AN: OMG guys, I was so over whelmed by the reviews I got, so I decided to write this chapter up - I know it may seem a bit short but I can promises you some S+S moments in the next chapter - it just needs a chapter of it's own and can't share with this one.
I love you all

The Prophecy

Chapter 9 - Safe


Syaoran awoke with a start. He looked around expecting to see Sakura, Eriol Tomoyo and Yue, but instead all he saw was the dark shadows cast in his room. He sat up, his breathing was laboured as if he had just run a marathon and a thin film of sweat clung to his body, marks of what he had just seen.

He ran through everything in his head, the prophecy, Yue taking them to an ancient land, where he and Sakura where rulers. Where he and Sakura had been married.

Suddenly an onslaught of emotions that he had buried years ago, resurfaced. Feelings that had long ago been replaced with cruelty and hate.

~*~ Flashback ~*~

Syaoran sat at his desk thinking, thinking about school, but mainly about Sakura. She had become such a fundamental part of his life, and he couldn't imagine it without her.

He sighed and put his head between his hands. He knew he liked her more as a friend, but would never admit it to her. How could he if it risked the friendship they now had?

He sat there for a while, battling the pros and con's of telling her how he felt, in the end he only had two outcomes.

1) She would like him too and they would go out together.

2) She didn't like him in the same way, and knowing that he liked her more than just a friends would put a strain on their friendship and they would drift apart.

He eventually concluded that their friendship was not worth risking, and decided to keep his feeling locked away. After all it was just a crush…wasn't it?

Two weeks later they fell out.

~*~ End Flashback ~*~

Syaoran quickly pushed the thought out of his mind and the feelings away. It had been a harmless crush in high school after all, why dredge up everything that they had already been through just to get the answer.

But the thought of him and Sakura once being married still plagued his mind, maybe that was what was meant to happen back then, but not now. Sure they where the exact reincarnations of their old selves, but their feelings and personalities would be completely different.

Syaoran pushed all thoughts involving him in Sakura in a non-friendship way out of his head. He had greater things to worry about right now. Yue had mentioned something about a necklace that Sakura was in position of - and that he was not in the protective range of the necklace.

He grabbed some clean clothes, changed and then dug around for his car keys. He could feel the seconds ticking by, and knew he had to hurry. Eventually he found them - in the pockets of his other pair of pants.

All that was left in Syaoran's apartment when the assassin came by was a rumpled duvet and a pile of clothes.

The assassin ran out the house into a nearby waiting vehicle - he knew where Syaoran would be heading, and if he didn't kill him then the master would have his head, a prospect he was not looking forward too.

~*~

Eriol awoke, only to find he had fallen asleep on a cafeteria table. He too was breathless, and looked as if he had just faced his worst nightmare, which technically he had. Unlike Syaoran he wasted no time in heading to Sakura's room.

He burst in through the door to see both Tomoyo and Sakura hugging each other and crying their eyes out. Initially he was glad to see both where Ok and that Sakura had awoken. But then realised they where both crying and started to panic.

Tomoyo launched herself at Eriol, hugging and kissing him. She was so glad to see him; she had been so worried over his safety. Eriol just held her tight letting her cry her confusion out on his shoulder.

"Hey Tomoyo, calm down it's all right, everything is ok, no body is hurt and we're all here. He soothed trying to get his frantic girlfriends to calm down and breathe before she passed out from lack of oxygen.

But then Sakura asked the question that no body had wanted to hear.

"Where's Syao…I mean Li"

~*~

Syaoran was presently racing across town as fast as the speed limit would allow him. This time there was no Tomoyo to pay a fine if he got ticketed.

He wound the window down and tried to get some fresh air into his lungs. Truthfully he shouldn't be driving. He was shaky, dizzy and lethargic. But he had to get to Sakura's room, he had to check that she, and everyone else, where ok. And truthfully that dream that involved them all had really freaked him out.

'But it wasn't a dream' spoke his mind ' everything was too real to be a dream.'

Everything that could even relate slightly to what had been going on over the last few days was in the 'meeting' with Yue and the others. Plus it seemed too real to be a dream, it wasn't spontaneous, and held a great truth to it

Syaoran was still lost in his own thoughts when the car behind him bumped him. He turned his head and looked over his shoulder. The car was black, with no number plate and no car make. Syaoran began to panic…all he could see of the driver was a black outline and slightly glowing red eyes.

He forced his foot onto the accelerator and tried to out run the assassin behind him. But it was to no avail; he kept right behind him following every move that Syaoran made. And now it was really beginning to freak Syaoran out.

He made a sharp left through some red traffic lights, hoping that some other car would slow the car behind him down. But tonight lady luck was not with him. There where no other cars on the road due to the early hour in the morning.

The assassin's car levelled with Syaoran's car. Syaoran could see the driver more clearly now, and could feel an evil, pulsating aura that was slowly working it's way thorough the interior of his mind.

At that moment the car stopped, and wouldn't start again.

~*~

(AN: I could leave you all dangling here on the edge of a cliff - but I think you might hunt me down for that?)

Sakura watched the second's hand on the clock tick. Time seemed to be moving extra fast right now. And there was still no sign of Syaoran. Eriol had tried his phone hundreds of times, but he wasn't picking it up.

Sakura was beginning to panic, but she didn't let it show. Sure her and Syaoran hadn't really been much in the way of friends recently, but something was happening, and it wasn't the little kind of something, but the big Godley intervention thunderbolt kind of something.

"Where is he?" she asked, gritting her teeth.

"I don't know Sakura, I'm going to go look for him" stated Eriol.

"OVER MY ROTTING CORPSE ARE YOU HELL" shouted Tomoyo, making both Eriol and Sakura pale with fright.

"But…Tomoyo, I hav…" stammered Eriol.

Tomoyo walked over to her boyfriend, and did the worst possible thing any woman could ever do to a man.

She burst into tears.

Eriol, suddenly worried by his girlfriend's actions embraced her

"Eriol…I couldn't bare it if anything were to happen to you" she sobbed.

Eriol began to understand why Tomoyo was so upset and distraught when he had said he was going to look for Syaoran. The all knew the necklace Sakura was carrying had protective powers, but they didn't know how far the protection would spread. He imagined himself in Tomoyo's shoes, and realised that if anything where to happen to her he would die.

"Shh, Tomoyo it's all right, I wont leave I promise" he said and then whispered in her ear. "I love you to damn much to leave you."

Tomoyo stopped sobbing almost instantaneously. Eriol loved her, those three little words, the words she had always wanted to hear, especially from someone she felt so strongly alike too.

"I love you too Eriol, and I always have." Replied Tomoyo, her eyes shining with tears that where no longer sad.

The pair started kissing, gradually getting more passionate, that was until a pillow hit them and Sakura yelled, "get a room" at them.

They broke apart looking sheepish and embarrassed.

'Syaoran mate' said Eriol in his head ' you better be all right.'

If Eriol really knew what Syaoran was going through right then, not Tomoyo's tears or puppy dog eyes would stop him!

~*~

Syaoran had abandoned his car in favour of running; if the car didn't work then his bloody legs had better do so.

He was now about two blocks away from the hospital, but the assassin had a big advantage on him - he was in a car, and even thought Syaoran was a fast runner - he wasn't that damn fast.

Syaoran ducked into an alley, in hopes of getting away from his pursuer. However, it ended up being a dead end, and the car was advancing towards him. It stopped mere feet from where he was, and out of it stepped a man dressed all in black with an ancient looking sword in his hand.

"Well looky looky, the little wolf is backed up into a corner, with no were to run and no one to save him" taunted the man.

Syaoran looked at him with a look of pure contempt towards him. Little did this man know he had undergone many years of strict training at his mother's hands. This weirdo was in for the fight of his life. However Syaoran wasn't stupid, and knew he was completely un-armed and un protected. His best option was to try and slip past this person and make a run to the hospital, but how to do that?

Syaoran looked round at his present surroundings, the wall was too high to climb, and there wasn't a fire escape nearby. He looked around the floor for some sort of weapon, but came up short; all he could find was a dustbin lid.

He nearly kicked himself for not realising sooner. Dustbin lid = SHEILD. He moved suddenly taking the man by surprise, and grabbed the dustbin lid - at least he was slightly protected, all he had to do now was get out of this alley and run for his life.

The assassin was shocked by this sudden movement, and realised he had under estimated this little wolf as his master called him. This mistake could cost him his life.

Syaoran charged the assassin and sent him flying with the dustbin lid. He took off at op speed, knowing that he wasn't that far from the hospital. The assassin was up seconds after him, chasing him through the streets.

Syaoran could see the hospital now, and felt a wave of relief wash over him, it however didn't slow his pace, and infact if anything it quickened it.

The assassin was lagging behind, but tried so hard to keep up. This little boy was going to cost him his life, and he would be damned if he was going to let that happen, he tried to put on a last spurt, and was so close to catching Syaoran, his arms was out stretched, almost within reaching distance, then Syaoran disappeared within the hospital doors, and the assassin found he could go no further.

He turned an looked around, only to three piles of ash. He soon turned into the fourth pile, which was eventually blown away by the wind.

~*~

When Syaoran looked behind him he was glad to see no one was following him. He slowed and allowed himself to catch his breath before proceeding towards Sakura's room. He had been here only yesterday - yet it seemed like a lifetime ago, before he knew what was in store for him.

Syaoran felt a sudden nostalgic feeling that none of this had ever happened, that he and Sakura had never fallen out, and that he could just lead his life like every teenager. He forced himself to push these thoughts away, negative thinking was not going to do him any good especially now.

He knocked on the door first, and heard a faint come in. He was quite surprised about the greeting he got, infact all three of them looked ready to leap on him as he entered. Sakura was the first to speak, or to be more precise shout.

"LI SYAORAN WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" she yelled clearly angry and concerned.

Syaoran backed up against the wall, very scared by the amount of steam coming out of Sakura's ears at the present moment.

"Err, got chased by the bad guys n my car broke down and hat to run 4 blocks to get here?" he explained.

"Oh ok," replied Sakura, "What do you mean got chased by the bad guys?"

"Er, they chased me, made it here now safe" he summarised.

"How do you mean safe?" asked Eriol?

"He just kind of stopped at the hospital doors - like he couldn't get in!" said Syaoran, a look of awe coming over his face.

"The necklace" Sakura muttered.

She pulled the necklace out of her pocket and studied it more carefully. It was warm to the touch, and it felt like It was pulsating in her hand.

All four of them stared at the necklace, as if entranced by the glow it was giving off. Sakura was the first to break the silence with the most sensible suggestion that they had heard all evening.

"We need to get out of here".

~*~ End Chapter Nine ~*~


AN: ok not as long as last time - but just you wait till the next chapter.
Don't forget to review
Ja
demi-kaijuu
-x-