Chapter 38 Final Battle
Everything was settled. It was going to happen. As Eriol helped Yoshiyuki to a room to rest and Yukito went off to get the army ready, Shaoran started to clear up the files on his desk. He too was about to go when Touya said, "Take care of her."
Shaoran looked up, somewhat confused and surprised at the same time.
Touya smirked. He then said, "You and Sakura. I saw how you came to her rescue, how you look at her, speak to her. Take care of her, Li Shaoran. I tried to shield her from pain as much as I can but I never was really successful in giving her happiness. You on the other hand, gave her that. True happiness isn't without pain. It is living with it and learning how to stand by it. I can only teach her so much but you taught her how to live. Sakura can be really stubborn so I hope you're just as stubborn." Shaoran smirked.
"Yes. Sakura can be stubborn. But it is because she fights for what is right. Her principles and values in life have been enforced by you. I am honored to hear you say such things but I'm afraid that it is the other way around. Sakura is such a strong person who always has a smile for everyone even if she held a lot of pain. She was the one who taught me how to live, how to love. She looks up to you very much so to hear her beloved brother say such things to me is truly a great honor. I tend to keep my word that I will always protect her even at the expense of my life. I do not know how I can convince you on that. Right now, she had asked me to give her space, to give her time to set things right."
"Set things right?"
"Sakura believes that the people of Ayleth might lose their respect in me because of her. She said that she wanted to help rebuild not only this country but Wofled. Maybe with that, people will learn to respect the real her and not just by some hearsay statements. With that, she believes that she can make peace with the past to ensure a better person."
Touya smirked. "What did I tell you? She's so stubborn. She doesn't need to do that but I, and I know you do as well, understand where she is coming from. Perhaps it is for the best. I believe what you said that you will be there for her and take care of her. As long as you do that, I won't have any objections with regards to you two. But if you hurt her, you will have to face me." He said.
Shaoran grinned and said, "I know. Just don't get yourself killed. I've watched Sakura grieve in secret for a year. Now that she knows that you are alive and well, don't let her go through that again."
"Well, Li, death is a much part of life as life is a part of death. But I know what you mean. Between the both of us, I think she would rather be sure you came back alive than me although I know she'd want us both to come back safe."
Shaoran smirked as Touya left. There. Shaoran had it. Shaoran had Touya's blessing. To hear him say that was a relief in itself but he knew that they all needed time. He wished that time was at their side and would allow them to live longer than what it seemed.
Touya, on the other hand, headed to the chapel. He wanted to be alone for awhile and be thankful how things have settled. It was going to be their final stand against the tyranny that rooted from selfish desires. It had cost them a lot and the end of the war was going to be a welcome relief for all of them. They were all tired. They were going to give everything they had. The truth then dawned on him. If in a week's time the war will be over and his uncle will be overthrown, he would be made King. It was a daunting truth that almost scared him. He never really thought himself as King. A thought crossed him mind that he would refuse the throne in favor of Sakura so that Ayleth and Wofled would finally be united and peace would reign. But he knew that his sister didn't want that too. He closed his eyes and his memories drifted back to when Sakura was five and Fujitaka was still with them.
Sakura had just fallen asleep then. He remembered that he and their father had tucked her in and was watching her sleep.
"Touya." Fujitaka said as the young him looked up at him. "There are things in this world that we can never have answers for, especially why things turn out the way they do. Always remember, my son, that everything happens for a reason and what is given to you wouldn't have been given to you if God thinks you are not ready."
"Father, what if I'm afraid? What will I do? I do not want to be afraid anymore! I want to protect Sakura."
Fujitaka smiled at him and said, "It is alright to be afraid, my son. It is what makes you human. It is what makes you a man because a man without fear is a fool. Courage is not without fear, Touya. It is the belief that there is something more important than that so you do everything you can to protect those people around you, the people you love. What you can do is do the best you can in everything. That is all any of us can do, give our best. Don't let fear define you but rather define your fear, my son. You will understand one day."
You will understand one day. Touya opened his eyes and walked to the window. He glanced at what was beyond. After all those years and everything that has happened, he never really understood his father's words until that moment. It was remarkable that Sakura had shown him the true meaning of that with the way she had lived and grown as a person during the past year.
"I thought I might find you here, 'nii-chan." Sakura's soft voice then came as she walked towards him.
He had been so absorbed with his thoughts that he hadn't noticed her come in. She stood next to him by the window, also looking outside. "Promise me you will survive, 'nii-chan." She said.
Touya looked at her and said, "You know that a promise like that is almost hearsay when it comes to war."
Sakura smiled and replied, 'Yes. I know. But still I want you to make that promise." She then looked at him before continuing, "His tyranny is about to come to an end and I can feel it. Wofled will need a strong leader to bring her back to her former glory. Wofled needs you." Sakura then took the ring he had given her for protection and guidance and placed it in his hand.
"My brother, this ring has always protected me and reminded me that I am not alone. It is time that I return it to its rightful owner. You never run away from battle so come back. You alone can bring peace to Wofled, to Father's people." Sakura said.
Touya smiled and said, "You have grown to be a wise and strong lady, my dear sister. Mother and Father are proud of you. I am proud of you." She smiled at him. "I promise I will come back. You know I always do."
She nodded and hugged him. She then whispered, "I've always been honored and proud that you are my big brother." Touya smiled as he hugged his sister.
XxXxXx
It was almost time. They were about to leave. Touya and the others had already left to lead the attack from beyond Ayleth borders. He went back to command Wofled resistance leaders. Shaoran was preparing in his room when he heard a knock come from the door. He turned and saw Sakura come in. He walked towards her as she made her way to him.
She said nothing as she smiled at him. She then removed her necklace and placed it around his neck. "You are the true King of Ayleth. Keep this crest and fight for the people. Keep it close to your heart to guide you, to protect you. It has protected me all these years. Let it protect you now."
Shaoran held her hand and with the other lifted her chin to be able to look into her deep green eyes. "This is yours. You should be the one to keep wearing it."
She smiled at him and said, "It is the crest of Ayleth. I want you to have it. I doubt you are going to take my rosary if I present it to you again. It rightfully belongs to you." Shaoran kissed her.
"I will come back for you." He said as he tucked a lock of Sakura's hair behind her ear and added, "We still have a lot of unfinished business."
Sakura smiled and said, "Don't get yourself killed or I'll never talk to you again."
Shaoran smirked. "Keep close to Eriol. He will protect all of you here." He said.
"Yes, I know. He just told me all about that." Sakura said as she got his armor and helped him put it on. She then handed him his sword. Before she did, she tied a red cloth on it with golden embroidery.
"What is this?" Shaoran asked.
"Nothing. Something I made for you. It will help you when you encounter my uncle. I noticed when I saw him the last time he has a blind spot. You will know when the time comes. This will help you locate it."
"We could have used that bit of information if you said something about it when we were all talking."
"Yeah. My brother already knows so I didn't need to tell him. As for the others, they might not encounter him. Knowing him, he will go straight to you. Let's just say it will be your lucky charm." Sakura said.
Shaoran took it and looked at it. He was surprised at what Sakura had used. "These are traditional Ayleth characters and scriptures."
Sakura smiled at him and said, "I told you your lucky charm or should I say trump card. Wofled soldiers are trained to be sharp and my uncle isn't different. Eriol told me only Ayleth nobility and royalty can read it so I thought it could help."
"You know this is the reason why I love you." Shaoran said as he kissed her and re-tied the red cloth to his sword.
"Like I said, if you get killed, I will honestly never speak to you again." Sakura said.
Shaoran smirked and said as he held her close by the waist, "I won't die because one day, you will be my wife and I will ensure you happiness." He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
She leaned against him and said, "I'm already happy, Shaoran. You already ensured my happiness. Just by loving me, you've made me happy. So now go and fulfill everything that you need to not just for me, for us but for all of Ayleth. I love you so much so go, Li Xiao Lang. Don't stop being you. God be with you always."
Sakura stepped back from him and gave him a warm smile and turned to leave. Shaoran allowed her to go as he said a silent prayer for her, his family, to all of them. This was it and there was no turning back. He was ready as he went to join his men and Touya in their fight for freedom.
XxXxXx
Sakura knocked and entered the room. Inna, May Yu, Maya, Lusheng, Chiharu and Eriol were already inside. She smiled at them, a little unsure how to conduct herself as they had just found out the truth about her.
"Has Shaoran left?" Eriol asked.
"Yes. He just did." Sakura replied.
"Don't worry. They will all come back." Eriol said. She smiled a little.
Inna was looking at Sakura as with May Yu. They hadn't said anything to her and was clearly trying to avoid her in some way after they found out. It was all too much to carry and they knew that it was unfair.
"Yes. Eriol is right. They will all come back alive so you don't have to worry." Inna said. Sakura turned to her and smiled a little.
"Listen, Sakura. We're sorry. It was unfair of us to treat you the way we did just because we found out. Your Uncle killed my husband and it isn't your fault. You tried to save him. You saved me and my daughter. So I'm very, very sorry." Inna said. May Yu nodded as she apologized too.
Sakura smiled at them and said, "It's ok. I understand. It's nothing new to me. It has defined my life because of the world I was born into. I don't take it against anybody because I know that I am not the only one who hurts. I wish I can take away all the things he has done…all the hurt…the suffering…but I know I can't…that's why I now choose to fight…so that the future generation doesn't have to go through the things we did…"
"I'm so sorry, Sakura. I've been forcing you to tell me the truth for some time now, to tell me something about yourself. Now I know why you would do everything to avoid the subject." Chiharu said.
Sakura smiled.
"How did brother fare? I mean…" May Yu started.
Sakura exchanged glances with Eriol. "He was upset as expected but it was hard for him to swallow." Sakura answered.
"Who could blame him? It's not something any of us expected you to have gone through plus, the man who gave sold you to those missionaries was there calling you names." Eriol said.
Sakura swallowed hard as the others gaped. "Wait! Hold on! Rewind! The man who sold you as…you know…was here in front of all of you, especially Shaoran?" May Yu said.
Sakura closed her eyes and nodded. "But it didn't take long before Shaoran sentenced him." Eriol said, choosing his words carefully for the sake of the children with them.
"Good. That man deserves it. No one deserves to be treated like animals." Inna said as she put Maya to sleep.
"I take that back. Animals shouldn't be desecrated by monsters like him. Animals don't do this to their own kind. Their acts are unforgivable. I won't call him a man." Inna said.
"I can't actually blame him." Sakura suddenly said. They were all surprised with her comment. She smiled a little and said, "He has served under my uncle for such a long time and his loyalty lies with that man. He honestly believed that my uncle was right. I think his only sin is having himself submit to being a fanatic that he stopped thinking of what is right from wrong. I guess my uncle has that sort of quality in him that makes people believe or bad things happen to them."
All didn't seem to say anything about it. Inna finally couldn't help herself and said, "How is it, Sakura, that no matter what has happened to you in your past, you don't hold any grudge against them, you continue to smile the way you do and stand up and move forward?"
Sakura smiled a little and replied, "Because no matter how hard I would like to deny it, I am still of their blood, they are still my Father's people. My Father fought for their freedom even if it meant losing everything he loved to his last breath. He did that for love. Because of my Father, I cannot think ill of the people of Wofled, his people. I cannot allow myself to lose hope, especially not now that my Mother's people have taught me that there is still indeed hope. Besides, no matter what hardships life gives you, there are always things that you can be grateful for."
Suddenly they heard what seemed to be a lot of people running and fighting. Eriol quickly stood and unsheathed his sword. May Yu quickly held Lusheng close to her. The boy knew how serious it was. He knew that they were all in danger. He was afraid. Inna held Maya close and tried to shield the sounds from her. Sakura knew that they were all scared. She knelt and placed her hand on the ground and closed her eyes.
"Eriol, there are five soldiers coming in from the left. Judging from their weight and gait, they are enemy soldiers. Two Ayleth soldiers are coming around the corner. I'm not sure if they know about the Wofled men. Eight more are coming from the right. But they are already engaged in battle." Sakura said.
Everyone looked at her. "Ok, I wasn't planning to ask you how you know that but I'm going to ask anyway." Eriol said. "My brother." Sakura answered as she got up and looked at him. "He taught me. We had to learn to survive. It was a must that we learn, especially to differentiate all movements for us to live another day." She said.
Eriol gave her a nod. "Then we are surrounded. There is a hidden passageway at the corner but we will have to get out there to head for it. It's dangerous I don't-"
"Eriol, we have children here with us and not all of us can fight. You have to get them out of here." Sakura said.
"You're not planning what I think you are?" Eriol quickly said.
Sakura gave him a small smile. "Sakura, no! I'm not going to let you go out there and use yourself as bait!" Eriol said.
"We don't have a choice, Eriol. I've told you. They hate me more than they hate any of you. It will buy you time. I will not let anyone die because of me and mistakes I make. I will not let any of you die like this. You have to survive this." Sakura said sternly as she held on to Eriol. He looked straight into his eyes. She needed him to understand.
"And what about Shaoran then, huh? If something happens to you, what do you think it will do to him?" Eriol said.
Sakura smiled a little and let him go. "I promised him I will live. I promised him I will not run away from my past anymore. This is what I must do and he knows it. I will come back alive, Eriol, I will…because that is what he needs from me…the only thing he ever asked from me…just let me go, Eriol. For once, let me be the one to protect all of you. Please…"
Eriol reluctantly gave her a nod. Sakura smiled back and gave him her rosary. "Take this with you. It will protect you. He will protect you." Sakura said.
Eriol took it and held on to it tightly. Sakura took a deep breath and opened the door and started to run, to which direction, they weren't sure.
"You know Shaoran will kill us if anything happened to her." Inna said.
Eriol gave out a sigh and said, "Yeah I know. But I believe in her. I believe she will survive this. Right now, she just bought us some time. Come on let's get going. I'm going to get you guys out of danger before I go after her." He then led the way to the hidden passage.
As they all went through, Eriol stopped and was about to close the door. "Wait! You're not coming with us?" May Yu said.
Eriol smiled. He then said, "Go. You know where this leads. You're safer there. I'm going after Sakura. Go." He then closed the door and dashed off to look for Sakura.
He didn't go far when someone pulled on his arm and pulled him aside. "It's me. It's me. Don't freak." Sakura whispered.
"Sakura, what…" Eriol said as it dawned on his that it was Sakura indeed. She had tied her arm with a cloth. It was stained with blood. Sakura knew what was probably going through Eriol's mind. "Don't ask."
"I won't but you do know that Shaoran's going to kill me when he learns about this."
"No, he won't. Don't be ridiculous. It's not your fault so if he's going to kill anyone, that would be me."
"Right. Like that will happen." Eriol replied sarcastically.
"Anyway, we have to find my brother or Shaoran as soon as possible. There are bombs planted in different locations in the city. I overheard them talking. If this war isn't over by an hour and we haven't apprehended my uncle or something like that, this will be ground zero. I don't think they know that or have you guys heard from it?" Sakura quickly said.
"No. This is new information. Where exactly have you been?" Eriol asked as he quickly got Sakura's hand and they dashed to where they believed Shaoran or Touya were.
"When I ran, I ran against Yamazaki who was quick enough to save me the trouble in defending myself. Well for awhile I stood beside him as he and his men fought but he told me to run to the corner where we were and said not to come out. I saw them run the opposite direction and continued fighting. I have no idea where they are now. But anyway, while I was there, I overheard soldiers talking. From the looks of their uniform, they were of rank. He asked about the bombs if they were ready. Another said they were. He then said it won't be long now before the city will fall and the Wofled King would triumph. He checked his watch and said that they had an hour to kill as many as they could and get out of here. Naturally, I put two and two together." Sakura explained.
"How long has it been since you heard it?" Eriol said.
Sakura checked her watch and said, "About ten minutes ago so we have exactly fifty minutes to find them, tell them, have all the bombs disarmed or end this whole thing." Eriol cursed as they continued running to find Shaoran or Touya, which of them would be found first.
"This is not my area of expertise, what do we do now?" Sakura said.
"For the next war, I'm going to propose that every soldier should have a cell phone, charged and ready or at least the heads. We should go find them. We don't exactly have the time to search the entire city and disarm the bombs. We aren't even sure how many bombs there are. They didn't say did they?"
"No. But there are definitely several." Sakura answered.
"This certainly turned out to be a day full of surprises." Eriol commented.
"I had a feeling you just had to say that." Sakura replied.
Just then, they caught up with Shaoran and Touya together. They certainly hadn't expected that but it was good in a way. Eriol and Sakura quickly ran towards them as both men were surprised to see those two coming towards them.
"What are you doing here?" Shaoran quickly said as he continued fighting off men.
"This isn't one of your brilliant ideas is it Sakura?" Touya asked.
Sakura gave him a look but then proceeded on to say, "Yeah this is one of my brilliant ideas, 'nii-chan because this is about saving your lives and not to mention this city."
"What is she talking about?" Shaoran asked Eriol.
"They have planted several bombs in different parts of the city."
"What?" Both Touya and Shaoran exclaimed.
"I just happened to overhear Wofled soldiers talking and we have about half an hour to search this entire city for the bombs and disarm them. Or a better way is end this war once and for-" Sakura started to say but then was quickly silence as a strong hand covered her mouth and dragged her a few feet away from them. All of them were taken by surprise especially when they realized that it was the Wofled King himself who took her.
"Don't you ever learn, you stupid little girl? This war will never end unless I say it does." He said as he tightened his grip on Sakura. She chocked a little as she was having hard time breathing.
"You let her go." Touya quickly said stepping forward.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you unless you want it to be your turn to watch her die. You should have just remained dead." Moritaka said.
Eriol, Shaoran and Touya tightened their grips on their swords as they cursed silently.
Moritaka loosened his grip on Sakura a little. Sakura didn't seem scared but rather calm and determined. She made eye contact on each of them, as if trying to communicate something. But Moritaka took out a detonating device of some sort and said, "Let's take a little gamble shall we?" He said.
"Since you all seemed paralyzed now, let's go and see how truly hopeless, useless you all are." He added.
As he was about to press a button, Sakura inserted an acupuncture needle at his abdomen which struck him with great pain. Sakura had intentionally hit a pain receptor to distract him as she pulled of his grip from her and took the detonating device and returned the lock. But Moritaka quickly grabbed her hair and pulled her back. Sakura threw the detonating device to Eriol as Shaoran and Touya both sprang forward to help Sakura.
But before they could reach her, Moritaka already had Sakura by her injured arm and was threatening her with a sword against her neck. Both froze, neither didn't want to move or something bad might happen to Sakura. "You really are the daughter of Nadeshiko. You have your mother's spirit. She fought me off until her last breath. Did you know I offered to spare her life if she just agreed to marry me? I promised that I would let her children live. But she didn't so I had no choice but to end her life. She chose to be a whore of my brother and she got what she deserved. You two seem to have inherited that." Moritaka said.
"You have no right to speak about her." Sakura said.
Moritaka pulled her injured arm a little more which made Sakura flinch in pain. "I will speak about her as much as I want and the way I want, you little b*#$!" Moritaka said as he pulled a little harder. "You think you've stopped me when you were able to take that detonating device? Think again. It just comes to show how stupid you all are, especially you Sakura. That wasn't the real detonating device. As long as I live, those bombs are attached to me. It will not explode unless I say so. It will explode in less than an hour. But if you kill me, it will all detonate too. It's fun, isn't it?" He said.
Sakura, Touya, Shaoran and Eriol's eyes flew wide open.
"Eriol, go! Give as much effort in finding those bombs as soon as possible. You know what signs to look out for! Go!" Shaoran quickly said.
Eriol gave a nod and started to run and contact as much men as he could to do the massive, almost impossible task. They had less than half an hour to save Ayleth and all the people.
"Sakura, hang in there." Touya suddenly said. Sakura turned to look at him. He was telling her something through his eyes.
"What is this? Trying to boost the morale of your sister?" Moritaka said.
"I'm not talking to you, you bastard." Touya said without breaking eye contact with Sakura.
"Remember what I taught you. You can do it. Just believe." He then continued on to say to Sakura.
"'nii-chan…I…" Touya smiled. "Li, take care of Sakura. Be prepared." He then said.
"What are you planning, Kinomoto?" Shaoran asked. Touya said nothing and smirked. Not once did he break eye contact with Sakura.
Sakura closed her eyes. She knew that it was going to be a surge of pain. She knew what her brother wanted her to do. She hadn't done it before when she was uninjured. She doubted that she might be able to do it at that moment. But she knew that there was no room for doubts now. Their lives weren't just the ones in danger but rather all of the people in the Capital and all of Ayleth. She wasn't going to be the one to cause them to lose everything. They needed her to do her best now. She took a deep breath and looked at Touya again. Touya nodded.
Sakura then twisted her body and quickly faced Moritaka and stuck a needle at his throat. As he let her go and removed the needle, he was preparing to strike her with his sword when a dagger came flying at him. Touya threw a dagger so that Sakura could escape.
Shaoran quickly took Sakura a little farther from them. He then ripped a sleeve from his shirt and tied it across Sakura's bleeding arm. Touya and Moritaka started fighting hard.
"I'm taking you out of here." Shaoran said.
"No. We can't. 'nii-chan knows he can't kill him. He will need us to help him take out the detonator inside of him to stop this." Sakura said.
Shaoran was taken aback. "What are you talking about?" He asked.
"You guys are not doing what I think you are trying to tell me."
Sakura looked at him and nodded. He shook his head. He knew that Sakura didn't want to get involved with him as much as she already was but they both knew that it was the only option left for them unless Eriol miraculously was able to find all the bombs and it would be over.
Sakura and Shaoran could do nothing but watch. Moritaka was a skilled fighter and was hard to beat even at his age. Touya was having a hard time. Both wanted to help but couldn't. They might just put Touya into a compromising position. "I've read what you wrote on the cloth. I can see it." Shaoran told Sakura.
"I thought you might. But the information is useless now. We cannot kill him." She answered.
"Yeah. Sooner or later, one will have the upper hand."
"I know. I'm just hoping it's my brother. This is it. We have no more options." Sakura said.
Suddenly Touya was able to pin him down.
"Sakura!" Touya shouted which immediately prompted Sakura to his side and placed acupuncture needles to immobilize Moritaka.
"We have to open his up. I'm guessing his pacemaker is connected to it." Touya said.
Sakura looked up at Touya. She nodded. Touya knew that she didn't want to be there but chose to do so.
"Think about it like it's any other patient we've encountered. Don't think of his as our uncle. It would be easier." Touya said.
Sakura nodded. Shaoran took his stance as he noticed there were other Wofled soldiers surrounding them. "We have ten minutes you two. I'll hold them off. I've leave him to you, Kinomoto." Shaoran said as he started to fight Wofled soldiers to keep them from getting near Moritaka.
Sakura had seen people being operated before but not once did she feel sick about it until that moment. She remembered what her brother advised and it helped a little. Touya was able to open him up and reach the pacemaker. They were right. The detonating device was connected to his heart. Even Touya was grossed out when they saw it. The man was cruel to his very core. Sakura and Touya then cautiously took out the detonating device. They were careful not to destroy the pacemaker. Even if Moritaka was the cruelest man in the world, he was still their uncle and they weren't like him. They weren't about to kill him for pleasure or because they are pushed by strong emotions to. Fujitaka and Nadeshiko taught them better than that. But suddenly Moritaka started to convulse. He seemed to be having a heart attack. Sakura and Touya set things aside and tried to save his life nonetheless. But their efforts were in vain. He had gone and there was nothing they could do. What a way for the war to end?
(to be continued…)
Honestly, it took me more than a week to finish this chapter, the longest comparing every chapter. Thanks for those who kept reading this far and for those who sent in their reviews. Please do still review. Thank.
Michiko