Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004
Chapter 14: Exposed Identities
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"I think we should split up," Meiling announced, "I'll go down to the basements, and you can go to the person's house and try to find the disc."
They were sitting inside the car, planning out what to do next.
"What makes you think that the disc is at their house? We told Tsukiro we had it," Sakura said.
"How do you know his name?" Meiling asked.
Sakura rolled her eyes, "It was written on that thing on his desk."
"Oh," Meiling said.
She suddenly reached into her pocket, the other one, not the one with the gun in it.
She took out a needle, the ones used for shots.
"What the heck is that?" Sakura backed away from the needle.
She was practically scared to death about getting shots.
"A tranquilizer. I use it a lot to calm down my patients. I took one on impulse because I thought it was cool. And it seems I need it now," Meiling smirked.
"You're going to tranquilize Yuki? No!" Sakura exclaimed.
Meiling sweat dropped, "No, not him. The guards."
"Is is sterile?" Sakura asked suspiciously.
"Yeah. It's new," Meiling grinned.
"Oh boy. Fine. I'll take the car and drive over to this place. It's downtown. And you try to rescue Yuki. But don't do anything rash," Sakura warned.
"Oh I won't," Meiling promised in sugary sweet voice, "You can trust me."
Sakura laughed, "That's worse than my dumb blond voice."
Meiling rolled her eyes, "Whatever. As soon as you get the disc, come back here. Wait for me, and I'll probably come out with Yuki, okay?"
"Got it. Take care, and be safe. This is dangerous," Sakura said to Meiling.
She nodded, "I promise to be as safe as possible."
Meiling got out of the car and Sakura waved goodbye to her worriedly.
Sakura backed out of the parking lot and glanced at the address.
It seemed really familiar to her somehow, one of the richer apartments downtown.
She drove steadily there, and turned on the classical radio station to calm her nerves.
Sakura spotted a parking garage and parked in there.
Wow, the parking garage was exactly like the one she'd been in before…but where?
Sakura turned off the engine of the car and took her belongings with her and started going in the apartment building.
She dimly realized that this was very alike the parking garage Syaoran had given her the car, and it was possible that he could live in this very apartment building.
But she'd never been to his apartment; only Meiling and Tomoyo had.
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Meiling jogged down the metal stairs softly, one hand on the gun and the other on her needle.
She paused when she came to heavy door. She was officially in the basement, and Yuki might possibly be on the other side.
Meiling slowly opened the door, praying to the hinges not to squeak, and they didn't.
She crept into the hallway, and she saw another hallway.
"What kind of place is this?" Meiling murmured to herself. Why would they have cells in the basement of a warehouse?
Meiling quickly halted when she saw a main jail cell, with a thin man sitting on the cot.
Yuki!
There was his bodyguard, who Meiling couldn't quite see from the shadows.
But she could see the keys swinging on his finger, and Meiling quickly calculated the distance between him and her.
It was only about ten feet, and if she could take him by surprise, she could quickly insert the needle in his temple and throw the keys to Yuki in one swift motion.
Unless he had a gun he might shoot at her…
Or she could take a different approach and pretend she was one of them.
Meiling quickly debated what she should do.
The first one was too risky, but the second one was stranger, and the guard might have a hard time believing her.
Oh, what the hell.
Meiling took a deep breath, smoothed back her hair, checked her pants, and started walking forward, with one hand still on the gun handle.
"Ah hem," Meiling cleared her throat, "Mr. Akatchi wants you, sir."
She smiled devilishly as she felt in the needle inside her pocket, as soon as he came into range, she'd puncture that needle into him.
She walked right into the middle of the area, and she could see Yuki snap his attention onto her.
The guard stood up confused, and she got a clear look at his face, "Touya?"
The tall, lean man glanced at her, "What the f--"
"What are you doing here?" Meiling asked.
She did a double take, "With Yuki?"
"Meiling?" Touya said.
"Yes, it's me, what the hell are you doing?" Meiling questioned.
"My job?" Touya said.
They stared at each other in disbelief, and Yuki looking at both of them.
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Sakura turned the doorknob of the apartment.
What a surprise, it wasn't locked, and it turned easily.
Sakura slowly opened the door a crack, her heart pounding. She was a now a burglar.
The lights were off and there was a distant hum of the refridgerator running, but other than that, there was no one she could see.
As she crept in slowly, she half expected someone to appear and call the police on her, but no one came.
And she was scared to death of who might be living here.
The apartment didn't look too menacing, but it was apparent that more than one man lived here.
Sakura softly blew out a sigh and started looking.
She was ransacking the place, much like someone did to her only a few days ago.
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Sakura finished digging through the living room, kitchen, bar and bathroom.
It was time to head into the bedrooms.
Sakura picked the first one to the right, and as soon as she entered, she had to smile despite herself.
The room was decorated in all forest green, and the scent of soap and aftershave made her sigh in pleasure.
It had enough messiness to make it bachelor's room, yet it was still tidy despite the objects thrown around.
She snapped out of it as soon as she saw several swords leaning on the wall and guns lying on the floor.
Sakura took a deep breath and headed towards the desk. That was where she would start.
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Syaoran was jogging back home, his shirt covered in sweat.
He had just spent too many hours at the gym, and his muscles were aching, desperate for a hot shower.
The gym was closing, so he couldn't take in the men's room, so he wanted to get home quickly.
It was night, and the flashing lights of downtown Tokyo were on already as he headed towards his house.
Beads of sweat trickled down his back as he steadily trotted into the apartment building, and he skipped the elevator and headed to the stairs.
He arrived at his apartment and saw the door was open a crack.
Immediately his instincts took over and he slowed his breathing and quietly stepped inside.
He saw a gigantic and inwardly groaned.
First Sakura's house, now his.
He wasn't sure if it was his ears that first heard a thump in his bedroom, or his eyes which saw the trail of objects leading to his room
But he walked there anyways, pausing in the kitchen to take a knife.
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"What the hell do you mean, this is your job?" Meiling asked, fury in her eyes, "You mean you're the man who kidnapped Yuki all this time? And you freaking probably knew he was Yuki, but you had to lie to us?"
Touya had backed up from the menacing Meiling. He knew from experience that angry women could be VERY strong.
"God, Meiling, I had no choice. Tsukiro would kill me, you know what," Touya said.
Meiling had pushed him to the stone cold cement wall and wall yelling to his face, "I can't believe you!"
She quickly kicked him in anger and delivered a series of blowing punches to his side and slammed one in his face.
Touya recoiled, and fell down to the floor, but he brought down Meiling with him.
Meiling grabbed the key from his finger and tossed it into the jail, "Get out of here, Yuki. I'll take care of it."
Yuki didn't have to be told twice to leave, he scrambled for the key and let himself out.
Before leaving though, Meiling yelled at Yuki, "We're going to have a talk at home!"
Yuki winced, he too knew how Meiling could be when angry.
But he left, leaving Meiling in a fight with Touya.
Touya lay on the floor, panting, "I'm not---" he wheezed, "going to hit you. I don't hit women."
Meiling rolled off him and Touya propped himself up, tasting blood in his mouth, "Though I'm quite sorely tempted to."
Meiling quickly pointed a foot in his face, another inch would deliver a kick to his jaw.
"Explain."
Touya closed his eyes in pain and opened them back up, "You know the history with Sakura. She isn't aware of everything. I think she's avoiding it, and she can't help it that she can't remember. Our father, Fujitaka, was an archaeologist. On take-your-kids-to-work day, he decided to take us with him to his job. It was close to our mother's anniversary, and my father was unusually tense. He had taken Sakura because of the endless hours of begging, but I knew he wasn't very happy about it. And I knew why when he took us to this warehouse. He told us to stay in the car, but I followed him, and Sakura followed me. We ducked into the closet and overheard my father asking Tsukiro for a package of centuries old treated marijuana plants. He obviously didn't trust my father, since as soon as my father turned to leave, he got killed. That's when I instinctively burst out of the closet, Sakura at my heels. My father was dead, and Tsukiro's men shot at Sakura and I. She lost consciousness and was taken for dead, carried out with my father. But Tsukiro saw something in me and took me in under his wing. I didn't ask for him--you need to know how much pain and suffering I went through before I finally relented. I was his slave. And that's how I got this job. I betray him, he'll kill me like he did---" Touya abruptly stopped.
Meiling was too deep in thought to notice, and she nodded slowly, "I--I understand."
Now she knew why Sakura had whispered that strange sentence in the closet…it had probably come as an automatic flashback to her.
She took her foot away and Touya let out a sigh of relief.
"Is your face okay? I'm sorry. I get kind of protective of Yuki," Meiling explained, searched her pockets for some tissue.
She felt the needle and burst out laughing, "You wouldn't believe it. I brought a tranquilizer here to knock you out. Sakura told me not to use it, she was right."
Touya chuckled, "Damn right she is."
Meiling suddenly froze.
"Oh shit."
Suddenly flashbacks sparked through her mind--Tomoyo telling them about Eriol's tattoo, Syaoran's hesitancy about his job, and if Syaoran and Eriol were living with Touya, that only meant that---
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Sakura smiled.
She held up a rather large metallic disc, encased in a plastic covering.
"This is it," Sakura smiled devilishly, "Now I can just---"
"Leave?" a deep voice asked behind her.
Sakura closed her eyes, cursing herself for letting her guard down.
The sun was completely gone and the room was dark; Sakura hadn't turned any lights on.
Sakura gulped as she felt a sharp metal object scratch the back of her neck.
"Who the hell are you?" the voice asked again.
The voice was familiar.
"I c-can't tell you that," Sakura said, breathing heavily and nervously.
"Why not? What the hell are you doing with my disc?"
Sakura remembered the gun in her hand and slowly moved her thumb to let out the safety lock.
The man kicked the gun out of her hand and said, "Don't even think about it."
He pressed the knife down deeper into her skin and Sakura whimpered.
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"Oh god!" Meiling kicked Touya on the side again, "Eriol and Syaoran work for Tsukiro, don't they? Oh crap, oh crap---the disc---Sakura---"
"What?" Touya asked, annoyed.
He'd be getting a bruise tomorrow, no doubt.
Meiling quickly stood up, "Sakura's at your house. She's looking for the disc."
"Ooh," Touya realized the situation, "Run!"
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Sakura was sweating from nervousness, and her mind couldn't get off the sharp object on the back of her neck.
This man would slice off her head in three seconds, she knew it.
As soon as she thought that, the man scooted to the side to get his sword, one hand still on the knife.
Sakura breathed, "Oh what the hell," and she quickly bent down and swept leg around the man's and used all of her strength to knock his knee down.
She grabbed her gun and pointed it at his forehead.
The man's body was strong and muscular, but he was sweating…
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Syaoran's eyebrows shot up, he had seen this move before.
It was Sakura's.
"Light on," Syaoran shouted and clapped his hands three times.
Immediately lights illuminated the room, and Sakura and Syaoran stared at each other in shock.
Two people burst into the room, and Syaoran saw that it was Touya and Meiling, panting.
"Stop---" Meiling gasped for breath as she saw the various weapons scattered around the room.
Sakura glanced, wide eyed, and Touya, Meiling, Syaoran and the disc in her hand.
And she promptly fainted.
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They were in the living room and had dragged Sakura's body to the couch, where Meiling was fanning her while Syaoran was getting her a glass of water.
They were in stone cold silence, and Touya was sitting next to Sakura, stroking her hair.
She slowly opened her eyes and blinked.
"What happened?" she whispered, looking up at Touya's concerned face.
She closed her eyes again, trying to remember what had happened.
Then she sat up quickly, "Oh god, the disc! Where is it?"
Syaoran wryly said, "I have it."
He twirled the metallic object in his hand around and handed her a glass of water.
"Well, I need it," Sakura said.
She didn't seem to realize what had happened.
Ooh, wait, now she did.
Sakura's eyes flew wide open, "You're---you're---you were going to cut off my neck!"
Syaoran rolled his eyes, "It's about time you realized."
Sakura quickly thought aloud, "If you work for Tsukiro…that means…you kidnapped…the disc…"
Syaoran patiently waited for Sakura to finish thinking it out, "Oh my god!"
Syaoran swallowed and Sakura exclaimed, "That means all three of you have been fooling me! How could you!?"
She whirled to Touya, "How could you? You guys have lied to me all this time?"
Touya raised his arms in defense, "I had too."
Suddenly Tomoyo came out of Touya's room, yawning and stretching her arms.
She blinked tiredly and stared at the four people in the living room.
"What are you guys doing here?" she asked.
Four pairs of eyes looked back at her, asking the same thing.
"Doesn't matter," Tomoyo hastily said, "What's going on?"
Meiling gravely said, "We have something to tell you…"
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Tomoyo sat down on the floor, "I knew it."
Sakura and Meiling nodded, "Yep."
Tomoyo sadly laughed, "It kind of hurts more that Eriol couldn't come out and tell me but I had to find out like this. And that Eriol's doing things like this."
"It's my fault," Syaoran said, "I dragged him into this."
"Doesn't matter. He should've came clean," Tomoyo sighed.
Sakura stated, "Tomoyo, if you knew Eriol was on the 'other' side of what Yuki was doing, being in a gang and all, would you have stuck with him, no matter how much you loved him?"
"Yes," Tomoyo insisted.
Meiling shot her a look, and Tomoyo wilted, "No…"
"Then it's not his fault. You guys, everything's out. There's no more skeletons in our closets. Unless the guys have more secrets they haven't told us."
"The---bathroom!" Eriol staggered out of his room, holding a hand over his mouth.
They heard him throw up into the toilet and heard it flush, and the water running as he rinsed his mouth out.
Eriol peeled his shirt off and wiped his mouth when he saw there were no towels, and came back outside.
Like Tomoyo, he saw faces staring back at him.
He walked slowly to the couch, where everyone continued to stare at him.
Sakura scooted out of the couch and he sat down.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Tomoyo suddenly gave him a hug, wrapping her arms around his bare frame, sighing in happiness, "Eriol, I love you no matter what. Okay?"
Eriol looked down at saw the black tattoo on his chest, "Um…"
He looked at Syaoran and Touya for answers, and they nodded, "Everything's out."
Eriol returned the hug to Tomoyo.
She got up, "I made you a drink for when you wake up."
She went to the kitchen and got out a glass from the fridge, and handed it to Eriol.
He gulped it down, then made a horrible face, "Ugh! What's inside here?"
"Secret," Tomoyo smirked, "If I told you, you'd throw up again."
Eriol winced but drank it all down, "I'm not so sure I love you anymore."
Tomoyo laughed, but turned serious, "Why'd you drink so much? You could've gotten poisoned from all that alcohol."
Eriol shook his head, "I'm okay. I've been worse. How's Yuki?"
Meiling scowled, "I let him out. He should be home."
"All right. So I guess you girls know everything…" Eriol paused.
"Yes."
"I have nothing left you guys don't know. Except that I broke in and stole the disc from Yuki. That's when I found out Mr. X was Yuki," Eriol explained.
Syaoran and Touya nodded, "We didn't know Eriol had done that. So we kidnapped Mr. X to get the disc…but since we already had it, that probably wasn't possible."
Sakura broke out in a smile, "Geez, that makes things a lot easier!"
"I have nothing else to hide," Syaoran said, "Nothing."
"I do," Touya said quietly.
Five heads turned to look at him quickly, "What?"
Touya said first, "Syaoran, Meiling, and Eriol. You have to first swear not to beat me up after I tell you this. I've already gotten punched by Meiling."
Syaoran slowly said, "Okay…"
Meiling and Eriol nodded, "Fine. What is it?"
Touya let out a sigh, "Syaoran, how did your father die?"
Syaoran gave Touya a quizzical look, "He was murdered by some gang members."
"And why did you come to Tsukiro?"
Syaoran answered, "My father had told me a long time ago that if anything happened to him, I had to come to Tsukiro."
"That was before your father died?"
"What is this, an interrogation? About a year before," Syaoran said.
Touya nodded slowly, "Syaoran…your father was killed by Tsukiro."
Syaoran looked at Touya, "No he wasn't."
Touya sighed, "Yes he was. Your father had been working with Tsukiro, yes. But your father betrayed Tsukiro and he killed him. Right before mine was killed."
Syaoran could only stare in shock.
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"What the hell are you talking about?" Syaoran asked, his voice coming out slowly and deadly.
Touya shrugged, "It's true, man."
"You mean I've been working for the man who killed my dad--a murderer--for the past thirteen plus years?" Syaoran asked.
He wasn't shouting, but his words were sharp and cold.
Sakura shivered, this was scary.
"Damn, it was your choice. Hey, I'm the only one who knows beside Tsukiro. If you found out, the only way you could find out was by me, so I'd be a dead man," Touya raised his hands in defense.
Syaoran whispered, "Like my father. And the life that I led before I came here. If I only knew."
"I'm sorry," Meiling came forward and hugged Syaoran gently, "Poor uncle."
Sakura watched Syaoran stare at the floor glassy eyed.
She wondered how it felt to know that you'd been working for your father's murderer and trusting him.
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"I'm going to kill him," Syaoran twisted his hand and cracked his knuckles menacing, "No one gets away with killing a Li."
Eriol rolled his eyes, "You weren't this venomous when you heard your father died from gang members."
Syaoran flashed his eyes in Eriol's direction, "This is different. This is revenge. Touya, you know how I feel."
Touya nodded slowly, "I've dreamed of seeking vengeance on my father's killer for ten years now. But it's impossible."
"Maybe. But I'm going to do it. Sooner or later."
Syaoran's hands relaxed for a moment and his angry feelings seemed to have diminished slightly.
He turned to Meiling, Sakura and Tomoyo and said, "Shouldn't you guys be getting home?"
"Yeah. We need someone to take us, though," Sakura said, glancing at the clock. It read eleven.
"Wait, do you guys need an escort? It still might not be safe," Syaoran remembered.
"We'll be fine," Sakura started, but Touya interrupted her, "You guys should spend the night here."
"Huh?" Meiling looked at them, "Um, sure."
"Great. I'll take the girls down back to their apartment so they can get some stuff, then they can come back here," Eriol volunteered.
Tomoyo looked at him skeptically, "No way. You still have some alcohol in your body and I don't want to risk anything."
"Fine," Eriol said rather sheepishly, "Okay."
"I'll do it," Syaoran muttered, "Let's go."
He strode out the door with the three women silently following him all the way to the car, where he drove them to their apartment.
They climbed up and knocked on the door, and Yuki answered.
He looked tired and nodded half-heartedly to Syaoran when he walked in, and soon the girls explained that they would be sleeping over at the guys' place.
Yuki shot Syaoran a look.
He rolled his eyes, "No, I'm not going to do anything to them. They're just going to be sleeping. It's safer there than here."
This time Yuki rolled his eyes and nodded.
The women finished stuffing clothes and sleeping bags into backpacks and they each kissed Yuki goodbye, "We'll be back around tomorrow, okay?"
Yuki hesitated.
Sakura read his eyes and said, "Do you want to come, too?"
Syaoran inwardly groaned, but he forced himself to chirp, "The more the merrier!"
The girls didn't hear the sarcasm and quickly thanked Syaoran, "Oh thank you. You're the absolute best!"
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Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the parking garage and trooped into the elevator to the guys' apartment building.
When they walked in, Eriol and Touya were surprised to see the pale man, but greeted him anyways.
"I rented some movies," Eriol raised up several DVDs and giggled in a high falsetto voice, "We can watch these and gossip and braid hair!"
Meiling rolled her eyes and whacked him on the head, "Is that what you think girls do?"
"This is going to be exciting," Sakura smiled, "A sleepover!"
"Uh huh, with my little sister," Touya cringed.
By the time it was midnight, they had pushed the sofa back and made space for three sleeping bags, and they popped in the first DVD.
"Cradle 2 the Grave," Sakura read the box.
"No, it's Cradle 2 Da Grave," Touya corrected.
"Yeah, Cradle 2 the Grave. I said that," Sakura repeated.
"No, it's Cradle 2 DA Grave," Touya said.
"I said that!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Just shut up and watch the movie," Meiling said, getting out a bag of popcorn from the microwave.
Meiling sat down on the floor leaning against the couch, snacking on popcorn, while Eriol and Tomoyo were on the side, propped up by the sofa, holding hands.
Yuki didn't want to watch the movie and instead was starting to read a book on physiology in the kitchen table.
Touya sat on the couch and Sakura was next to him, and Syaoran was on the other end.
Sakura yawned as the movie started, and leaned against her brother.
Touya smiled as he held her, and softly stroked Sakura's hair.
"I've missed you," he whispered.
Sakura replied, "I'm glad I'm back."
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The end credits of the movie rolled onto the screen.
Sakura yawned again and glanced at Eriol and Tomoyo, who were busy making out.
They had been doing that for the latter half of the movie.
Meiling had dozed off, with the empty popcorn bag and two empty soda bottles at her side.
Yuki was almost finished with the book, and smiled when Sakura looked at him.
Touya and Syaoran were still awake, and Sakura whispered, "I think it's time for us to go to bed."
They nodded, and Sakura helped roll Meiling into the sleeping bag.
Sakura tapped Tomoyo on the shoulder, and she turned around, out of breath, "What?"
"Time to go to sleep."
"It's okay…I think I'll be Eriol for the rest of the night," Tomoyo said mischeviously.
She looked at Yuki, who gave her a disapproving look.
"I mean, good night, Eriol," Tomoyo said sheepishly, "See you tomorrow."
"Yuki, you can sleep in my room," Touya offered, "I'll sleep on the floor of Eriol's or Syaoran's room."
"Not mine," Syaoran scowled, "Sleep in Eriol's."
Yuki nodded gratefully and closed his book, setting it on the table.
He went to Touya's room and shut the door.
"Good night," Eriol gave one last kiss to Tomoyo and headed to his room.
Touya followed him, and Syaoran nodded to Tomoyo and Sakura as a good night wave.
Sakura and Tomoyo snuggled into their sleeping bags as Syaoran turned off the living room lights, and fell fast asleep.
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Syaoran wasn't able to sleep all night.
He had tossed and turned in his bed and finally just got up and worked out his frustrations on the punching bag hanging from the ceiling and then his sword.
As he slashed the deadly weapon against the air, he imagined it was Tsukiro that was in front of him, dying a slow and painful death from the wrath of Li's son.
Syaoran smirked wryly, that'd be the day.
A soft knock came from the door.
Syaoran turned around and slowly walked to it.
He finally opened it and was surprised to see Sakura standing there.
"I thought I heard some noises," Sakura smiled.
She moved to come in and Syaoran silently let her.
He was rather annoyed.
She had broken his concentration.
"You're bleeding," Sakura pointed to his knuckles.
Syaoran looked down but shrugged.
"I'm okay."
"Are you sure?" Sakura looked at his hand uncertaintly.
"I'm fine."
Sakura nodded and started browsing around his room, touching his CD's and books.
Syaoran stood silently with his jaw clenched, glancing at her.
Sakura finally smiled and sat down on his bed, "Aren't you going to sleep?"
"I should ask you the same thing," Syaoran responded.
"Are you angry?" Sakura asked softly.
"At what," Syaoran asked flatly.
"Life…" Sakura trailed off.
Syaoran sat down next to Sakura on the bed and threw his sword onto the floor, the sharp end sticking into the carpet.
"I suppose," Syaoran said slowly, "That I'm angry at life. I would rather not have my life end up like this."
"But life has it's good parts too," Sakura smiled and took his hand, gently squeezing it.
Syaoran was suddenly self conscious and wondered what he looked like.
"Very good parts," Syaoran answered.
Sakura turned to him and looked deep into Syaoran amber eyes, "You know how I told you that I only dated with people who I fell in love with?"
Syaoran replied slowly, "Yes. But I wondered if you'd miss your 'one' because you never dated them to get to know them."
"I don't think that's possible," Sakura responded softly, "Because he's right in front of me."
Sakura gently turned her head and aimed her lips at Syaoran's, and they landed in a sweet kiss.
Syaoran didn't respond and let Sakura's lips interlock with his, but he suddenly stood up.
"I'm sorry. But I can't. Not with you," Syaoran said.
And he fled.
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End of Chapter 14. Next chapter, "Seeking Revenge".
A/N: Yuck. I think i'm gonna get some flames for that last one. But if it brings any comfort, I assure you that this started out as S&S, and therefore it will end as S&S. You just gotta wait two more chapters, till the end. Hm, this is really coming up to a wrap. Two more chapters, and this is over! :( but no worries, i'll be posting up a new story that i've already started working on. the next fanfic will be up...the 7th, and the final one will be posted up....i'm not sure. my schedule's pretty hectic, since school's coming to an end. Anyways...review!!!!!
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004
Chapter 14: Exposed Identities
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"I think we should split up," Meiling announced, "I'll go down to the basements, and you can go to the person's house and try to find the disc."
They were sitting inside the car, planning out what to do next.
"What makes you think that the disc is at their house? We told Tsukiro we had it," Sakura said.
"How do you know his name?" Meiling asked.
Sakura rolled her eyes, "It was written on that thing on his desk."
"Oh," Meiling said.
She suddenly reached into her pocket, the other one, not the one with the gun in it.
She took out a needle, the ones used for shots.
"What the heck is that?" Sakura backed away from the needle.
She was practically scared to death about getting shots.
"A tranquilizer. I use it a lot to calm down my patients. I took one on impulse because I thought it was cool. And it seems I need it now," Meiling smirked.
"You're going to tranquilize Yuki? No!" Sakura exclaimed.
Meiling sweat dropped, "No, not him. The guards."
"Is is sterile?" Sakura asked suspiciously.
"Yeah. It's new," Meiling grinned.
"Oh boy. Fine. I'll take the car and drive over to this place. It's downtown. And you try to rescue Yuki. But don't do anything rash," Sakura warned.
"Oh I won't," Meiling promised in sugary sweet voice, "You can trust me."
Sakura laughed, "That's worse than my dumb blond voice."
Meiling rolled her eyes, "Whatever. As soon as you get the disc, come back here. Wait for me, and I'll probably come out with Yuki, okay?"
"Got it. Take care, and be safe. This is dangerous," Sakura said to Meiling.
She nodded, "I promise to be as safe as possible."
Meiling got out of the car and Sakura waved goodbye to her worriedly.
Sakura backed out of the parking lot and glanced at the address.
It seemed really familiar to her somehow, one of the richer apartments downtown.
She drove steadily there, and turned on the classical radio station to calm her nerves.
Sakura spotted a parking garage and parked in there.
Wow, the parking garage was exactly like the one she'd been in before…but where?
Sakura turned off the engine of the car and took her belongings with her and started going in the apartment building.
She dimly realized that this was very alike the parking garage Syaoran had given her the car, and it was possible that he could live in this very apartment building.
But she'd never been to his apartment; only Meiling and Tomoyo had.
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Meiling jogged down the metal stairs softly, one hand on the gun and the other on her needle.
She paused when she came to heavy door. She was officially in the basement, and Yuki might possibly be on the other side.
Meiling slowly opened the door, praying to the hinges not to squeak, and they didn't.
She crept into the hallway, and she saw another hallway.
"What kind of place is this?" Meiling murmured to herself. Why would they have cells in the basement of a warehouse?
Meiling quickly halted when she saw a main jail cell, with a thin man sitting on the cot.
Yuki!
There was his bodyguard, who Meiling couldn't quite see from the shadows.
But she could see the keys swinging on his finger, and Meiling quickly calculated the distance between him and her.
It was only about ten feet, and if she could take him by surprise, she could quickly insert the needle in his temple and throw the keys to Yuki in one swift motion.
Unless he had a gun he might shoot at her…
Or she could take a different approach and pretend she was one of them.
Meiling quickly debated what she should do.
The first one was too risky, but the second one was stranger, and the guard might have a hard time believing her.
Oh, what the hell.
Meiling took a deep breath, smoothed back her hair, checked her pants, and started walking forward, with one hand still on the gun handle.
"Ah hem," Meiling cleared her throat, "Mr. Akatchi wants you, sir."
She smiled devilishly as she felt in the needle inside her pocket, as soon as he came into range, she'd puncture that needle into him.
She walked right into the middle of the area, and she could see Yuki snap his attention onto her.
The guard stood up confused, and she got a clear look at his face, "Touya?"
The tall, lean man glanced at her, "What the f--"
"What are you doing here?" Meiling asked.
She did a double take, "With Yuki?"
"Meiling?" Touya said.
"Yes, it's me, what the hell are you doing?" Meiling questioned.
"My job?" Touya said.
They stared at each other in disbelief, and Yuki looking at both of them.
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Sakura turned the doorknob of the apartment.
What a surprise, it wasn't locked, and it turned easily.
Sakura slowly opened the door a crack, her heart pounding. She was a now a burglar.
The lights were off and there was a distant hum of the refridgerator running, but other than that, there was no one she could see.
As she crept in slowly, she half expected someone to appear and call the police on her, but no one came.
And she was scared to death of who might be living here.
The apartment didn't look too menacing, but it was apparent that more than one man lived here.
Sakura softly blew out a sigh and started looking.
She was ransacking the place, much like someone did to her only a few days ago.
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Sakura finished digging through the living room, kitchen, bar and bathroom.
It was time to head into the bedrooms.
Sakura picked the first one to the right, and as soon as she entered, she had to smile despite herself.
The room was decorated in all forest green, and the scent of soap and aftershave made her sigh in pleasure.
It had enough messiness to make it bachelor's room, yet it was still tidy despite the objects thrown around.
She snapped out of it as soon as she saw several swords leaning on the wall and guns lying on the floor.
Sakura took a deep breath and headed towards the desk. That was where she would start.
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Syaoran was jogging back home, his shirt covered in sweat.
He had just spent too many hours at the gym, and his muscles were aching, desperate for a hot shower.
The gym was closing, so he couldn't take in the men's room, so he wanted to get home quickly.
It was night, and the flashing lights of downtown Tokyo were on already as he headed towards his house.
Beads of sweat trickled down his back as he steadily trotted into the apartment building, and he skipped the elevator and headed to the stairs.
He arrived at his apartment and saw the door was open a crack.
Immediately his instincts took over and he slowed his breathing and quietly stepped inside.
He saw a gigantic and inwardly groaned.
First Sakura's house, now his.
He wasn't sure if it was his ears that first heard a thump in his bedroom, or his eyes which saw the trail of objects leading to his room
But he walked there anyways, pausing in the kitchen to take a knife.
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"What the hell do you mean, this is your job?" Meiling asked, fury in her eyes, "You mean you're the man who kidnapped Yuki all this time? And you freaking probably knew he was Yuki, but you had to lie to us?"
Touya had backed up from the menacing Meiling. He knew from experience that angry women could be VERY strong.
"God, Meiling, I had no choice. Tsukiro would kill me, you know what," Touya said.
Meiling had pushed him to the stone cold cement wall and wall yelling to his face, "I can't believe you!"
She quickly kicked him in anger and delivered a series of blowing punches to his side and slammed one in his face.
Touya recoiled, and fell down to the floor, but he brought down Meiling with him.
Meiling grabbed the key from his finger and tossed it into the jail, "Get out of here, Yuki. I'll take care of it."
Yuki didn't have to be told twice to leave, he scrambled for the key and let himself out.
Before leaving though, Meiling yelled at Yuki, "We're going to have a talk at home!"
Yuki winced, he too knew how Meiling could be when angry.
But he left, leaving Meiling in a fight with Touya.
Touya lay on the floor, panting, "I'm not---" he wheezed, "going to hit you. I don't hit women."
Meiling rolled off him and Touya propped himself up, tasting blood in his mouth, "Though I'm quite sorely tempted to."
Meiling quickly pointed a foot in his face, another inch would deliver a kick to his jaw.
"Explain."
Touya closed his eyes in pain and opened them back up, "You know the history with Sakura. She isn't aware of everything. I think she's avoiding it, and she can't help it that she can't remember. Our father, Fujitaka, was an archaeologist. On take-your-kids-to-work day, he decided to take us with him to his job. It was close to our mother's anniversary, and my father was unusually tense. He had taken Sakura because of the endless hours of begging, but I knew he wasn't very happy about it. And I knew why when he took us to this warehouse. He told us to stay in the car, but I followed him, and Sakura followed me. We ducked into the closet and overheard my father asking Tsukiro for a package of centuries old treated marijuana plants. He obviously didn't trust my father, since as soon as my father turned to leave, he got killed. That's when I instinctively burst out of the closet, Sakura at my heels. My father was dead, and Tsukiro's men shot at Sakura and I. She lost consciousness and was taken for dead, carried out with my father. But Tsukiro saw something in me and took me in under his wing. I didn't ask for him--you need to know how much pain and suffering I went through before I finally relented. I was his slave. And that's how I got this job. I betray him, he'll kill me like he did---" Touya abruptly stopped.
Meiling was too deep in thought to notice, and she nodded slowly, "I--I understand."
Now she knew why Sakura had whispered that strange sentence in the closet…it had probably come as an automatic flashback to her.
She took her foot away and Touya let out a sigh of relief.
"Is your face okay? I'm sorry. I get kind of protective of Yuki," Meiling explained, searched her pockets for some tissue.
She felt the needle and burst out laughing, "You wouldn't believe it. I brought a tranquilizer here to knock you out. Sakura told me not to use it, she was right."
Touya chuckled, "Damn right she is."
Meiling suddenly froze.
"Oh shit."
Suddenly flashbacks sparked through her mind--Tomoyo telling them about Eriol's tattoo, Syaoran's hesitancy about his job, and if Syaoran and Eriol were living with Touya, that only meant that---
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Sakura smiled.
She held up a rather large metallic disc, encased in a plastic covering.
"This is it," Sakura smiled devilishly, "Now I can just---"
"Leave?" a deep voice asked behind her.
Sakura closed her eyes, cursing herself for letting her guard down.
The sun was completely gone and the room was dark; Sakura hadn't turned any lights on.
Sakura gulped as she felt a sharp metal object scratch the back of her neck.
"Who the hell are you?" the voice asked again.
The voice was familiar.
"I c-can't tell you that," Sakura said, breathing heavily and nervously.
"Why not? What the hell are you doing with my disc?"
Sakura remembered the gun in her hand and slowly moved her thumb to let out the safety lock.
The man kicked the gun out of her hand and said, "Don't even think about it."
He pressed the knife down deeper into her skin and Sakura whimpered.
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"Oh god!" Meiling kicked Touya on the side again, "Eriol and Syaoran work for Tsukiro, don't they? Oh crap, oh crap---the disc---Sakura---"
"What?" Touya asked, annoyed.
He'd be getting a bruise tomorrow, no doubt.
Meiling quickly stood up, "Sakura's at your house. She's looking for the disc."
"Ooh," Touya realized the situation, "Run!"
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Sakura was sweating from nervousness, and her mind couldn't get off the sharp object on the back of her neck.
This man would slice off her head in three seconds, she knew it.
As soon as she thought that, the man scooted to the side to get his sword, one hand still on the knife.
Sakura breathed, "Oh what the hell," and she quickly bent down and swept leg around the man's and used all of her strength to knock his knee down.
She grabbed her gun and pointed it at his forehead.
The man's body was strong and muscular, but he was sweating…
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Syaoran's eyebrows shot up, he had seen this move before.
It was Sakura's.
"Light on," Syaoran shouted and clapped his hands three times.
Immediately lights illuminated the room, and Sakura and Syaoran stared at each other in shock.
Two people burst into the room, and Syaoran saw that it was Touya and Meiling, panting.
"Stop---" Meiling gasped for breath as she saw the various weapons scattered around the room.
Sakura glanced, wide eyed, and Touya, Meiling, Syaoran and the disc in her hand.
And she promptly fainted.
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They were in the living room and had dragged Sakura's body to the couch, where Meiling was fanning her while Syaoran was getting her a glass of water.
They were in stone cold silence, and Touya was sitting next to Sakura, stroking her hair.
She slowly opened her eyes and blinked.
"What happened?" she whispered, looking up at Touya's concerned face.
She closed her eyes again, trying to remember what had happened.
Then she sat up quickly, "Oh god, the disc! Where is it?"
Syaoran wryly said, "I have it."
He twirled the metallic object in his hand around and handed her a glass of water.
"Well, I need it," Sakura said.
She didn't seem to realize what had happened.
Ooh, wait, now she did.
Sakura's eyes flew wide open, "You're---you're---you were going to cut off my neck!"
Syaoran rolled his eyes, "It's about time you realized."
Sakura quickly thought aloud, "If you work for Tsukiro…that means…you kidnapped…the disc…"
Syaoran patiently waited for Sakura to finish thinking it out, "Oh my god!"
Syaoran swallowed and Sakura exclaimed, "That means all three of you have been fooling me! How could you!?"
She whirled to Touya, "How could you? You guys have lied to me all this time?"
Touya raised his arms in defense, "I had too."
Suddenly Tomoyo came out of Touya's room, yawning and stretching her arms.
She blinked tiredly and stared at the four people in the living room.
"What are you guys doing here?" she asked.
Four pairs of eyes looked back at her, asking the same thing.
"Doesn't matter," Tomoyo hastily said, "What's going on?"
Meiling gravely said, "We have something to tell you…"
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Tomoyo sat down on the floor, "I knew it."
Sakura and Meiling nodded, "Yep."
Tomoyo sadly laughed, "It kind of hurts more that Eriol couldn't come out and tell me but I had to find out like this. And that Eriol's doing things like this."
"It's my fault," Syaoran said, "I dragged him into this."
"Doesn't matter. He should've came clean," Tomoyo sighed.
Sakura stated, "Tomoyo, if you knew Eriol was on the 'other' side of what Yuki was doing, being in a gang and all, would you have stuck with him, no matter how much you loved him?"
"Yes," Tomoyo insisted.
Meiling shot her a look, and Tomoyo wilted, "No…"
"Then it's not his fault. You guys, everything's out. There's no more skeletons in our closets. Unless the guys have more secrets they haven't told us."
"The---bathroom!" Eriol staggered out of his room, holding a hand over his mouth.
They heard him throw up into the toilet and heard it flush, and the water running as he rinsed his mouth out.
Eriol peeled his shirt off and wiped his mouth when he saw there were no towels, and came back outside.
Like Tomoyo, he saw faces staring back at him.
He walked slowly to the couch, where everyone continued to stare at him.
Sakura scooted out of the couch and he sat down.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Tomoyo suddenly gave him a hug, wrapping her arms around his bare frame, sighing in happiness, "Eriol, I love you no matter what. Okay?"
Eriol looked down at saw the black tattoo on his chest, "Um…"
He looked at Syaoran and Touya for answers, and they nodded, "Everything's out."
Eriol returned the hug to Tomoyo.
She got up, "I made you a drink for when you wake up."
She went to the kitchen and got out a glass from the fridge, and handed it to Eriol.
He gulped it down, then made a horrible face, "Ugh! What's inside here?"
"Secret," Tomoyo smirked, "If I told you, you'd throw up again."
Eriol winced but drank it all down, "I'm not so sure I love you anymore."
Tomoyo laughed, but turned serious, "Why'd you drink so much? You could've gotten poisoned from all that alcohol."
Eriol shook his head, "I'm okay. I've been worse. How's Yuki?"
Meiling scowled, "I let him out. He should be home."
"All right. So I guess you girls know everything…" Eriol paused.
"Yes."
"I have nothing left you guys don't know. Except that I broke in and stole the disc from Yuki. That's when I found out Mr. X was Yuki," Eriol explained.
Syaoran and Touya nodded, "We didn't know Eriol had done that. So we kidnapped Mr. X to get the disc…but since we already had it, that probably wasn't possible."
Sakura broke out in a smile, "Geez, that makes things a lot easier!"
"I have nothing else to hide," Syaoran said, "Nothing."
"I do," Touya said quietly.
Five heads turned to look at him quickly, "What?"
Touya said first, "Syaoran, Meiling, and Eriol. You have to first swear not to beat me up after I tell you this. I've already gotten punched by Meiling."
Syaoran slowly said, "Okay…"
Meiling and Eriol nodded, "Fine. What is it?"
Touya let out a sigh, "Syaoran, how did your father die?"
Syaoran gave Touya a quizzical look, "He was murdered by some gang members."
"And why did you come to Tsukiro?"
Syaoran answered, "My father had told me a long time ago that if anything happened to him, I had to come to Tsukiro."
"That was before your father died?"
"What is this, an interrogation? About a year before," Syaoran said.
Touya nodded slowly, "Syaoran…your father was killed by Tsukiro."
Syaoran looked at Touya, "No he wasn't."
Touya sighed, "Yes he was. Your father had been working with Tsukiro, yes. But your father betrayed Tsukiro and he killed him. Right before mine was killed."
Syaoran could only stare in shock.
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"What the hell are you talking about?" Syaoran asked, his voice coming out slowly and deadly.
Touya shrugged, "It's true, man."
"You mean I've been working for the man who killed my dad--a murderer--for the past thirteen plus years?" Syaoran asked.
He wasn't shouting, but his words were sharp and cold.
Sakura shivered, this was scary.
"Damn, it was your choice. Hey, I'm the only one who knows beside Tsukiro. If you found out, the only way you could find out was by me, so I'd be a dead man," Touya raised his hands in defense.
Syaoran whispered, "Like my father. And the life that I led before I came here. If I only knew."
"I'm sorry," Meiling came forward and hugged Syaoran gently, "Poor uncle."
Sakura watched Syaoran stare at the floor glassy eyed.
She wondered how it felt to know that you'd been working for your father's murderer and trusting him.
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"I'm going to kill him," Syaoran twisted his hand and cracked his knuckles menacing, "No one gets away with killing a Li."
Eriol rolled his eyes, "You weren't this venomous when you heard your father died from gang members."
Syaoran flashed his eyes in Eriol's direction, "This is different. This is revenge. Touya, you know how I feel."
Touya nodded slowly, "I've dreamed of seeking vengeance on my father's killer for ten years now. But it's impossible."
"Maybe. But I'm going to do it. Sooner or later."
Syaoran's hands relaxed for a moment and his angry feelings seemed to have diminished slightly.
He turned to Meiling, Sakura and Tomoyo and said, "Shouldn't you guys be getting home?"
"Yeah. We need someone to take us, though," Sakura said, glancing at the clock. It read eleven.
"Wait, do you guys need an escort? It still might not be safe," Syaoran remembered.
"We'll be fine," Sakura started, but Touya interrupted her, "You guys should spend the night here."
"Huh?" Meiling looked at them, "Um, sure."
"Great. I'll take the girls down back to their apartment so they can get some stuff, then they can come back here," Eriol volunteered.
Tomoyo looked at him skeptically, "No way. You still have some alcohol in your body and I don't want to risk anything."
"Fine," Eriol said rather sheepishly, "Okay."
"I'll do it," Syaoran muttered, "Let's go."
He strode out the door with the three women silently following him all the way to the car, where he drove them to their apartment.
They climbed up and knocked on the door, and Yuki answered.
He looked tired and nodded half-heartedly to Syaoran when he walked in, and soon the girls explained that they would be sleeping over at the guys' place.
Yuki shot Syaoran a look.
He rolled his eyes, "No, I'm not going to do anything to them. They're just going to be sleeping. It's safer there than here."
This time Yuki rolled his eyes and nodded.
The women finished stuffing clothes and sleeping bags into backpacks and they each kissed Yuki goodbye, "We'll be back around tomorrow, okay?"
Yuki hesitated.
Sakura read his eyes and said, "Do you want to come, too?"
Syaoran inwardly groaned, but he forced himself to chirp, "The more the merrier!"
The girls didn't hear the sarcasm and quickly thanked Syaoran, "Oh thank you. You're the absolute best!"
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Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the parking garage and trooped into the elevator to the guys' apartment building.
When they walked in, Eriol and Touya were surprised to see the pale man, but greeted him anyways.
"I rented some movies," Eriol raised up several DVDs and giggled in a high falsetto voice, "We can watch these and gossip and braid hair!"
Meiling rolled her eyes and whacked him on the head, "Is that what you think girls do?"
"This is going to be exciting," Sakura smiled, "A sleepover!"
"Uh huh, with my little sister," Touya cringed.
By the time it was midnight, they had pushed the sofa back and made space for three sleeping bags, and they popped in the first DVD.
"Cradle 2 the Grave," Sakura read the box.
"No, it's Cradle 2 Da Grave," Touya corrected.
"Yeah, Cradle 2 the Grave. I said that," Sakura repeated.
"No, it's Cradle 2 DA Grave," Touya said.
"I said that!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Just shut up and watch the movie," Meiling said, getting out a bag of popcorn from the microwave.
Meiling sat down on the floor leaning against the couch, snacking on popcorn, while Eriol and Tomoyo were on the side, propped up by the sofa, holding hands.
Yuki didn't want to watch the movie and instead was starting to read a book on physiology in the kitchen table.
Touya sat on the couch and Sakura was next to him, and Syaoran was on the other end.
Sakura yawned as the movie started, and leaned against her brother.
Touya smiled as he held her, and softly stroked Sakura's hair.
"I've missed you," he whispered.
Sakura replied, "I'm glad I'm back."
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The end credits of the movie rolled onto the screen.
Sakura yawned again and glanced at Eriol and Tomoyo, who were busy making out.
They had been doing that for the latter half of the movie.
Meiling had dozed off, with the empty popcorn bag and two empty soda bottles at her side.
Yuki was almost finished with the book, and smiled when Sakura looked at him.
Touya and Syaoran were still awake, and Sakura whispered, "I think it's time for us to go to bed."
They nodded, and Sakura helped roll Meiling into the sleeping bag.
Sakura tapped Tomoyo on the shoulder, and she turned around, out of breath, "What?"
"Time to go to sleep."
"It's okay…I think I'll be Eriol for the rest of the night," Tomoyo said mischeviously.
She looked at Yuki, who gave her a disapproving look.
"I mean, good night, Eriol," Tomoyo said sheepishly, "See you tomorrow."
"Yuki, you can sleep in my room," Touya offered, "I'll sleep on the floor of Eriol's or Syaoran's room."
"Not mine," Syaoran scowled, "Sleep in Eriol's."
Yuki nodded gratefully and closed his book, setting it on the table.
He went to Touya's room and shut the door.
"Good night," Eriol gave one last kiss to Tomoyo and headed to his room.
Touya followed him, and Syaoran nodded to Tomoyo and Sakura as a good night wave.
Sakura and Tomoyo snuggled into their sleeping bags as Syaoran turned off the living room lights, and fell fast asleep.
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Syaoran wasn't able to sleep all night.
He had tossed and turned in his bed and finally just got up and worked out his frustrations on the punching bag hanging from the ceiling and then his sword.
As he slashed the deadly weapon against the air, he imagined it was Tsukiro that was in front of him, dying a slow and painful death from the wrath of Li's son.
Syaoran smirked wryly, that'd be the day.
A soft knock came from the door.
Syaoran turned around and slowly walked to it.
He finally opened it and was surprised to see Sakura standing there.
"I thought I heard some noises," Sakura smiled.
She moved to come in and Syaoran silently let her.
He was rather annoyed.
She had broken his concentration.
"You're bleeding," Sakura pointed to his knuckles.
Syaoran looked down but shrugged.
"I'm okay."
"Are you sure?" Sakura looked at his hand uncertaintly.
"I'm fine."
Sakura nodded and started browsing around his room, touching his CD's and books.
Syaoran stood silently with his jaw clenched, glancing at her.
Sakura finally smiled and sat down on his bed, "Aren't you going to sleep?"
"I should ask you the same thing," Syaoran responded.
"Are you angry?" Sakura asked softly.
"At what," Syaoran asked flatly.
"Life…" Sakura trailed off.
Syaoran sat down next to Sakura on the bed and threw his sword onto the floor, the sharp end sticking into the carpet.
"I suppose," Syaoran said slowly, "That I'm angry at life. I would rather not have my life end up like this."
"But life has it's good parts too," Sakura smiled and took his hand, gently squeezing it.
Syaoran was suddenly self conscious and wondered what he looked like.
"Very good parts," Syaoran answered.
Sakura turned to him and looked deep into Syaoran amber eyes, "You know how I told you that I only dated with people who I fell in love with?"
Syaoran replied slowly, "Yes. But I wondered if you'd miss your 'one' because you never dated them to get to know them."
"I don't think that's possible," Sakura responded softly, "Because he's right in front of me."
Sakura gently turned her head and aimed her lips at Syaoran's, and they landed in a sweet kiss.
Syaoran didn't respond and let Sakura's lips interlock with his, but he suddenly stood up.
"I'm sorry. But I can't. Not with you," Syaoran said.
And he fled.
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End of Chapter 14. Next chapter, "Seeking Revenge".
A/N: Yuck. I think i'm gonna get some flames for that last one. But if it brings any comfort, I assure you that this started out as S&S, and therefore it will end as S&S. You just gotta wait two more chapters, till the end. Hm, this is really coming up to a wrap. Two more chapters, and this is over! :( but no worries, i'll be posting up a new story that i've already started working on. the next fanfic will be up...the 7th, and the final one will be posted up....i'm not sure. my schedule's pretty hectic, since school's coming to an end. Anyways...review!!!!!
