Rogue
They walked together, guns strapped to their sides at the ready. They slipped into the kitchen, now empty of staff. The whole building should be emptied by now of any innocents, leaving the scum of the earth to their deal. Sakura knelt down by the door, Syaoran mirroring her on the other side. She pushed ever so gently on the door, seeing if it swung in or out. Nodding as the door gave toward the ballroom, Sakura glanced up at Syaoran and signaled for him to stand and slip out into the corridor leading to the ballroom with her.
"We'll get all we need, and then it's over." Syaoran whispered. Sakura nodded, her emerald colored eyes narrowed with determination. Her head was spinning with thoughts and images of martial arts moves Syaoran had taught her on their trip to his home. They leaned against the wall just out of the view of the police chief and Etsuya, who was standing next to Takeshi and a large briefcase.
"Do you have what I want, Chief Takinawa?" Etsuya asked, his hands resting on a black cane with a gold ball perched on top. The police chief nodded, handing Etsuya a black leather bag that zipped at the top.
"You'll find $200,000 American in there. My men and I had it converted over time so you could deposit it into your bank account in New York like you ordered. And now I would like my part of the deal." Chief Takinawa replied, extending his hand toward the briefcase at Takeshi's side.
"But of course, Takinawa. I am a man of business, not a crook. Please, take your purchase." Etsuya obliged, motioning toward the case.
"He's going to get away with the Aesthum!" Sakura hissed, but Syaoran shook his head.
"He won't get far. I know Etsuya Ishida." Syaoran whispered back, holding Sakura's arm so she wouldn't burst onto the scene at that moment. Chief Takinawa picked up the case and began to walk away.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Ishida." Takinawa said as he started for the door. Sakura's eyes widened in horror as Etsuya nodded to Takeshi, her former love, who drew his gun and opened fire on the police chief, killing him before he could cross the dance floor.
"The pleasure is all mine, chief." Etsuya snarled as Takeshi retrieved the briefcase and started back toward his boss. Syaoran started forward, Sakura following. It was now or never.
"Hold it right there, Ishida. I have you where I want you." Syaoran said calmly, and Etsuya turned around with a sly smile.
"I was wondering when you would finally catch up to me, boy." Ishida said, his voice like velvet.
"Sakura, what are you-"Takeshi asked in shock, seeing his former girlfriend he was now sworn to kill standing before him with a cold look on her beautiful face.
"Shut the fuck up, Takeshi. It's over. You're not going to poison any more people with your drugs, you son of a bitch." Sakura bit angrily, and Etsuya laughed out loud.
"And do you honestly think you're going to stop us?" Etsuya laughed. Sakura stalked right up to Takeshi, who had his weapon drawn, and stood right in front of him. Syaoran's stomach knotted as he watched Sakura move, as if in slow motion.
"Kill her, Takeshi." Etsuya roared, and Takeshi looked over at him, frozen.
"I. . . I can't! I love her!" Takeshi cried, lowering his weapon. Sakura took her chance and kicked the gun out of Takeshi's hand, then landed a strong punch to his jaw which sent him stumbling backward. Syaoran charged Etsuya, who hadn't time to grab his gun before he went staggering backward as well, his eye swelling closed almost immediately.
"Syaoran!" Sakura cried, as Syaoran started to fight Etsuya. Sakura looked over to where Takeshi was standing in time to dodge his fist as it flew toward her face. She spun around and kicked Takeshi as he lost his balance as a result of missing his punch. The two of them began to fight, almost primitively as the two of them had no martial arts experience whatsoever between them besides the basic moves Sakura knew. He shoved Sakura against the wall of the ballroom, cursing under his breath.
"Fucking bitch, why won't you die?!" Takeshi murmured crazily, his hands around Sakura's slim throat. She felt the pressure on her throat, and knew he was going to choke her if she didn't think fast. She raised her knee and slammed it into his crotch, immediately flooring the young man.
"After you, love." Sakura said hoarsely, grabbing her gun and hitting him in the head with it. He fell against the cool marble, blood oozing from a head wound inflicted on him by Sakura. Smiling, she stood over her conquest.
At the same time Sakura was fighting Takeshi, Syaoran was fighting Etsuya, who may have been older but had serious martial arts skills rivaling Syaoran's. the two enemies circled the dance floor as if their fight was choreographed, one ducking the other, their motion like that of the sea with its fluid rhythm. Syaoran misjudged a punch from Etsuya, which landed him on the floor. He heard Sakura hit Takeshi, and when he looked up his amber eyes deepened with more fear than he had ever known.
His gun was gone.
His eyes whipped around the room to find Sakura securely in Etsuya's grasp, the gun aimed at her temple. Etsuya was holding the squirming young woman, his eyes fixed on Syaoran's with hate.
"Now who has the upper hand, Li? You're about to not only lose your life, but the life of this young woman here. You should feel guilty for getting her involved." Etsuya declared, his grip on Sakura tightening as she struggled.
"Don't you fucking touch one hair on her or I will make your death worse than you could ever imagine." Syaoran said, his voice having the most serious of tones.
"He didn't drag me into this, I drug myself in when I found out you were the one who addicted my family to Aesthum." Sakura hissed, and Etsuya laughed.
"Well then my dear you will fail because not only are you about to die, but your family will NEVER come out of their addiction. It's not possible!" Etsuya said suavely, making Sakura's eyes water. Syaoran looked at Sakura desperately, not knowing what to do. Sakura met his eyes, and he saw she was hatching out a plan. Automatically his mind returned to the day when they were training, when he taught her a basic escape maneuver. Could she manage to get out of Etsuya's grip? He nodded at Sakura, who winked and closed her eyes.
"Well, I'm past due for a flight to New York so I must be cutting this little endeavor off. It was a pleasure seeing you again, Li, and I'll see you in Hell." Etsuya exclaimed, cocking the gun in his hand. Sakura's eyes squeezed shut even more as she let out a cry and grabbed Etsuya's arm that was wrapped around her throat. The adrenaline in her body helped her as she lifted the man off the ground and flipped him over her tiny body.
"Syaoran!!" Sakura cried, throwing her gun at her companion. Syaoran snagged the weapon in mid air and before Etsuya could get off the ground he fired three shots into his body.
He stood up fully for a moment, looking down at his bullet-riddled chest. His dark eyes moved from his bloody white shirt to Syaoran's dark eyes filled with hate, to Sakura's brilliant green eyes looking at him with triumph. He felt his chest filling with blood, and made an attempt to speak. Blood poured from his mouth, covering his shirt even more. At that moment Etsuya collapsed on the ground and lay dead before Sakura and Syaoran, who were panting heavily.
"We need to get the bullets out of him. They'll trace to your gun." Syaoran said, moving toward the still bleeding corpse. Sakura shook her head and motioned to her own gun lying over by Takeshi.
"I used his gun. It looks like a deal gone bad." Sakura whispered, still shocked at what she had jus accomplished. Syaoran nodded, wiping the gun clean of fingerprints. They collected Sakura's gun and staged the scene to look like a drug deal gone sour.
"Ready for the last part?" Sakura asked, and Syaoran smirked.
"Let's do it."
The dawn was breaking over Tomoeda, sleeping residents covering their heads with pillows to shut out the light. Sakura and Syaoran walked together out of the building, backpacks slung over their shoulders. Sakura pulled out the pin holding her hair up and let it fall around her face as Syaoran handed her a small control panel.
"I'll give you the honors." Syaoran said with a smile as Sakura took the pin and inserted it into the control panel. With a quick turn to the left the building behind them exploded. Syaoran reached over and took Sakura's hand as they walked nonchalantly onward, not turning around to face the end of their nightmare.
"So what's next? Are there any other dangerous missions you haven't told me about?" Sakura asked with a smirk. Syaoran got on his motorbike and pulled Sakura on with a passionate kiss.
"The most dangerous mission I have from now on is you." Syaoran replied after they parted, taking off into the sunrise to make a start at a new beginning.
The end! Thanks so much for reading, and I hope this chapter makes you all happy! Ciao!