, Tomoyo took photos of the outside physical harm, like the bruising and everything, while you were asleep."

"What?!" Sakura shot up from her seat again, anger flamed in her vibrant emerald eyes. "How dare she?! She had no right!"

"Calm down, Sakura," Eriol pleaded. "She didn't do it to anger you. She did it in case you ever decided to bring the bast – err, Hamada – to court."

"She had no right!" Sakura repeated herself.

"Please," Eriol begged softly, "don't be mad at her. She was honestly just looking out for you. She truly loves you..."

Sakura looked at him in the eyes for a long moment, watching as his eyes begged and plead with her. She could see that they didn't mean harm, that they were looking out for her. But somehow, she still felt violated. She sighed softly and closed her eyes, unable to look into his eyes any longer.

"Does Syaoran know of this?" She asked softly.

"Yes," Eriol whispered back.

There was another long moment of silence, and then... "Fine," she sighed, "I'll...I'll do it. I'll testify against him, for Rika's sake."

"Thank you," Eriol said sincerely, a small smile across his lips. "I know this must be difficult for you – "

Suddenly, the door swung open and in stepped Syaoran, his eyes wide with emotions and his breathing harsh.

Sakura took a step toward him, panic seizing her body. What happened? What was wrong? These and so many thoughts swam through her mind as she took in Syaoran's presence.

"Syaoran, what's going – ?" She began, her heart racing a mile a minute.

"Yoshiyuki Terada just called me. Rika's in the hospital."

Author's Note: Dedicated to "Meiling"-chan (swallowingtears) and "Tomoyo"-chan of the ECRS, and my beta xXShining ShadowXx. I would be lost without all of you. Thank you for just being there for me and letting me rant LOL...you girls are truly awesome and amazing and...honestly, I'd be lost without you. Love you girls!!! Remember that I'm here for you, too.

Thanks to my awesome beta, Shadow-chan. You rock!! Beta-ing in less than 24 hours! WHOOT!

Thanks for the review everyone...they're awesome! Keep sending them in, please! Please please pleeeeease!!!

XOX, Riva

Next Chappie.... Rika's in the hospital?!?! Tis all I shall say ^.-