Chapter Eight

Teardrop of Twilight

Card Captor Sakura

~starjade~

Feelings

Sakura got up slowly as she inspected the place. It was beautiful of course , but something was off. Something was wrong with this scenery...

Suddenly crashing and stomping was heard behind her and Sakura's heart stopped. She stumbled back as two large men emerged from the bushes behind her.

Sakura's eyes grew wide and she made a sound of fear. How many bad men came here in this forest? It seemed to attract these kind of men!

The men were disgusting , broad shouldered , muscled men with dirty beards and greasy hair. One of them held a rifle and the other held a gleaming knife. Sakura's eyes grew wide with fear as they turned and looked at her.

One of them grinned and nudged the other guy. The guy said something in a dialect she couldn't understand and then they both guffawed. Sakura inched away from the tall , scary men , wishing that Syaoran would save her.

How ironic was that. Here she was in front of two evil looking guys , wishing for her kidnapper to come and save her. Sakura could feel tears rise to her eyes as she looked around herself for an escape.

" Hey , little girlie!" One of the men growled in broken Japanese. He walked over to her and crouched on the ground staring at her body. " Your a pretty one , aren't you?"

The other massive man laughed as if that was the best joke he had ever heard and the one in front of her grinned. Yellow teeth smiled at her and Sakura cringed.

The man grabbed her wrist and she yelled out in horror. The man grinned and stroked her hand as if he thought it would calm her down. " Don't yell , little girlie. Just tell me your name , alright?"

Sakura stared at him in horror and then with her other hand , punched him straight in the nose.

The man howled in surprise and let go of her wrist. Sakura leapt up , and shot off , but the other man had suspected this and grabbed her around the waist.

" Where are you going?" He growled in her ear , his stench choking her. Sakura struggled against him , screaming for all she was worth.

" SOMEBODY HELP! SYAORAN , PLEASE! HELP!" She yelled , before the man clamped a hand on her mouth.

" Fool , get up! Lets get her tied up!" The man yelled at the man who was on the ground , clutching his bloody nose. The man got up from the floor and smacked Sakura on the face.

" You little wench!" He yelled in her face and Sakura whimpered in fear. There was no way of getting out of this as the man took out some rope and began to bind her wrists.

~~~~~~***~~~~~

Syaoran galloped through the forest , his eyes wide and worried. Where the hell was she? He had been following her footprints , where she foolishly imprinted in the soft soil. It was easy to track her here , but all of a sudden , her footsteps seemed to vanish.

It was as if she had taken flight and flown to the sky.

Syaoran looked up from the footprints and saw a wall of bushes and trees. Maybe she had entered the bush. But there was no sign of it ...

Syaoran trotted the horse to the other side and felt his heart sigh in relief as he saw an entry way made by a careless human. She did go through here! But there was no space for the horse. Syaoran climbed off the horse and quickly tied the lead to a nearby tree.

Now , he carefully went through the entry way , making as little sound as he possibly could.

Until of course , a shriek of fear ripped through his senses.

Sakura...

Syaoran leaped from his crouch and ran through the bush , not caring that he was making so much noise , someone a mile away could hear. He finally burst out into the meadow.

Two bulky men , had tied up Sakura and were leading her across a bridge over the river.

His eyes narrowed. " GET AWAY FROM HER!"

His voice was loud and harsh and the men stopped , twisting around. One of them smiled and dropped Sakura on the middle of the bridge.

" Look here , idiot. We've got a new prize!" he growled as Syaoran ran towards the bridge.

The other man grinned and cracked his knuckles. " You got that right!"

Sakura screamed , " Syaoran! Watch out!"

Syaoran jerked to the side as one of the men came at him with a knife. Concentrating on the knife , he let the years of being an underworld thief take over. He ducked under the man's fist and kicked his stomach.. He rolled under his legs and kicked the man's back , making him fall over.

Suddenly , the other man tackled him from behind , and wrapped an arm around his neck. Syaoran bit the man's arm as hard as he could , making the man howl in pain. He aimed a punch at the man's nose and then socked him in the jaw.

He sensed the other man come at him and he twisted around in a martial arts kick , throwing him off into the water.

A resounding splash was heard and Syaoran whirled around to the other man who had a bloody nose. He socked him the belly , making him fly backwards towards Sakura who was trying to wrench out of her binds.

Suddenly a crack went through the air and Syaoran's eyes widened. The force of the man's weight had broken the fragile bridge!

" Sakura!" he yelled , as the bridge began to stagger and break.

Sakura screamed as the bridge fell into pieces , dumping all three of them into the icy water. Syaoran floundered in the water , his heart beating fast as he rose to the surface , searching for Sakura. She was nearly drowning and he swam towards her as fast as he could , grabbing her around the waist and pulling her to the shore.

As they both scrambled onto land , Syaoran pulled the bindings off Sakura's wrist and feet. Sakura was gasping hard , her hair plastered to her forehead , her clothes soaked and heavy. Her teeth was chattering with fear and her eyes were wet with tears.

She turned to Syaoran , who was soaking , but his eyes held a far off look , and a muscle tightened in his jaw. She tried to feel fear in her heart , but she couldn't. All she could feel was gratefulness and a warmth that spread a blanket over the iciness in her veins.

" Thank you , Syaoran..." she whispered finally , as the birds began to tweet once more and the leaves began to rustle in the wind. The silence was foreboding and she wondered what had happened to the two men that had tried to kidnap her.

Syaoran jerked and glanced at her. " It's alright." He said gruffly.

Water dripped from her hair as she stared down at her hands. " You know , I was just so scared. I didn't mean to run away , but with that portrait , you reminded me....you reminded me that you were just a kidnapper , needing some ransom money , or whatever."

Syaoran stared at her as she took a deep breath trying to continue. " I don't know how I forgot that you were just a kidnapper....strange , really. You were just so trustworthy , and when I ran away and was captured by those other men , all I wished for was that you would come."


She shivered and let out a little laugh. " You proved you were trustworthy , didn't you? You came to save me....even if it was because you were scared that they might get the ransom money , instead of you."

Syaoran stared at her , his heart hammering in his chest as she wrapped her arms around herself. " If I had a choice....to be kidnapped by those men , or by you...I would choose you. So I won't run away anymore. I'll stay with you."

She looked up into his eyes and Syaoran could feel a thunderbolt shock his body as those emerald eyes gazed into his. He felt the sudden impulse to reach for her cheek , to touch that smooth skin and run his hands through her auburn hair and kiss away those tears that threatened to run down her cheeks...

He blinked and quickly rose. " Your welcome," was all he said , a blush staining his cheeks.

Sakura blinked as well , her heart thumping hard in her chest. That moment...that moment when she had looked into his eyes...

She had felt as if she had finally found what her heart had been looking for all these years.

~~~~~~~~*****~~~~~

Fujitaka walked towards the small cottage house. Touya was right behind him and Fujitaka felt his blood rush through his head , making him feel dizzy. Maybe this man would help him track down the man who had taken his daughter.

He rose his hand and rapped on the door three times.

He heard sounds of footsteps inside the house and the door swung open, revealing an elderly man , his hair greying and his eyes full of age and wisdom.

" Yes?" he inquired , his eyes requesting an answer.

Fujitaka coughed. " Hello , Wei. We have come here from Japan , needing some answers about the tragedy that happened in the Li household. Is it alright if we ask you these questions?"

Wei looked both men over. Touya , with determination lining his mouth and Fujitaka , age and sadness covering his eyes. Wei smiled. These men deserved the truth.

" I have never told this tale to anyone before. Yet I believe....I believe you men deserve to know the truth behind the Li Tragedy."

Fujitaka blinked as Wei moved aside to let Fujitaka and Touya in. " Come in , my friends. Be ready to hear my tale....as never heard before."

~~~~~~~****~~~~~

Sakura rustled around in her bed roll as she tried to find a good spot to rest. Finally , she gave up and settled down , staring up at the stars. She had never done this before. She had never slept in the open , feeling the wind and staring at the velvet sky that was scattered with dots of light.

Her eyes moved to the moon and she felt her heart sigh with serenity. The moon was full and luminous. It made her want to sing with happiness. All these new experiences , these new risks that she was taking!

Before , she was hardly allowed to go outside! Now...everything was different.

Finally , Sakura decided to get up and look around. She grabbed the blanket and stared at Syaoran's bed roll. He wasn't in it...Sakura looked around.

He was staring out at the water , which shimmered with the moonlight, sitting alone on a rock. She felt her heart jump and she made her way to him. He started a bit as she settled herself next to him. He stared at her for a few seconds before he turned his attention back to the water , a red blush spreading over his cheeks.

Sakura sighed and wrapped the blanket around herself more tightly.

" What are you doing out here?" she asked softly as the water lapped over the rocks silently.

" Thinking."

Sakura nodded. " What were you thinking about?"

" Stuff."

Sakura sighed. He didn't want to talk. She felt herself sag a bit , but stayed silent. They sat together in a companionable silence for a couple of minutes , before a chilling wind swept over the two of them. Syaoran shivered only a bit , but Sakura noticed.

" Syaoran-" she started then she stopped. Carefully , she took the blanket and wrapped it around Syaoran's shoulders and moved a bit closer towards Syaoran , so that she could share the blanket as well.

She felt Syaoran jerk with shock at the action. Sakura herself was surprised. She was sharing a blanket with her kidnapper. Quite strange , she thought to herself. Syaoran sat tense as Sakura yawned , feeling sleepy. It was really late , and she could feel her eyelids flutter with exhaustion.

Before she fell to sleep , she muttered , " Syaoran? Did you really save me because you wanted the ransom money , or did you save me because you were afraid I would be hurt by those men?"

Syaoran blinked and his heart nearly leapt into his throat. What kind of a question is that?

Finally, he answered back , " I saved you...because I was scared you might be hurt."

He winced and turned to Sakura to see her reaction. But she had fallen asleep before he answered , her head laid comfortably on his shoulder.

Syaoran flinched at the warmth it had sent to his ice rimmed heart. What was going on?

a/n: HI! thankies so much to the reviewers that are reviewing! thank you to the readers that are readin and the starjades that are starjading??? Okay , writing , updating , same thing!

PLEEEEEEEEEASE review and tell me wat ya think , aight? Or I'll choke....and choke even more....choke two times....choke three times...

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Luvyalotz , ~starjade~