Author's Note: Me and my big mouth…sorry about the super long wait…I really have no excuses… This is a background episode for Sakura and others…I'm not sure if I'm going to put in this world's Sakura in this fic…I really didn't plan to… Gomen nasai, but I have to split the break in into two chapters…too much stuff to explain.
Arigato to Yamashita, mya (you picked it out, tunneling is like sliders and I'm trying not to make this as dark as Separate Existence, but I duuno if I can keep that promise…), Little Blossom, Jurei (I'm trying to make the action as good as you make yours…not much luck though), …, pokey (like the author's note…I didn't plan to have this world's Sakura play a big role…but I don't know…), and Eagle_33 (just call me a trekkie)
To Rhea-chan, it's so sad that we won't be able to communicate so often…I miss it. The next series I start (which may be soon) I will dedicate to you for all your nice words and encouragement.
To CreatiStar: Thank you so much for the award, it's my first and it's so cool…I'm gonna dedicate a series to you too…wonder which genre. Any preferences?
To Otaku-hime, it was so nice you to say that about my writing…I don't know how I can thank you properly…I'll put a big Arigato in the next chapter of 'The Hunt….'
This chapter is dedicated to Caoilfionn: I don't know what it was exactly, but that last review made me start writing again…a big thanks…without you this chapter would not be here now. =)
Disclaimer: If CLAMP is a painfully thin college student with bags under his eyes, living on microwave delicacies, then I own CCS.
Slipping AwayChapter 3: Intrusion
The fluorescent light blinked erratically in the frosty night; an irony in itself, for it was powered by the same nuclear material used to lay waste to the land decades before. That it was snowing was no surprise; it hadn't stopped for the past month, a product of fallout. What was astounding were the flakes that descended from the decimated skies, pure white instead of the usual gray. Sakura twirled a few times, catching them in her hands, lifting her eyes to the heavens as if wishing upon a star unseen through the smog and smoke clouds. She looked around her, a pristine blanket overlaid the crumbling buildings, the oppressive air hanging like a choking fog swirling at her knees. This was her world; this was her future. But right now, amidst the suspended snow, under the flickering light of a street lamp, knowing that Syoaran watched her with a smile…she could at least forget momentarily, spinning dizzily in the crisp night.
Li Syaoran was contented with standing in the shadows, two gleaming eyes shaded by the darkness, gazing as his wife enjoyed the unusual snow, something so natural about her simple joy. "Old memories, Sakura?"
Sakura turned her body to face the seemingly empty darkness of the shadows; she reached her arm into the murkiness extracting a human form from the wraps of black. "Exactly; I haven't seen white snow since I was five. Now help me enjoy it before Tomoyo arrives."
Syaoran obeyed willingly, following Sakura under the pale light, standing reverently as the snow drifted about them in a dance beautiful and random. Sakura pressed herself pleasantly against Syaoran, providing enough warmth for them both. "Things are looking up tonight."
Sakura's smile dropped slightly, shaded by a dark responsibility. "Tell me why we have to do this again?"
"Because we have to. Do you want innocent people to end up like us?"
"Happy? Sure I do." She laughed as Syaoran tickled her in reproach. She straightened herself, her tone instantly grave. "Fine; I get it…Yana's got to be stopped. But we always do this, barely getting away with our lives. We can't escape fate every time."
"But we manage to. And today's not going to be different."
Sakura's eyes betrayed her innermost fears, the emotion cascading behind the green barrier. "It could." She felt his arms tighten around her, subduing the doubt, which yet still lingered like a ghost somewhere inside her. The snow continued to descend, wonderfully nostalgic yet tragic, like the heavens mourning for someone they could not save. Sakura shivered, feeling herself being pulled toward the darkness. "Syaoran, what are you doing?"
"We're not staying outside in the cold; Tomoyo will just have to reach us at home." He silenced Sakura's developing protest with a quick kiss, only a muffled sigh escaping her lips. "Home."
In the shadows, they walked until their path was blocked by the cracked concrete of a large apartment building, the formerly ornate gilding and intricate carvings now formless mounds, tarnished and disintegrating. The building was cordoned off from the rest of the general population with a 'Condemned' sign posted over the entrance, wooden slats fitted haphazardly across any opening on the ground level. Producing a metallic card-like object, Syaoran placed it flat against the concrete, the rock's solidity suddenly vaporized into a translucent illusion. "Through." The card lit up once again, the translucency fading into thin air. They passed easily into a darkened hallway beyond the threshold, the wall materializing solid behind their passage.
"Syaoran; you know we should save those; they're not supposed to be used unless in an emergency."
Syaoran stuck a finger to Sakura's nose, mildly explaining. "I know. Would you have rather have crawled up the ventilator shaft, climbed the garbage shaft and picked your way through the crawl space?"
Sakura sighed in defeat; knowing full well how difficult it was to get in. The last gash from a loose nail still hadn't completely healed yet. "I guess you're right. Let's go."
Their quiet footfalls fell from somewhere within the stairwell, muffled thuds arching through the dilapidated walls and brittle ceilings. Appearing before a door, they had reached home. As the door was thrown open, the thick dust left undisturbed out in the hall assaulted them, scattered by the light wind of their movement. "Home, sweet home." Sakura's voice held resentment, looking about her, taking her eyes from each memory to the next, some joyous, some violently devastating. This small apartment was their shelter, the only place that was considered sanctuary. She headed toward the fogged window as Syaoran lowered himself onto the rickety couch. She passed the milestones of their lives as she walked: a dried flower, bought on the black market for their wedding, a worn tie wrapped around a leather bound notebook, the only possessions of her dead father, two faded, thick silk ribbons dangling from a hook, what Meiling wore the day she died. This was just inevitability. The sound of movement emanated from the street below, her instinctual reflex to hide behind the curtains.
Syaoran had lifted his head over the back of the couch, hand reaching for his 'cards.' "Is it the Corps?"
Sakura snuck a peek at the approaching figures, scanning the darkness for cars or lights. "No; it looks like some people, probably out hunting for food." She pulled the curtains shut with finality. "I guess we wait then?"
Syaoran motioned her closer, taking her pale form in his arms. "You don't see me complaining, do you?"
Sakura turned to face him, a smile playing on her lips as she lit a candle, the flames dancing across her skin like liquid, eyes sparkling from an unnatural luster. "And neither am I." She threw her arms around his neck, staring into the unfathomable depths of Syaoran's eyes. They neared, impatient lips meeting each other, emotions spanning their connection. The tranquility was not to last, however, as a sharp knock penetrated the flat. Sakura released her hold on Syaoran looking toward the door. "That would be Tomoyo." Her tone had become flat, matter of fact. She picked up a 'card' from the table, the metallic rectangular shape nestled between her fingers. She affixed it flat against the door, commanding, "Reveal." The door shifted like static, the hard grains of wood disappearing into a translucent mesh. From the revealed wounds in the door, Sakura peered into the darkened hallway.
Before the threshold, Tomoyo stood, her face taught with focus, long hair pulled together into a tight ponytail. She fingered something unseen in the folds of her clothes. She snapped in her business-like voice. "I know you're using Reveal. Open the door so we can see you."
Sakura clicked the locks open, swinging the massive oaken door inward, a draft of foul wind scattering the dust grains across the apartment floor. "Come in Tomoyo. Who's with us this time?"
Tomoyo hustled through the doorway, the flaps of her trench coat fluttering in her stride. Two likewise cloaked figures followed in her stead, faces obscured by high collars. One had a visible scar on its forehead, the other letting a patch of blood red lips peek out between the lapels. "I couldn't get Rika this time; the Corps are after her." Her voice lowered but remained indifferent, precisely trained. "And you know about Naoko…." Sakura nodded somberly, remembering their last mission, an unsuccessful campaign against one of Yana's reactors. "Anyway, I have with me Yamakazi and Azukizi. This is their first mission." A low ironic laugh followed her statement. "Like throwing a child into deep water hoping it'll learn to swim." She strode rigidly into the small living room, taking a gun from inside her coat.
Syaoran had risen when Tomoyo entered, quickly making his way down the hall. He returned with a large chest, depositing it at her feet. "I could only get 20 rounds; Yana's really got the dealers scared."
Tomoyo nodded curtly, opening the case to reveal twenty cylindrical cartridges embedded reverentially in molded foam. She expertly loaded one into her gun, jerking her head for Yamakazi and Azukizi to follow suit.
Yamakazi flattened his collar, a small scar running from his right eyebrow to just around his eye. His eyes were dull, quiet. He watched Sakura and Syoaran wearily as he bent down to pick up a cartridge, never turning his back on them. He removed a small pistol and loaded a cartridge in. He remained silent, a cold timidity in his manner, refusing to voluntarily make eye contact.
Akizuki had unwrapped her coat, her red lips contrasting ominously with her clothes, her skin smooth and pale, dressed in a black tank top and loose pants. She smiled faintly if not tragically, as she heard the sharp click from her gun, a polished confection of gleaming silver, the cartridge fitting neatly in place.
Sakura returned with from the kitchen with two identical guns. Handing one to Syaoran, she gingerly picked up a cylinder, feelings its weight and deadliness in her palm before inserting it. She shuddered with the sickening feel of the gun as it trembled with its load.
Satisfied that everyone had loaded, Tomoyo removed the remaining rounds distributing them around. Shoving the trunk into the shadows, she produced a box from her coat pocket. Taking the lid off, she turned it upside down, sending a mass of metal fluttering to the table. "Terada was taken last night. This was all I could get after they ransacked his lab."
Numerous 'cards' laid on the table, all nearly identical except for a central glyph on each one, engraved simply. She looked at the collection with disappointment, even with Syaoran's cards a pitiful nine cards to be spread among five people, but this was all there was. They would have to make due. She separated them into five piles, considering each one before placing them before someone. "I'm sure you know how to activate these; you've all used them before one way or another. There are a few new ones you haven't seen before though. Yamakazi, you've got Quake; its activation code is 'collapse.' Syaoran, I gave you Sword, command is 'unsheathe.'" She turned to Sakura watching the latter fascinated by the engraved blue circle on her card. "It's Shield; it's newly developed and very powerful. Don't waste it. Call for it by saying 'activate.' I've added a thermal adhesive on its back; you'll need it." Sakura nodded understanding perfectly, having gone through the plan too many times to count.
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The five were gathered around the dining table, poring over blueprints, photos, each step exact, every second counted. "If we can do this according to plan, Yana's ruined. Remember; this is not the time for any personal vendettas. We are stealing his tunneling device and getting out. Nothing else." Everyone remained silent unwilling to contradict her, feeling the importance of this mission far beyond their own lives and grudges. For a second, the atmosphere became lead, frosted over with the discomfort of loss looming ahead. Tomoyo tried valiantly to boost everyone's courage and lighten the mood; she would be damned if anyone died this time. "I forgot the introductions." The grim line of her mouth separated momentarily with a small smile. It was physically unnoticed, but there was a general lifting of gravity around them. "This apartment belongs to Syaoran Li and his wife Sakura. Here are Takashi Yamakazi and Nakuru Akizuki." Brief 'hellos' were exchanged between the strangers, leaving off in another uncomfortable silence. Tomoyo sighed; if they were to get out of this alive, everyone needed to know and trust each other. Besides, the time was a little too early to attack. "This mission requires trust and knowing your allies. I'll start. As you know I'm Tomoyo Daidouji; I head up the resistance movement in this sector. But everyone here knows me, so let's move on."
Syaoran spoke up first, seeing as how Sakura had quietly backed away from the table in nervousness. "My name is Syoaran Li. Sakura's my wife. We've been in the resistance for nearly 10 years." He stopped, unable to think of what to say. What could be said? He left off at another abrupt silence.
Sakura whispered, barely breaking the deafening stillness. "We've been living in the underground for nearly 5 years. I used to be a teacher…kindergarten. Syaoran was an engineer…a long time ago…"
Nakuru picked up the conversation, her tapping foot getting too loud in the quiet apartment. "I'm Nakuru Akizuki. I was an assassin for Yana." A mirthless chuckle escaped her throat at the surprise on Syaoran's, Sakura's and Takashi's faces', followed by the same enigmatically melancholy smile as before. "In fact, I was assigned to kill Tomoyo here; as you can see quite plainly, I failed that mission. For punishment, Yana had me imprisoned and my family murdered. I escaped through an air vent a couple years back, the bastard too wrapped up in his own power hungry plans. From that day on, I swore I'd get my revenge." She cast a quiescent glance at Tomoyo's worried expression. "Don't worry; my revenge can wait. This is more important."
Takashi watched as all eyes fell on him, beads of sweat forming under the curious scrutiny. "I-I'm Takashi Yamakazi. I was an accountant once, before everything anyway…it all fell apart a few years back when Chiharu was arrested… I've been lost for a while, until Tomoyo came to me…and now I'm here." He ended flatly, unconsciously running a thumb over his scar, wincing in some kind of phantom pain.
The kitchen candles flickered in sympathy, dancing with the churning grief that impregnated the room. Tomoyo stood first, thrusting her gun into her coat, placing her cards into a holder tied around her upper thigh. "This is it…it's time."
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Water splashed, the sounds echoing through the dark tunnel, bouncing from wall to wall. A small light pierced the rank darkness, five figures walking briskly through a maze of pipes. They peered into the blackness, ignoring the putrid smell that inhabits sewers. Rays of streetlight passed through manhole punctures falling onto the brackish sewage laden water. The march continued, one step after another, each manhole lid counted before taking a right or a left. After what seemed an interminable trek, they had stopped at the end of a cul-de-sac, underneath a storm drain. Weeks and weeks of preparation had come down to this. They looked upward, meeting a grate, some snow drifting down with the streaming ambient light. Tension hung thick among them, the accumulation of numerous lives and unfathomable sorrow. This was the point of no return.
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Author's Note: I had originally planned to have the whole night in this chapter, but I found myself having to introduce people and places and things…so sorry if this is sort of a cliffhanger.