WOLVES REIGN
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE: Cannonball
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April 3, 2012
Kyoto Precinct, Japan
Midnight
Detective Sheldon easily slipped into her coat before tiredly fixing her bag on her shoulder. The days were getting longer and the hours shorter. It was maddening. Making sure she had everything for a long day ahead of her tomorrow, she looked up in the direction of the office and frowned. The light was on, glowing underneath the doorframe. Her partner, Detective Luc, was in there with the blinds shut. She could see his silhouette crossing the large glass windows, tall frame hunched over. Shaking her head, she closed her coat around her body and headed for the elevators. She wasn't in the mood. Between the failed interviews and failed arrests, her migraine was getting bigger. The amount of stress trying to keep up with her partner was enough to put her in the hospital for weeks. All she wanted now was expensive wine and pizza.
Pressing the down button a couple times to hard, she rubbed at her face and turned around. The entire precinct was dark, only a few lights humming from the emergency door and exit signs. Pressing the button a few more times, she waiting impatiently with a tap of her foot. Something inside of her tightened and she glanced back at the shared office, staring at the light glowing form behind closed blinds. This time Luc's silhouette was missing, hidden behind the door or too far from the windows to cast a shadow. As the elevator dinged, admitting her to enter, she heaved out a strangled sigh and crossed the room. His persistence to find a clue was a thorn in her side. Her week at the hospital just became a month in rehab. Forcing her bag higher up on her shoulder, she forced the door open and stared at her partner as he leaned against air and stared hard at a white board.
He didn't notice her. His gaze glued to the evidence on the board. She looked at the board frown deepening, forcing the ache in her temple to travel to her forebrain. "What are you doing?" she asked, surprising him into a twitch.
"I got to thinking." Was all he said; Sheldon raised a brow as she crossed her arms.
She counted in her head when he didn't say anymore. "About…" she prodded. Luc gave her a sidelong look before jerking his thumb at the board. He'd changed it—again—placing clippings of the recent store incidents with lines leading underneath them. Sheldon closed her eyes and took a deep breath, opening her eyes again. It was still there. "Where's our other evidence?"
"What?" Luc blinked, the dark circles under his eyes following his action. "On the other side of the board," he commented as if she should have known that. Once again she took a deep breath, counting in her head to not explode.
"O-oka-ay…so what about this has you thinking like a mad scientist?"
"Shang,"
"Shang." Sheldon glanced at her watch tiredly. Two past midnight, she wanted to go home and sleep after a bowl of chocolate ice cream, not listen to crazy theories. Wine, ice cream, pizza…she just wanted to go home. "His establishment was ruled out. He doesn't care about his office going up in smokes, his daughter said so herself."
"Right," Luc taped the board. "Then it's Biwa docks, which ironically used to be owned by both Wolf Chang Li and Wraith Cobra. What I don't understand is how some kids let loose a couple of illegal fireworks and not leave the casings behind. Stupid teenagers equal sloppy clean-ups."
"Detective go home." Sheldon rubbed her face.
"What was the next explosion, Sheldon?" he asked, ignoring her.
"Building wise or just in general?" she asked to spite him. Luc gave her a pointed look, not buying her stubbornness. Tired, she waved her hand at the board. "Li's,"
"Two known bodies, plus a handful in the hospital, including Miss Li herself." Luc placed another clipping under a magnet, just above the restaurant. "Cobra's club, that one establishment downtown didn't go in flames, but we had four bodies."
"Luc—."
"Let's say they retaliated, went after the Li's. Kabuki's restaurant goes up in flames. Now, the Li's retaliate and Toki's goes up in flames. Five bodies were found today." There was a pregnant pause, one that had the hairs on the back of Sheldon's neck rise. Her blue eyes widened as she realized his crazy theory was making sense.
"The next target would be a Li," she caught on quickly. Luc smiled, satisfied he had her attention now. "How does your third party fit into this though?" she asked out of spite.
"Shang,"
"What?"
"We only know about Cobra and Li with their friends backing them up. What if Shang has an organization out here we don't know about because they're fueling both these parties?"
"Make sense, if you're a crazy detective that hasn't slept in over twenty-six hours." Sheldon ran a hand over her face as she yawned. "Go home, we'll deal with this tomorrow." Even as she said that she knew he wouldn't listen, his posture was stiff as he stared back at the board. Sighing heavily, she put her bag down and removed her coat, getting ready for another over-time shift.
Okayama, Japan
2:57 A.M.
A thin mist began to roll in, dampening everything in its wake. The city of Okayama was quiet. No car passed over the highway eye distance away. A cricket softly chirped a tune for its mate, hidden amongst the darkness being swept away by the early morning dew. Sakura leaned against the bridge railing, staring down at the dark river below. The water was flowing easy—calm—unlike her. An eerie plop of water echoed up from the water just beneath the bridge; a fish making its way up to the surface in search of flies. She watched the rivulet's grow in size, transfixed on the circular motion of the water as the fish beneath the surface disappeared. If only she could disappear too, she thought absently.
She'd left her house again, leaving Syaoran vulnerable and alone in her room. After the dinner party he had remained up in her room, fever spiked to almost critical, and body aching from every wound he harbored. No one asked questions, but she knew they were all concerned. At least her father didn't ask why he never came back down. A part of her felt guilty, especially since she didn't tell him she was leaving. The other part of her knew if she had told him, he'd insist on coming along. She couldn't have that. She needed to talk to Heinz alone and get a straight answer. That wouldn't happen if she had Syaoran at her side. Pushing away from the bridge, she flipped around and leaned her back side against it. Tomoyo was sitting against the car's hood, using the warmth of the engine to keep her from the cold night.
Her gaze was on her bright screen, left hand typing away while the other hid inside her jacket. Tomoyo had a content look on her face, eyes bright and hooded by her bangs. Sakura couldn't help but smile. In her absence, her best friend managed to find her first love. She was sorry she missed that, but she was ecstatic for Tomoyo and Eriol. She was ecstatic for all of her friends having found someone. For the longest time it had only been Chiharu and Takashi, while they dated other people for short periods of time. Tomoyo had been one of the only friends from their group that never really dated people. Her dream was to become a fashionista, design clothes and watch her own line walk across the podium on top models. She knew Tomoyo wanted to go even further than that and become CEO of a clothesline. Could it happen now? Sakura really hoped so. Everyone had some kind of dream, they were all bound to achieve those.
"There," Isabella said, waking her up from her reverie. Sakura straightened, staring at the darkness as a black Mercedes came to a stop across the rickety bridge she stood on. Isabella slowly moved to stand next to Sakura, followed by Tomoyo as she pocketed her phone out of sight.
Her heart began to thunder against her chest and ears as four individuals came out of the vehicle, all wearing white masks that were bright against the dark night. She should have known he wouldn't reveal his face, she'd almost forgotten about those Noe Masks. Tomoyo stepped closer to Sakura and she smiled weakly, reassuring her that everything was fine. Tomoyo had never encountered Heinz that much was obvious as her friend dug her arms into her jacket pockets and watched as the masked people came to surround them like predators. Sakura observed them all, trying to figure out who was who under the mask. They were all slender with black pants and converse. The cross-necklace that normally hung on Heinz, hung on them all like a weight. As they surrounded them evenly, placing the girls with their backs against the river and the only opening between the masked individuals, Sakura caught sight of two tensed figures.
Isabella saw it as well as she stiffened, hand itching towards her back for a weapon. "You're not alone." came the muffled voice echoing from all four masks. Sakura made a face, wondering which mask held Heinz. Her gaze went to her right, watching the lax stance of one of the individuals as they stood against the night.
"You made me drive two hours away from my house. Yeah. I'm not alone. You aren't either, fair to me." She commented coldly, eyes moving towards another.
"Sakura…" Tomoyo whispered when someone twitched to the far left.
She touched Tomoyo's hand lightly, moving away from her. If they were going to attack, she didn't want Tomoyo getting hurt. A sudden thought came to mind as she moved to the last person, was Milay and Lane one of them? Was that why only two of them were tensed and not the other two? "Tell me, is it true?" she started as she took another step away from Tomoyo. "What they're saying you did?"
"I don't know what you mean." Someone spoke. She knew it wasn't him that spoke, could easily pin point the lackey that spoke for him. It wasn't feminine nor was it masculine. Sakura examined the masked people in front of her, trying to find him.
"Sera was hurt because of you, right?"
"No." there…Sakura whipped her head to the tensed individual at the far left. Isabella stiffened, hand against her back but never drawing her weapon.
"Then Ryu is still missing because of you."
"Sakura what are you doing?" Isabella hissed. Wind picked up, bringing her bleached-white hair to whip around her like a ghost.
"I don't know what you mean, Miss Sakura," Was the reply in a calm voice. Their heads shifted, bodies tensing. It was as if they wanted to give her the clue to where Heinz was and not at the same time. She was treading over dangerous waters as she watched them all. "Why did you come here tonight if you're going to accuse me of something that was out of my hands?"
"I have to accuse someone don't I? Why not you." She pointed at the one in front of her, sure it was him underneath. They acted fast, moving to spread out and circle them tightly. Isabella hissed, the sound strange. Tomoyo made no sound as she stepped closer to Isabella for guidance. "Come on Heinz. You asked me to come tonight. Why, if it's not to apologize for your freakish game?"
"You are angry. Maybe tonight is not a good night to converse." The one on the right spoke. Sakura narrowed her gaze. The necklace dangling against their chest was silver and raw looking, as if the chain had gone through hell before being placed over their neck. It wasn't Heinz.
"You wanted me here. You wanted to talk. Well I'm here, so talk!" she aimed her anger at the individual in front of her, squinting as she tried to find their eyes. "Face to face, I'm not playing your game tonight."
"Who's to say I'm here or not?" they all said at once, making it hard to pick out the voices.
"Me," Sakura changed positions, searching. "I'm not happy with you, asswipe." Her gaze went to another person, before returning to the one closer to her. "My friend is hurt because you chose to play a game with Cobra. Syaoran is hurt because you played your fucking game. I can't trust you if you're going to allow the people around me to get hurt."
"You're not supposed to trust me." Two voices said, leaving two out.
A gun came up as she got to close to the stranger and she narrowed her gaze, body shaking from the cold and the quickening of her adrenaline. "You're under there." She whispered so only they heard.
"Your friends got hurt, not because of me, but because of little wolf."
"Don't you dare pin the blame on him, it was you! You separated that damn statue, you allowed the Sister's—whoever the fuck they are—to take something that didn't belong to them! You!" three weapons trained on Sakura and she stiffened, face frozen from the wind whipping around her like glue.
"Sakura…" Tomoyo got out and froze as a gun came up to aim at her. Sakura heard the click of the safety come off and she turned awkwardly, teeth grinding.
"Heinz just give her what she wants." Isabella got out as she stepped in front of Tomoyo, protecting her.
"What is that you want, Miss Sakura?" four voices spoke.
"For you to man up and stop playing this godforsaken game!" Sakura shouted. Every emotion from earlier came surfacing in a cloud of denial. Sakura clenched her jaw as she tried searching the eyes for his. She knew she found him by the way they held themselves from the rest, by the way the necklace was silver with no damage to the chain. "You owe me that much." She got out in a low voice.
He had her by the neck in a second too fast for her to catch, forcing her body backwards until they hit the wooden railing. Sakura bit her tongue, staying silent as she stared up at the mask. The force of their body and Sakura's snapped a bit of wood and a tear sprung to her eyes. Isabella shouted, getting silenced immediately as a gun clicked warningly.
"You are very confident that I won't hurt you." Two voices further away commented, allowing the night to carrying away the sound.
"Because it's you under the mask." She got out tightly, gasping as the hand tightened. Something along her back cracked, the weight of the stranger pressing into her as they leaned further over the railing made one more piece of wood splinter. The water felt cool as it flowed a hundred feet down, silent and unaware of the human fighting for her life. "I won't play nice until you do." She managed to get out.
"I am playing nice, Miss Sakura. It's you that thinks the world now revolves around you, despite the dangers lurking."
"Doesn't it though." She hissed out. "Isn't that what you wanted? For me to gain respect—strength—over Ceil Shang. She's playing the world like a fiddle. Taking out assets important to you."
"I have assets everywhere. Why would I care if she takes more?" three voices spoke. The one holding her was silent, face too close for her to examine who was underneath. Sakura stared through the black dots forming in her vision, trying to make out what was real and what was the sky. She was slowly losing what breath she had left, could barely hear sound over the thundering beat of her heart in her ears.
"Because…she hurt your…sister." Sakura whispered, eyes slowly closing. She couldn't breathe.
They leaned forward, mask cold against her face. "Too clever," came the muffled whisper. Something cold touched her neck and she felt her body run cold. In one movement he released her, allowing the air to rush back into her system. A gloved hand went up, weapons lowering. Sakura leaned against the ground, sucking in as much air as she can without coughing. Her fingers touched the necklace he managed to get around her, feeling the cold material as if it were acid. Isabella stood her ground as she stared at them in confusion. Tomoyo ran to Sakura's side, hand on her arm as she checked to make sure she was alright.
"I knew there was a reason why I like you, Miss Sakura." The four voices spoke, all turning as one. "You are wrong, however, about why your friends got hurt. Cobra chose Miss Tsukino simply because her boyfriend took something of his a long time ago. The payment was paid in full. The vial was the tip of the iceberg." He started to walk away and stopped. The one figure turned and studied Sakura as she got to her feet. "Finding out my secrets will only danger you. Tread carefully."
It was a dream as they filed into the car, disappearing into the night. Sakura stared at nothing her head swimming with his warning. It was only a rumor Rin had told her about, she didn't think it was true, she didn't even mean to let it out like that either. Heinz had a dead sister that Shang took away from him. It proved so much and more. Tomoyo looked away from the darkness, finding Sakura's gaze as they slowly stood up.
"Are you okay?" Isabella asked as she kicked at a rock, stepping closer to them.
"No, but I'll survive." Sakura made the necklace disappear under her clothes before looking up.
"Good." Isabella came at her, separating Tomoyo from her friend easily as she attacked. Sakura blocked her blow, shoving her back easily enough before Isabella came at her again fire in her eyes. "What the fuck is going on in that head of yours!? He doesn't care if I'm on his team! He doesn't care if she's innocent! Being stupid like that is going to get you killed, get the ones you loved killed!"
"I had to figure out something!" Sakura yelled back.
"Oh sure. Place us in the line of fire." Isabella paced. Sakura followed her as she took the four steps and whipped back around, muttering under her breath about noobs and masks. Finally, she came to a halt whirling around to face her. "Figure what out?"
"Don't worry about it. I got my answer." She stared out at the river for a solid minute before returning to the car. "Let's go before I get in trouble for sneaking out."
"You're twenty-five years old."
"Tell me about it."
Isabella stared at her as she headed for the mustang. Tomoyo shrugged her shoulders when her gaze went to her. Sakura ignored them both as she slid into the passenger's side, letting the door slam shut with a snap. The darkness caved in on her like a cloak, her heart racing from adrenaline, misperception, and malice. So many emotions clouded her perception as the back door opened and closed, the car moving from the weight as Isabella climbed into the driver's seat a moment later. Tomoyo's phone lit up the vehicle, face reflecting back from the rear mirror and side windows. Closing her eyes, Sakura sucked in a couple deep breathes before letting it out in a long stream. The car rumbled to a roar, gears shifting beneath her feet as Isabella skidding forward in rush. No one moved to switch on the music this time, the silence weighing on them like leeches sucking the last of their energy from their souls.
Isabella was angry, that much was obvious. Sakura didn't blame her and knew she was right about Heinz shooting her—he would have done it. No one was hurt though, that's all that mattered. Sakura touched the necklace hiding beneath her clothes, opening her eyes to stare at the darkness covering the city. She could feel the cross shape pressing against her skin, could feel the cold metal as it shifted just between her breasts as Isabella made a sharp turn onto the highway. That was all Heinz wanted tonight, to give her a part of him, and she shot him down like a knife. She needed to apologize or thank him, whatever was easier. The rumor she got from Rin was going to be the dividing mark between them now. He had a weird infatuation with her and she knew from experience he wasn't going to hurt her, but telling him that she knew—that his secret was no longer a secret—it was like driving a knife into his back and leaving it there. Why did she even tell him that she knew?
Sakura stared at the empty highway, wishing there was at least one car. The darkness was creating a void inside of her that she couldn't shake off. Tomoyo's phone buzzed as she conversed with Eriol, her small noise of appreciation making the silent vehicle awkward. Isabella grunted when she hit a pothole, the mustang vibrating threateningly for a short second, her hands moving to change gears to compensate for the mistake. Pulling her own phone out, Sakura stared at the blank screen. There was no messages, no phone calls. It was almost like she never faked her death. Everyone was treating her the same, like she never left. Before she had messages crowding her system and now—nothing. She didn't know whether to be calm about that or nerved. She was gone for nearly two months, the least they can do was give her more of a welcoming committee. Sakura couldn't help but close her eyes again, feeling the first hints of tears.
Between losing her place in her friend's circle, Syaoran's fatal injury, and Heinz, she was beginning to lose her composure. Jonathan wasn't even happy to see her, not that she blamed him either. She killed his friend, his comrade in one fatal blow and left the scene like she wasn't even there. She had raided the restaurant and tore up the place in search of her friends, friends she barely knew, yet still held them close to her heart. Why? Nothing was making sense anymore. Isabella slowed the car steadily, the gears grinding as she lost her footing. Sakura opened her eyes just as the car came to an idling stop.
"Umm…Kinomoto, this is your street, right?" Isabella asked breaking the silence. Sakura frowned, taking in the blue and red lights glowing up the street. Nothing registered in her mind until she realized what blue and red meant. Immediately she sat up in a flash, blinking in wonder. She had to be mistaken, there was no way authority was in front of her house. "What do you want me to do?" Isabella asked carefully.
"Park here." An officer turned her way just as the car pulled to the curb, lights going out the moment the car engine rumbled to a halt.
"Sakura, that's Syaoran in the ambulance." Tomoyo said and pointed over the seat. Sakura had the door opened and body out of the car before either girl could react.
"Hey!" Isabella climbed out, tripping over her own feet as she grabbed the keys awkwardly.
Sakura ran, ignoring the sudden pain enveloping her hip. She wasn't supposed to put this much pressure on herself, on her not-yet-healed hip. She dodged underneath an officer trying to stop her and leaped over a cone. "Syaoran!" he lifted his head up just as an officer snagged her around the waist, body flying as she was pulled back. "I live here!" she shrilled.
The officer let her go and she stumbled from the lack of stability, nearly falling into the ambulance door frame. "Hey," Syaoran flinched as the medical team stitched him up.
"What the fuck!?" he shook his head slowly, lips curling up at her choice of her words. Sakura frowned just as an officer and her dad walked over to them. She felt her stomach tighten at her father's pale face. His eyes were wide, glasses sitting crookedly on his face. He was in his black and red floral robe her grandmother got him one year, claiming it suited him now that his daughter was too old for him to walk in his boxers.
"Sakura where have you been?" he asked, arms out. She hugged him tightly, ignoring the unease in the pit of her stomach. Isabella and Tomoyo came up, ignoring the looks the officers were giving them.
"I—,"
"It's my fault Mr. Kinomoto. I was lonely so I called Sakura." Tomoyo said quickly. Isabella hung back, eyes sharp as she surveyed the area. Sakura caught the look she exchanged with Syaoran, wondering why she hadn't learned that silent speech yet.
"I haven't been gone that long. What…?" Sakura started, ignoring Isabella's sour face as she walked around the lawn to the driveway.
"Someone broke in through the back. Syaoran…" Fujitaka glanced towards him and away. "Syaoran was stabbed trying to stop the man." Sakura was staring at Syaoran now, eyes large as saucers. He made one quick movement with his head, telling her otherwise. The wound the medical team was patching up was the same wound he received from Cobra, not a new one. She made a face in thought, Kaho was going to be pissed. "Sakura why did you run out like that? We were searching for you. I thought…"
"I'm sorry. Did you get the guy that broke in?" Sakura said hurriedly.
"According to Mr. Li here, the individual was wearing all black and escaped just as we pulled up. Your father called the cops when he heard the commotion and couldn't find you." The police officer spoke. He eyed Syaoran just as the medic pulled away. "A stab wound like that, you're lucky to be alive son." He commented suspiciously.
Syaoran said nothing, merely nodded his head. Getting down off the gurney, he weakly held onto the door frame. Sakura went to his side, hugging him gently and holding him up with enough strength to fall over. His skin was hot to the point of scorching her own even with the cold wind blowing around them. "Are you okay?" she whispered to him.
"I'm fine." Syaoran said just as low, kissing the top of her head weakly.
"We confiscated most of the kitchen knives, but none of them resemble the size of your wound." the officer continued, directing his statement to Syaoran. Sakura knew he was suspicious and could see the man assess the wolf's head visible to the world. Her father did as well, his gaze soft as he took in Syaoran with new eyes. "We don't believe whoever came in stabbed you with a nearby object, so it's possible he was prepared with their own weapon. Are you sure you couldn't see the face? We could have a sketch artist speak with you."
"No," Syaoran got out. "I didn't see a face. Whoever did it was sloppy though."
"Sloppy…?" the officer was taken aback as Isabella caught the message.
"Officer," the medic came around with a clipboard, shutting the ambulance door. "Apologies I know you need to ask questions, but his temperature is ranging close to 103. He needs to lie down now." realizing Sakura was under Syaoran's arm, he raised both brows. "How are you holding him? His skin was like lava when I was bandaging him up?"
Sakura ignored the question, meeting Isabella's gaze and mouthing something to her. She nodded, coming into view from the darkness. "Come on, Tomoyo. I'll take you home." her smile was large even if here gaze was sharp. She knew and understood what happened tonight even if no one said it. Someone attacked for a reason. Fujitaka watched the two girls leave silently, Tomoyo already on her phone, relaying the message to Eriol.
His gaze went to Sakura's after that and she quickly looked away, tugging on Syaoran to start moving to the house. Opening his mouth he was intercepted by the officer as he took him aside to answer a few more questions. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as the two of them started walking back to the house slowly. Little by little the swarm of officers began to leave her house and circle on her porch, drive way, and lawn in order to converse. She was sure they were talking about anything other than the break-in. She could only image what was going through their heads at four in the morning. One officer watched them approach the house with a strange look on his face. His hold on her hand tightened when he noticed the look as well, making her skin burn more before he released her hand and stopped them just at the stair case.
"Where did you go?" Syaoran asked softly, eyeing the stairs with malice. Sakura shook her head, glancing back at her father and the police force now dispersing back to their vehicles.
"Heinz. I'll tell you about it later." she kissed his hand as they climbed the stairs, the necklace suddenly heavy against her chest. "Do you know who did this?" she whispered as they entered the house.
"No, but I have a feeling it wasn't a coincidence they came when you left." The house was bright, every light on to illuminate every corner of the rooms. "We can't stay here. It's too dangerous for your father."
"I know." she was just thinking the same thing.
Kyoto, Japan
5:03 A.M.
"You were right. The wolf is there, but the girl wasn't."
"And…"
"What do you mean 'and'? I found him. He's very much in good health."
"Of course he's in good health!"
"Then don't bite my head off. The girl wasn't there like you thought. Li got to me before I could check the other rooms, but from what I could tell when the cops showed up, she wasn't home."
"Fine. And Cobra's precious statue?"
"You only asked me to find the couple, not some bull shit statue that doesn't exist. I can go back tomorrow—."
"No. They won't be there by sun-up. Little Wolf is smart enough to relocate. He's hiding for a reason, but you said he was in good health?"
"Yeah. I have the bruises to prove it. He didn't act or look like Cobra stabbed him."
"So useless." The door opened just as she swore under her breath. Hanging up before Cobra could see what was happening, she placed a lazy smile on her face.
Wolf's Mansion, Kyoto
10:27 A.M.
Syaoran pressed into his side with enough force to make the right side of his body twitch. Sakura's borrowed Ford Runner hit a ditch and both of them winced. Glancing at him apologetically, she eased around the bend and onto the highway. He knew she meant well, but the car was not one he would have chosen to drive. It was as if it were punishment for not telling her about her own car long forgotten in a garage, with no hope of ever getting it back. Dampness made him ease on his wound, regret playing against his stomach as they drove with traffic. Out of every injury he had ever faced, this one was by far the worse. He'd been stabbed before and still, the amount of stitches and blood flow had never been this bad. Cobra had nearly accomplished his goal of killing him. Syaoran could only imagine the Snake gloating in his glory. That is, until Sakura had burned down Toki's.
"Feathery" by Milky Chance began to play in the stereo at a volume that was neither loud nor quiet. Syaoran watched as Sakura's head began to move with the fluid movement of the instruments. A smile played on his lips, taking in her calm demeanor. There was no guilt showing, but he knew she was still trying to accept that she'd killed someone in the process of destroying the restaurant. Sensing him watching her, she flushed with the barest of movements to look at him. Her eyes were always on the road, hands gripping the wheel like a life line. The shocks were old, the vehicle hitting every nock and cranny with an audible thump. Syaoran placed a hand on her thigh, gripping it tight for a second before pulling back. Sakura snagged it, holding on just a little bit longer. He knew his skin was hot to the touch and still she held him close. Grinding his teeth, Syaoran looked away and stared out at the road, watching the brush pass in a blur. He didn't deserve her, didn't deserve her love.
Everything about Sakura was in great contrast to his life yet he was drawn to her. She was his light pulling him to her, forcing him to be smaller than he was. Every dream he had was with her in some way, if not a nightmare with her as the ending point. The love he felt for her was different than the last time he found love. This one was unique, quenching his thirst for life. The last time he fell in love with someone, he felt the butterflies, the desire to always be near them, but never like he felt with Sakura. Syaoran didn't know if his love for Sakura was even worth calling love, it was something different—more. He wanted to keep her away from the world, to keep her for himself and never share the brightness of her kind soul. He wanted her to always be by his side, at the same time keep her away from his darkness.
As if sensing his trouble, she released his hand and switched the songs to a less sappy love song to a more upbeat, nonsense song. Syaoran felt the pang in his heart then. They were on the same wavelength even if she didn't know. Her cell phone went off on cue, pausing the music long enough for a text message to buzz. Syaoran glanced at it, seeing Isabella's name on the screen before it went black. Sakura glanced at it as well, not budging to touch it. The silence between them in the car drew on, the traffic outside becoming heavy. He couldn't help but think ill of the bleach-blond female. Isabella was becoming more of a nuisance than he imagined, allowing Sakura to get into things she wasn't ready for. Wasn't he doing the same thing though? He'd made a promise to Touya a long time ago: to never involve his family. He was breaking every moral code he laid out for himself, dragging her through his hell and back. But Isabella was different. Wasn't she?
The fact that she came from Heinz made it worse. In the decade of knowing and dealing with the notorious masked man, he had never once gotten close enough to find a weakness. Sakura had managed in two days to get some kind of understanding of him. She had even gone as far as negotiating with him by using Isabella. Heinz may have his motives for allowing her to be around Sakura, but Syaoran knew better than that. He wasn't too fond of the girl nor was he finding Sakura's sudden friendship with Isabella reassuring. It was there though—friendship. It was almost like Isabella had been a part of her life for years, not days. In that time Sakura had more secrets than when he first met her.
He was still waiting for her to tell him what happened last night and he knew better than to persist. He also knew that if she didn't tell him soon, he might lose his temper. As they pulled up to the mansion, Syaoran's heart beat picked up speed in response to his feelings. The hairs on his arm rose as he stared at the large dogwood tree just inside the gate. Sera's car was parked just beneath it, covered in leaves from last night's wind. The driver's window was opened and he could see as Sakura drove by to the front of the mansion that someone had been inside it. As they pulled further up the drive, he noticed a vehicle missing and a motorcycle that didn't belong parked by the garage. His eyes narrowed, taking in the black and silver stripped Ninja. The moment Sakura parked and shut the car off, leaving the music playing, he had an odd feeling something was amiss.
"Something wrong?" Sakura asked calmly.
"No," Syaoran lied, eyes still on the mansion. It looked abandoned, as if the ten occupants that lived there were no longer living there. A skateboard was turned over by the back end, a world of Warcraft sticker scratched and worn out plastered to the black board.
"Takashi's here," Sakura said seeing the direction of Syaoran's look. "That's his skateboard." Syaoran glanced at her and she smiled. "He may be a computer nerd, but he has mad skills on a board. You should see him surf."
Syaoran kissed her, surprising her. "Let's go inside," he told her in response. She nodded, easily slipping out of the warm car. Syaoran took a minute longer, feeling the itch and pull of fabric on his skin. As Sakura came around, he straightened and shut the door. The vehicle rattled and rocked from the momentum, a momentarily wince of sympathy showing on her face. He really needed to get her car back for her.
They walked carefully up the length of the drive to the back door. Sakura remained silent, her boots hitting the pavement with a soft snap of a heel. Syaoran could sense her unease as easily as if she was voicing. Taking her hand, more for support than comfort, he started up the three narrow steps into the laundry room. Ocean scented fabric softener smacked them in the face, a dryer buzzed angrily almost instantly as the door shut. Sakura jumped in surprise and Syaoran smirked, tugging her forward into the house and up another flight of stairs. He regretted his choice of entry after the third step, the pain in his side unbearable. Sweat sprang to his skin like a disease, the exertion of climbing the narrow passage making it hard to hear anything but his own thundering heart.
"Are we doing the right thing?" Sakura spoke up eerily.
"What?" Syaoran paused at the last step, hand on the door. He gave her a strangled look and noticed she was staring at the random artwork plastered to the wall.
"Leaving my dad. Whoever attacked last night wanted something, but we basically just painted a huge red dot on him now that we're not staying there. I'm…worried."
Syaoran placed a hand on her shoulder forcing her to look at him. "Your dad will be fine. This is not the first time something like this happened. It is for your dad, but the target was either of us, not him."
"The look on his face when I told him I was returning to Kyoto…" she shook her head slightly, planting a false smile. "You're right. He'll be better off without us there." Syaoran didn't know what else to say to that and nodded agreement, opening the door and stepping up into the main house.
The west wing was cold, the tile floor glistening with fresh-scented cleaning products. A large bay window was opened to let in the fresh air, bright sun laying on the carpet of a small room. Sakura smiled in awe as they passed it and Syaoran was hit with guilt. She hadn't had the chance to appreciate anything in so long, the beauty of the world, and the art of life—nothing. One of the triplet's roller blades were scattered on the floor as they walked towards the central part of the house. Someone was playing Evan's Blue upstairs loud enough to rattle the walls. Syaoran wondered if the girls were upstairs making a ruckus instead of studying like they were supposed to be doing. He knew Rose was injured from the Haruto brother's game and didn't blame the eldest sister to want to ignore responsibility and live a little. Sakura's phone went off as they passed an entry into the game room. He glanced at her, watched her eyes scan over a text message, and looked away.
"What are you doing here?" Nathan spoke as he came in from another room. His hand gripped on the tablet he was holding, pressing it into his stomach as if to hide the screen from view.
"How is Tsukino?" Syaoran asked, ignoring the change in atmosphere.
"She'll be fine, but you really shouldn't be here." Sakura couldn't help but cough at the near demand, moving around Syaoran to sit on the couch.
"I live here." Syaoran narrowed his gaze, making Nathan uncomfortable. "Whose here?" he automatically asked. He could still hear Evan's Blue playing just as loudly above them, could vaguely hear steps above and wondered if the skateboard really wasn't Takashi's after all. There was the motorcycle he didn't recognize…
"No one. Well…no one that's not supposed to be here." Nathan said.
"Delani," he said lowly. Syaoran's gaze sharpened with his tone and he met the dark hues of Nathan's with his own penetrating ones.
"Li," Nathan shot back. Sakura watched them, curious.
A shadow behind Nathan caught his attention. Sakura recognized Takashi immediately, a smile spreading across her face as she took in the tall male with his nose in a screen similar to the one Nathan was hoarding against his stomach. He was dressed down in his usual jean jacket and black slacks, a menacing skull for the Punisher peeking out from underneath his jacket. "I found her!" Takashi shouted, gaze still down. Syaoran made a weird suggestion with his throat and Sakura winced when Takashi looked up, seeing them. "Oops,"
"Found who, Delani?" Syaoran said cautiously as he looked away from Takashi. Sakura heaved out a sigh, head shaking as she laid back legs flying up momentarily as she got comfortable. Syaoran watched as she curled up, phone lighting up as she answered a text message. His gaze went back to the other two, cold and suspicious.
"U-uh, I thought Mizuki said you needed to take it easy for a while?" Nathan got out nervously. His gaze went to Sakura as well, hoping she'd help out.
"Wrong answer," Takashi started walking backwards slowly in an attempt to escape. Syaoran pointed a finger, eyes on Nathan. "Do not move, Yamazaki. What the hell is going on?"
"Nothing that we can't handle." Nathan said stubbornly. For the first time since meeting Nathan, Sakura caught a hint of defiance riding in the computer geek's voice. She didn't think anyone would give Syaoran hell aside from Meilin.
"Yeah, we have everything under control." Takashi garbled getting a look from Nathan. His face reddened and he ducked down, eyes following something on the tablet. Syaoran watched them both, trying to read their expressions. "In fact, are you aware that an individual that is able to handle stress is far more likely to—,"
"Takashi." Sakura voiced from her position on the couch, sounding strangled as she tapped away on her phone. Syaoran inched towards them, ignoring the burning sensation of his ribcage as he pressed his fingers into his side, reaching for a weapon that normally would have been hanging against his stomach, but wasn't. They didn't need to know that though.
It was enough for them both to become nervous. Nathan more than Takashi, knowing the depth of his anger, while Takashi fidgeted with coming to terms of lying. "Fine. Sera made a run for it an hour ago…with about half the artillery from the vault." Takashi said under pressure. Sakura got to her feet in a flash, eyes wide. Nathan slammed his hand against his face.
"I see," Syaoran took a moment to digest that news. He studied Nathan's expression without really looking at Nathan before he turned on a heel, heading for the door. "Send me her location."
"I'm going with you."
Syaoran stopped and glanced at Sakura as she walked quickly to his side. "Fine." He glanced at Nathan. "I need you two to monitor the police activity on Kinomoto's house. Have Milay try and find out who broke in last night and next time…" he eyed the two. "…inform me faster."
"Y-yes," they chorused.
Syaoran walked fast, head swimming. Sakura was silent as she followed after him, for that he was grateful. He didn't know what he would have done if anyone said something to him. He was angry, confused, passive—all emotions that could be summed up as dangerous. The fresh air hit him like a brick, raising the hairs on his arm as he scanned the backyard. Sakura's car wasn't an option, as much as her Ford Runner would be efficient. His phone went off with the direction of Sera and he glanced at it long enough to know they needed to hurry. He didn't think twice about what vehicle to grab and went for the motorcycle unregistered to him and unknown.
"Are you okay to ride?" Sakura finally asked. Syaoran got on the motorcycle, hiding the pain that raked through his body. He leaned forward despite that burning sensation crawling like a spider across his stomach, reaching down to find a key. Fingers snagged the cold medal and he grinned to himself, rising and putting it in. Revving the motorcycle, he felt the vibration pulse through his blood, sinking into his veins like a drug. Handing her the extra helmet, he met her gaze fiercely.
"Get on," he told her. He couldn't wait. Sera was at the University, which could only mean she planned on taking out the Silver Snakes that resided there. Instead of revenge, Sera was going to be labeled a terrorist. It didn't matter if she had a plausible motive or if she was excused for her sudden anger. The amount of artillery she held was going to get her shot on sight by the University security team and unfortunately, he didn't have someone working for that part of the school.
Sakura didn't say anything else and got on. The moment her hands went around his stomach securely, he took off.
…
….
…
Meilin narrowed her gaze and scanned the parking lot, searching for the black Mercedes Sera had high-jacked. After getting a call from Nathan and made up an excuse to leave her exam, Sera better be on her way. She didn't know what she'd do if Sera had a change of heart and went elsewhere to seek out her revenge. The parking lot was empty aside from parked vehicles. Walking between the aisles, she headed towards the center of the lot her gaze on the entrance. Kyle walked silently behind her, gaze on the other entrance behind them. Meilin couldn't help but feel pity for her blond friend. If Kyle was the one Cobra had decided to take out, she would be head in blood swimming to reach the head of the Silver Snakes. It wouldn't matter if Kyle was dead or alive, she would still seek out some retribution—much like what Sera was doing.
They were still looking for Ryu, with hopes that he was alive. Sera had been drugged and set free, which meant there was still hope for her boyfriend. Meilin stopped walking and climbed up on top of a blue Toyota, ignoring the audible pop of the hood as her weight hit the center. Kyle looked up at her as she carefully walked the rim of the hood to the top of the car, grimacing at the groan of cheap tin. From her height she could make out the entire University lot North of her position. The large Cherry Blossom Tree set in the center of the garden blocked her view of the North East end and obscured her vision from the exit. There was only two ways into the University lot and one way out—with spikes—giving Meilin two out of three ways for Sera to come. Not seeing the stolen Mercedes, she hoped down off the Toyota and started down the other aisle until she reached a hideous yellow Dodge truck.
A student watched as Meilin climbed up on the hood, staring oddly at her. It was a sight to see, some random black-haired chick in biker boots and jean jacket climbing atop a vehicle that didn't appreciate the sudden weight, while a red-haired guy watched the opposite end of the parking lot in nearly the same outfit. Meilin ignored them, black hair whipping behind her as wind picked up strength. Covering her brow from her bangs she stared out across the lot. She counted a few visible heads as they walked out from the bus stop, heading into the University. A couple more people were wandering about as classes ended. Her gaze zeroed in on a blond walking fast across the lot, her heart suddenly thundered against her chest when she saw the bulge in the girl's sweatshirt.
"There," Kyle said with a point before Meilin could show him the blond walking. Her eyes followed his hand and barely caught a glimpse of the shiny vehicle before the squeal of tires echoed. Blond-be-damned, Meilin thought, now that was a girl on a mission.
Meilin hopped down with a thump and took off at a run. The wind whipped at her face with a cold bite, hair tumbling after her like rope. She banged into a car as she squeezed between two badly parked vehicles, the sting of her knee making her gasp out in a huff. Still, she ran towards the opening of the lot in hopes to get to Sera before she gets to her destination. Her legs began to grow numb at the weight of her boots as she weaved around the cars, Kyle at her heels. Sera drove passed towards the University, hitting the speed bumps with enough momentum to make the car scratch along the pavement. Meilin came to a halt, breathing hard. "Nathan thinks she's aimed for the science building. If she gets passed me, stop her."
"She's not dangerous Mei," Kyle told her absently as his gaze followed the car coming down the third aisle.
"No," Meilin shook her head in agreeance. "That's the problem." Kyle kissed her before making a run back to the building, leaving Meilin to stare at the fast moving vehicle two rows away.
Sera was moving too fast to cut in front of her and too fast to try and hot wire a car to make a collision course. There wasn't much options if she wanted to stop Sera before the security guards came bearing down on them. If what Nathan had said was true, then the girl was packing enough heat to take out a military faction. Meilin started running again, ignoring the look of another student as they sat in their car smoking. Witnesses was never a good sign either. There was really only one way to stop Sera and lucky for her, the parking lot was designed like a maze. Sera came barreling down the next aisle as Meilin cut across into the opening of the next aisle. She stopped just as Sera turned in a drift despite the angry sound coming from the tires. Staring at the vehicle with enough force of courage to be deemed insanity. Sera slammed on the breaks, forcing it to jerk sideways as she fish-tailed from the momentum and nearly crashing into a few parked cars.
Meilin stood her ground as she stared at the near-death experience, the Mercedes a step away from knocking her down. Sera stared back at her through the gloss of the window, blue eyes as dark as the deep ocean. Long blond hair was pulled into a bun and pinned down by a long chop stick, Meilin knew to be a weapon. A strap hung against her chest, indicating she was packing heat.
"Move." Sera said loud enough to be heard over the engine and Meilin's own pounding heart.
"Sera, listen to me. You don't want to do this." Meilin got out instead. The wind wrapped around her like ice, cooling the beads of sweat on her skin—rain was coming. A car door shut in the distance making her flinch.
Sera stepped out of the car revealing an AK against her back attached to the strap. More straps were pressed against her thighs, holding smaller weapons with enough punch to do damage. Meilin couldn't believe Sera would be foolish enough to even wield half those guns, let alone come to a school with them. "Move," Sera said as she stood holding the door opened.
Meilin remained neutral as she narrowed her gaze. She could make out more weapons in the back of the car and an ammunition casing. A distant rumble of a motorcycle caught her attention and she absently prayed that it wasn't another witness. It was bad enough Sera was standing out in the open with her handful of weapons on her person and another for someone to think badly of the angry blond if they happened to be walking by. Just as she opened her mouth, the motorcycle drew closer, coming their way. Her chest tightened at the prospect and quickly squished the ill thoughts. "Think about it Sera, what's going to happen if you get caught by University security?" she pleaded.
"Move, Mei." Sera hissed. Her body shifted as she fixed the AK against back, hand shaking as she brought a smaller pistol up to aim at her friend. Meilin blinked. "Don't make me shoot you,"
"Sera you're not thinking clearly." Meilin got out tightly wishing she didn't have Kyle leave her side. Another car door echoed the lot and Sera flinched. It gave Meilin enough courage to take a step forward only to stop quickly as Sera steadied her hand. "Sera think about it." Meilin pleaded. Her gaze went passed her to the motorcycle, recognizing the riders immediately. A breath left her lips before she struggled to compose herself, eyes casting around the parking lot.
"I DID!" Sera shrieked and turned just as the motorcycle pulled into the lot, having better luck maneuvering the maze than Sera did with the Mercedes.
Syaoran parked the bike at the opening of the aisle, blocking any exit Sera could have used. Sakura got off quickly, stumbling towards them as she lost her footing. Meilin shook her head to stop her, surprising Sera as she whirled around to aim her gun at the new arrivals. Sakura nearly tripped over herself at gesture eyes widening as Syaoran's gaze sharpened. "Go away, Li!"
"Sera…" Sakura walked towards her, face pale.
"You guys can't stop me. Not this time."
"Sera you're making a mistake." She whirled around on Meilin again, making her flinch as the gun wobbled in her grasp. Sera twitched when she went back and forth, unsure of who to aim it at. Her body convulsed with sobs making it very clear she wasn't in the right mind. In one feral move, she had another gun out, aiming at either Li. Sera's attention was on Meilin as she spoke next.
"You wouldn't say that if it was Kyle. No one would say that if it was their love." Her attention went to Syaoran then, orbs as dark as night. "You of all people should know that."
"You don't know that Ryu is dead. We haven't—." Meilin continued.
"I DO KNOW!" Sera shrilled. "They killed him!" her body shook violently. "They killed him right in front of me. I can't allow them to walk this earth anymore, not…not after that."
"You go in there now and you're feeding into exactly what they want."
"They already got what they wanted! How can you stand there, stopping me?" tears rolled down her face, making her dark hues turn icy. The blue of her iris's disappeared as her pupils dilated, darkening her gaze even more. Meilin knew that look, their friend Icy had the same look almost a year ago when she realized she was going to be a single mother.
"You're right. I would be doing the same thing if Kyle was the one that died." Meilin cried, taking a step forward. The heat of the car warmed her leg, the rumbling of the engine vibrating against her stinging knee. Sera took a step back, keeping the distance away from them as she steadied her weapons on all three. Meilin continued, "Hopefully it'll be you standing here trying to stop me if that ever happens. You're not thinking clearly right now, Sera. Let us help you—,"
"Tsukino put the gun down." Syaoran ordered, voice tight as he interrupted Meilin. Sera whirled around at him, eyes glossy with coming tears. Sakura remained frozen as she watched her, feeling her pain.
"You have no room to talk. I know you did the same fucking shit when they killed Jaenelle. No," she shook her head. "You did worse."
Syaoran ignored her statement and stepped forward with his arms out. Pain was searing through his body as he took a step, the vibration from the motorcycle ride not quite gone. There was a clear stain against his black shirt. Meilin made note of it just as he got close enough to Sera to make the blond twitch. "You're right and look where that got me. I managed to snag the very person that killed Jaenelle and I'm still running around seeking my revenge against the lot of them. Killing them will not solve the hurt."
"It will if I kill the very person that killed Ryu."
"Then do it," Syaoran stepped forward, getting closer. "Kill me."
"What!?" Sakura and Meilin chorused.
"Think about it. Whose fault was it you two were taken? Whose fault is it that Cobra is looking for something that belongs to him? It's not Ryu's fault. Haruto didn't take it nor did any of those other lackeys running around under Cobra's bite. Why did you get hurt?" he asked. Meilin hissed out a curse, understanding where he was going with his words. Sakura stared in confusion as Syaoran stopped a bear inch from the weapon.
"No." Sera shook her head. Tendrils of hair fell from their hold and landed against her arm, slowly slipping down to rest against her back. "You didn't kill Ryu, it was that fat bastard, Asayo."
"Think about it Tsukino." He goaded. "What was Cobra looking for?" tears slipped down her face like a river, obscuring her view. The gun wobbled with her raking sobs, faltering. The one she had aimed at Meilin went down, leaving only one. "It was me."
"Syaoran," Sakura whispered and he held out his arm, stopping her from getting closer to him.
"If anyone deserves your wraith, it's me. I wasn't there when Kabuki's blew up. I'm the one that forced Ryu into helping with my last run. I'm the one that ordered the statue to be replicated. It was me. I wasn't here when you were taken hostage, in fact I ran away. I left everyone here to face my folly." He grabbed her gun, aiming it against his chest as he met her gaze. "You want revenge? Fine. Do it the correct way and get the man responsible."
"What the fuck are you doing?" Meilin hissed.
"Shoot me, Tsukino." Sakura bit her lip, terrified. "DO IT!" Sakura closed her eyes just as the wrong gun went off, making Meilin curse and Sakura to flinch, heart stopping. Silence filled the parking lot in a long pregnant pause as the shot echoed awkwardly between them all.
"Sakura get the weapons into the car." Syaoran ordered, holding onto Sera as he took off the AK from her back. She was crying, her wails silent as she sucked in what life she still had left. Slowly Syaoran pulled the chop sticks from her hair, letting them fall to the floor in an audible clatter.
"You bastard," Meilin got out as she took one of the guns from Sera's hand. Syaoran ignored his cousin as Sakura came around to collect the other two. Sera crumbled the moment the weapons were relieved from her person, bringing Syaoran down with her. He hissed from the pain and held in the rest of it the moment Sera's body pressed against it as if it were her own.
"What were you thinking?" Meilin asked as she stood over them.
"Let's go before the security guards reach us." He said instead, getting to his feet and pulling Sera with him. His right eye twitched from the pull of stitches, the warmth of blood seeping out and staining his shirt even more.
"You're bleeding." Sera whispered and moved away, allowing Sakura to take her up in a hug.
"I'll be fine." Syaoran said more to himself than to the girls.
"Will you?" Meilin asked as Sakura helped Sera into the back of the Mercedes, taking the weapons and moving them to the floor. The moment the door shut her emerald orbs were fierce as she eyed the stain. Meilin glanced around the parking lot before watching as Sakura calmly helped Syaoran move away from the Mercedes. "First the Tachibana's and now Ryu, it's only April, Syaoran. How many more people are going to get hurt?"
"No one and we're going to make sure of that."
"No one's died on their end." Meilin hissed. "Aiko and Kai, but we didn't kill them. Heinz killed Sion. We haven't executed a damn Snake and our friends are dying left and right. What the hell is going on?"
Syaoran met her gaze and slowly shook his head. He didn't have an answer, not yet. Turning he gave Sakura a slight touch and stepped away from her comfort. He limped two steps before turning to face the furious Meilin. "Take Tsukino back to the mansion, I'll follow on the bike."
"No,"
"What?"
"I'll follow you guys back to the mansion." Meilin pursed her lips, anger flaring in her eyes before dying. "You're bleeding and I can see for myself you can barely stand."
"Mei that's—."
"Kyle and Haku can't find Ryu. If what Sera says is true and she's not delusional, then we need to protect her from herself." She placed the helmet on her head and flipped up the visor. "Besides, if I see a Snake I'll shoot them on sight and a car load of heat will tempt me."
Kyoto Precinct
2:58 P.M
He was barely paying attention to them, their voices like a distant call of annoyance. More like they were speaking into a tambourine, their voices echoing but not being heard. He knew they were just doing their job, working overtime to try and figure out why more than one business was exploding in Japan, but they were doing it with enough tick to drive a knife into his head. He'd had the same migraine for the last month without let up and he was starting to think Detective Sheldon was correct to think he was slowly going insane. They'd been on the case for four months now, not including the gang-relations division—which he'd been on for the last few years. If memory served him right, Detective Sheldon had been in the GR division even longer than that in another country.
Have they gotten any further placing to detectives on the same case? No. have they got more questions than answers? Yes. And that was what was driving him to near insanity. Too many questions, too many dead-ends, and not enough incentive to collect on. Detective Luc stared at nothing, letting his own mind wrap around what was going on as his partner, Detective Sheldon listened to the report.
"Do we have any evidence that can help us with the recent explosion?" Sheldon was saying as he slowly allowed their voices to come back to him, trying to desperately understand what they were saying.
"Other than the identities of the victims each having a snake tattoo to tie them to the notorious gang, no." another officer commented dryly, mouth full of muffin.
"What about surveillances? There's bound to be one camera that managed to get a look at cars, faces, anything…" Sheldon was just as determined to figure out what was going on, her temper spiking high.
"The ten block radius blocked out everything, including the cameras. We went out further than that, but without a direction of the perpetrators, we don't know what we are looking for."
"They changed vehicles like a celebrity at the Grammy's. We aren't going to track them down that way." Sheldon commented shrewdly, distantly. She was staring at the same board for the last hour, in hopes the answer would just out at her. "What about the other workers that survived? Only three of the twenty employees died yesterday. We already ruled out Wraith Cobra, he won't talk even if he had the answer."
"Both Haruto brothers had an alibi that day, neither were present, and it looks like the girlfriend of one of the brothers recently returned from Italy and in that time Jonathan Haruto had no alibi other than hearsay." The officer was saying distractedly, mouth poised to take another large bite of his food.
"What?" Detective Luc looked up finally, face blank. Coffee came out of Sheldon, caught off guard as well. They exchanged a look before glaring at the officer with the clipboard. Detective Luc hadn't even noticed the officer sitting there besides Officer Terada. His sandy blond hair was slicked back, revealing the highlights from a bad salon job at the roots.
He looked just as surprised as them, gaze going back and forth between the two detectives. Officer Terada took the clipboard from his shocked coworker, dusting muffin bits off the papers and began flipping through them, reading. "'Mireille Cox, age twenty-four, no notable family, interviewed at 1800 at her home with Nicholas and Jonathan Haruto, claims she just recently returned from a long flight with a friend, presented a worn out plane ticket that was unreadable. Officer Gouda proceeded by checking all three alibi's, confirming from airport surveillance and guards that a Mireille Cox, Marcus Spitz, and one Ceil Shang recently landed at the Tokyo International Airport from Rome, Italy on April 1 at 300.'"
Terada looked up. "Does that mean anything?"
"It means there was a reason Syaoran Li was going back and forth from Italy and Japan." Luc said as he gathered his coat and headed for the door before back tracking and headed for the whiteboard. He flipped it around, making papers flutter and magnets fall.
"Now look what you did, you gave him another lunatic theory." Sheldon sighed, watching her partner begin to scribble nonsense. "Thank you Officer…"
"Douglas,"
"Officer Douglas, you can go." he stared in complete shock. The muffin was no longer in complete form, having been dropped onto the table at his surprise earlier. Gathering it up now, he slithered to a stand and walked dazed towards the door. She wasn't looking as Douglas left baffled, Terada comforting him as the two walked out of the office. Her gaze remained on the board as Luc began writing in purple marker, adding Italy and question marks to the three heads, following Sakura Kinomoto. Head shaking, she reached for her coffee and frowned—empty. It was going to be another long day.
Wolves Mansion
4:17 P.M.
Sakura glanced down at her phone as it lit up, making the car brighter than the gloomy atmosphere permitted. The sun wasn't even down over the mountains yet and it felt like it was nearing midnight with the intensity of everyone's mood. She caught the distant twitch of Syaoran's arm when she opened up the text message and noticed the even harsher atmosphere as she read Tomoyo's words carefully. His gaze concentrated on the road as he drove though, giving her privacy. She knew Syaoran wanted to ask her who she kept speaking to and knew if she gave in to his curiosity, she no longer would have that privacy. She'd already dated someone like that a long time ago in high school, she wasn't down for another nosy boyfriend. Syaoran held more secrets than a walkway model anyway, allowing her at least a few secrets of her own. One of them being Heinz's gift.
That necklace was going to tear them apart—Syaoran and she— but it can't be helped. Syaoran knew she needed the notorious Makoto Heinz on her side, needed to make her own band of misfits and take on Ceil Shang with every strength and trick possible. Mentally shaking her head, she smiled at Tomoyo's heart-shaped emoji. Eriol had replaced the shattered vase and 'forgot' to tell her about it until Tomoyo was about to tell her mother about the incident. Sakura couldn't help but physically smile, making Syaoran glance at her as they pulled up to the mansion driveway. He was just going to have to find out on his own. There was a part of her that was still upset with him, confused about his actions. A number of emotions rushed through her body, she didn't know how to decipher it come up with a name for it.
As Syaoran pulled the Mercedes to a stop the car barely off, Sera had the door opened and body out of it in a flash. Sakura opened her mouth to stop her, her own door opened as she stepped out into the cold air. Syaoran shook his head, hand on her arm to stop her. Sakura stared at him in defeat. Sera needed someone, it was the best medicine, but she understood that Sera also needed to be alone to take in her own grief. Turning away from him quickly, Sakura slammed the door and started for the mansion. The motorcycle Meilin rode was already parked across the drive, key missing. Sakura had a feeling they were going to start hiding all the keys to the motorcycles from the way Meilin had commented on Syaoran's injured side. The mere thought made Sakura glance at him as he slowly got out of the car hand pressed to his bleeding side. The stain had gotten bigger, making his black shirt look damp in the dying sunlight.
That was another reason she was upset with him. Syaoran was injured and yet he didn't give a damn. When she had a hole in her hip she wasn't that naïve, was she? Sakura pursed her lips and took the stares slowly. Movement in the window caught her eye and she glanced up towards the top window, seeing three heads disappear in a flutter of maroon curtains. "Is Wei back?" Syaoran asked. Sakura jerked at the question and looked at him in confusion. His attention was at the door a few steps away from her, taking in a tall figure leaning against the frame.
"No, but Rose is in the infirmary. She'll take care of you." Milay commented. Her eyes went to Sakura, giving her a silent greeting before pushing off the doorframe. "Lane went back to the University, he said he'll keep an ear out for rumors. I also have ears out across Kyoto, so far it's silent."
"For the robbery or for Ryu?"
"Both," Syaoran nodded. Sakura back tracked down off the steps to make room for Milay as she hopped down to their level. "I'm heading back to work. The other two are upstairs studying with Wolf on the screen, he's not too happy about the recent events at the café nor is he happy about Toki's." Sakura jerked at that. Milay noticed and spread her arms in an awkward invitation. Just as she walked into her arms for the hug, "Don't lose that necklace," was whispered into her ear.
Sakura said nothing as every bone in her body shattered with the cold air, her heart thundering against her chest. She couldn't help but wonder if Milay had been under one of the masks or out in the distance watching them with a sniper, like she'd done when Sakura was returned to her friends. There had been four masks last night and only one of them was Heinz, the one that had assaulted her for show. Which left Milay and Lane and one more unknown, at least she thought that's how it was. With Heinz constantly wearing those masks she couldn't know. Milay smirked at the silence and pulled away, winking. Sakura watched as Milay got on a bright pink and purple motorcycle, revving it with one stomp of her foot. "I'll catch you guys later." She said with a smile before flipping down her visor and taking off.
"I'll meet you upstairs." He told Sakura once Milay was out of sight. She nodded in silence, her hand against her chest where the necklace was hidden. Moving away before he could touch her, he spoke again. "You're mad."
"What?" Sakura stared at him, confused still from Milay's show of affection.
"You're mad at me. Why?" the dark hues of his eyes glistened with the pain he was trying to ignore. Sakura knew he was trying and whether it was new for him or not he wasn't getting anything right at the moment.
It took her a minute before she grasped his words, hand falling away from her chest. "It's pretty obvious isn't it?"
"Actually it's not considering everything that's been happening since early this morning." There was a silent 'and you went out without me' hidden in that message. Sakura ignored it and shook her head.
"Don't worry about it then." Sakura started to walk away. Syaoran grabbed her before she got too far, tugging her to him with a wince. His face was pale now as more blood continued to seep out of his wound. "Syaoran…"
"Why are you mad at me? It's not like I left you out to raid Cobra's compound or anything." There was a hint of agitation in his voice, making her all the more irritated with him.
"No, but it was pretty damn close." She huffed out a breath pulling her arm away from him again. "I'm mad at you because you don't care about your life."
"What?" he blinked in confusion or was it fatigue? She couldn't tell with him anymore.
Pointing at his wound, she added with emphasis, "You're careless. It doesn't matter that you have a temperature nearing crucial or that you have a stab wound that's been opening every other minute, to you it's like a walk in the park. You can die right now and it wouldn't phase you that I might have a problem with that." her hand flew to the house. "That anyone in there might have a problem with that."
"Are you talking about what just happened with Tsukino?"
"No! I'm talking about it all!" she yelled. "Cobra practically murders you and instead of getting help you take a twelve hour flight to me, adding to the injury in the process! My house gets broken into and you attack like it was a fly stealing cake. Sera runs away and you go after her. She threatens the world with more ammo than military personnel and you want her to shoot you! I don't get it, Syaoran. It's like you want to die, want to leave everyone that cares behind."
Syaoran cupped her face, wiping a stray tear and adding a smear of blood to it. His hands were burning her skin and she held in her own flinch as he met her gaze. "What can I do to make it up to you?" he asked calmly. Sakura stared in disbelief.
"Are you serious?" she pulled away.
"Sakura…"
"No," she shook her head and sniffed, feeling the emotions rising. "Go see Rose, go get more stitches added. I can't…I can't right now. I just can't." her legs were carrying her away before he could stop her. She didn't think he had the energy to try, but she moved fast taking the stairs two at a time into the mansion.
Was she being harsh? Probably, but everything she said had been the truth. Whether he wasn't thinking straight because of the blood lost or not was not an efficient excuse for his actions. She couldn't keep standing there while he placed his life on the line while also dying slowly. She just couldn't. Sakura stared at her surroundings before turning a corner and walking up a flight of stairs towards the second story. She'd only been at the mansion a handful of times and knew how to navigate only one part of the three-story mansion. She vaguely remembered where Syaoran's room was, but remembered where Sera's was. Hopefully it was her room that she ran off too and not some other one, one too far away to navigate, like Ryu's.
A pang hit Sakura as she thought of Sera and Ryu. She never met Sera's boyfriend. Not when she'd been drugged at the club, not when they went to the beach bonfire, never. She didn't know anything about him other than his name. The amount of despair riding on Sera was clear indication that they were in love. She didn't even know how long they'd been together or if they were in more than a relationship. Meilin's words about being initiated into the Black Wolves by significant others echoed her head as she slowly ascended to the top. Rika had falling in love with Haku and boom, she was a part of the gang. Sakura knew it wasn't that easy, but love was indeed in the air. For her also.
Once at the top she stopped, bone aching and heart thundering. She wasn't out of shape, just in illusion to Sera's pain. She couldn't believe that Cobra would go so far as to murder someone in front of the other like that. No—she could believe it—she just didn't want to. Whatever that statue was worth, she didn't think it was worth the life of another. Heinz had said Cobra targeted Ryu for a reason and not because Sera was an easy target. Sakura turned around and stared out at the bottom level. Syaoran would know that meant, he would know why Cobra targeted Ryu specifically. She was too stubborn to talk to him about it though. Her hand went to the necklace, pulling it out from under her shirt. The cross dangled from a silver chain, the pendant the size of her index finger. It moved awkwardly, suspended in air and shaking with her nervousness. Latin was engraved on the smooth silver backside. The front was engraved with a black material she recognized as black opal.
Her eyes bulged at the different colors emitting from the blackness, the light above hitting it just right and illuminating the green and red fire within. She couldn't believe it. The most rare and valuable stone was engraved into a necklace. She was starting to think the necklace itself was pure silver or something along its type. A voice echoed from down the hall and she stiffened, quickly placing the necklace back beneath her shirt. The pendant was cool against her skin, weighing heavier than it had before. Not wanting to be spotted by someone she didn't know or one of the triplets, Sakura moved towards Sera's room down the corridor. The long stretch of hall was cold, dampening her mood as she forgot about Heinz and his necklace and remembered Sera's agony. There was artwork from famous painters and a couple photographers, but none holding family or friends like normal houses put up.
Sera's door was ajar as she rounded the corner to the south end. The double doors large and intimidating. It reminded her of the movie Aladdin, when they saw the large tiger's mouth to mystery. Sakura slowly walked to the entrance and stopped herself. Sera was curled up on the large Queen-size bed, her hair cascading across one half of the bed and the rest of her latched onto a body pillow. Tears glistened from the lamp light, reflecting off of the mirror positioned across from her. Her eyes were closed, body moving with silent sobs. Sakura frowned in sympathy before backtracking, giving her the space she needed. She didn't want to disturb her after all.
"Sakura…" Syaoran's voice was soft. Sakura lifted her head, meeting his gaze before letting it drop as she frowned some more. He still wore his bloodstained clothing, the stain obvious now that she was looking for it.
"You didn't go see Rose." She said softly.
"I did actually," he lifted his shirt, showing the bandage they slapped on over his stitched up gash. Sakura made a new face, not sure why he felt the need to reveal the bandage. "Kino—your brother called me."
"To tell you I would be safer at home and not with you?" she tried to joke. It was Syaoran's turn to make a face, not sure what she meant. Shaking her head, she started to walk past him. His hand came up to stop her, dropping just as quickly.
"I'm sorry,"
Sakura let out an uneven breath and turned to him. "No offense but sorry won't cut it this time." Sakura searched his gaze, taking in the dilated pupils. He'd taken painkillers. "Meilin's right, everyone's dying left and right and what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to stop it."
"That was a rhetorical question." She glanced behind her at the empty corridor. How many people lived in the mansion, listening in on their conversation right now? "Maybe it's a good thing I'm Night Wing. I don't know if I can handle this if I was part of the Black Wolves." He opened his mouth to say something and she silenced him, pressing her finger to his lips. "You came up here for a reason, what is it other than apologizing?"
Syaoran was silent for a long time before sighing heavily. It was as if something went off in his mind as he finally understood. "Touya found a lead."
Her eyes widened for a split second before he visibly saw her collapse in on herself. "And you're going with them." She said, head shaking as tears sprung and threatened to fall.
"I'll be back soon, I promise." Syaoran said, searching Sakura's gaze.
"You shouldn't be doing anything right now."
"I can't just sit here, not when they need me. I'm going with them."
"Li…" his mouth curled into a half-grin as he cupped her face, his favorite move to comfort her.
He kissed her, silencing her from complaining any more. "We're back to Li now, huh?" he tried to joke. The heat from his skin made her flinch, hands finding their way into his jacket. Lightly she touched the place of his injury, not letting her fingers press to hard. He hadn't popped any stitches today that should be something, she told herself. Syaoran took her silence as an offering, lips meeting with her forehead and cheek. "I'll be fine. I have more than enough pain killers and if there's trouble…"
"You're digging yourself into a grave." She mumbled.
"If there's trouble…" he continued, "I promise to stay out of it," he kissed her once more, pulling away slowly. "Take care of Tsukino, don't let her out of her sight."
"You're giving me an order?" Sakura asked in a daze.
"I'm asking you."
"Fine."
"Sakura…" it was her turn to get closer, kissing him soundly before stepping back, lips turned up in a smug smile. "I love you, know that."
"So I'm told." Her gaze went to Meilin as she rounded the corner, fire in her eyes. Syaoran turned around, saying nothing. There was a long pregnant pause before let Sakura go and headed back down the corridor.
Meilin watched him slowly disappear before meeting Sakura's silent gaze as she too watched him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm perfectly fine." she lied.
"Liar," Meilin shook her head. "I heard what happened at Toki's and before you protest…I'm not here to pity you or giving you advice. Shit happens and we move on, there's no going back only forward. Pretend nothing happens and it'll eat you from the inside out and cloud future judgement. Don't let it."
"Sounds like advice to me." Sakura said heavily, trying to joke and failing once again.
"I'm serious. Shit happens," Meilin shook her head staring at nothing as the two girls stood there in the hall. Sakura knew what she meant. She'd been hiding behind everyone else's drama and forgetting about her own. She'd blown up Toki's and killed a killed without blinking an eye only to celebrate her birthday with her friends as if nothing happened. She was hiding.
"Thanks." Sakura slowly walked back to Sera's room and stopped, eyes on the floor in thought. Looking up she met Meilin's sour look. "Can I ask you something? It's about a rumor I heard."
"Only if you tell me about a rumor I heard. A trade."
Sakura blinked in surprise before recovering quickly. "Uh, Ryu…is it possible Cobra chose him because of some revenge shtick?"
Meilin stared at her for a long moment before peeking around the corner, making sure Sera was out of earshot. Sera's body was still in the same position on the bed as before, rising and falling in sleep. When Meilin met Sakura's gaze again it was with consideration. "That would definitely explain it. If it was for revenge, the only thing I can think that Ryu did was steal from Cobra a few months ago with Syaoran and Kyle. They both got hurt at the same time, for the same reason." Meilin studied her. "You'd have to ask Syaoran about that or I can ask Kyle. Where did you hear that?"
"An annoying bird that likes to do his homework."
"O-okay," Meilin sniffed at the mystery. "Is it true you're Night Wing?" she asked almost instantly.
"News travels fast." Sakura nodded, slowly slipping out of her top to reveal her tank. Turning around she tapped her shoulder and winced, hitting a bruise. "The designs white to make it as unobvious as possible."
"Shit,"
"Yeah," Sakura turned back around and stared at Meilin for a long time before asking, "Syaoran agreed it was for the best, I'm starting to think he's the one that's hiding."
"Probably," Meilin was sympathetic. Her gaze softened as a shadow passed over Sakura.
"Let's go out." Sera announced tiredly. Sakura flinched at her voice and whirled around, seeing the redness of both eyes and nose from hours of crying.
"What?" Meilin made a face, staring at Sera.
"I want to go out. We'll go to Club Genie or Toro's…I don't care I want to go out." She said it with finality that Sakura wondered if it was the same Sera that was threatening to shoot them all to get to her destination.
"Sera we're still looking for Ryu…how—?"
"HE'S DEAD, MEILIN!" Sera shrieked, making both girls flinch. Sakura touched Sera's arm, forcing her to jerk away and shrink into herself. Her arms wrapped around her stomach, shaking as she stared at them both with new eyes. "I'm leaving with or without you guys. I can't be trapped in this house forever, I just can't."
"We just got here." Sakura said wishing she hadn't. The look on Sera's face said she would murder her in her sleep, friend or foe. "Actually that sounds like a good idea. I'll go with you. Isabella will come and Tomoyo. I'm sure the other girl's would love a night out." Sakura said as she pulled out her phone, five missed messages on it in angry red lines.
"Who the hell is Isabella?" Meilin asked as Sera smiled, hugging Sakura tightly.
"She's my leeway to Heinz." Came the muffled response through Sera's tangled blond hair.
"What!?"
"Perfect, so let's go. I have the perfect outfit." Sera said, interrupting Meilin's outburst. Like a bird she was off, disappearing down the hall in socks as she pulled her hair back up into a bun.
Meilin grabbed Sakura's arm before she walk away as well, eyes sharp. "Are you sure this is a good idea? The boys are searching for Ryu. Whether or not he's dead, she's vulnerable."
"If going out is her coping method, then we should give her that. At least she wants to go out instead of being cooped up here, where everything is Ryu." Sakura watched Sera as she stopped at the stairwell, waiting. "Sera was there for me when I was attacked by Mireille, the least I can do is be there for her and watch her back."
"Fine," Meilin pulled out her phone. "I'll tell the boys where we're going and shower. We'll leave in two hours!" she called out to Sera who smiled all the brighter, tears brimming the edges of her blue orbs. Sakura smiled as well and followed after her, leaving Meilin alone to make the call.
To be continued…
I know, I know, I'm beyond late on this update.
Here it is. There is goes. Now time for another round of wth am I going with this. O.o
