Disclaimie:

Uh… whoosh…

Dodging the Raindrops

Chapter 14: No Rain

Plot by: The Can-Can group

A/N: This is the last major chapter; the last chapter will be the epilogue. Thank you everyone for sticking with me!

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

She had to get out of there. Not only was the blood loss making her woozy, she's also not going to the bathroom on a regular basis, making her bladder as full as heck, something no one should ever feel.

The only thing that she was happy was the fact that her daughter made it out. If Renjiro hadn't come in to torture her for allowing Suzo to escape, she would've feared the worst and instantly would've started making prayers for her daughter. Fortunately, she doesn't have to. All she has to worry about now is if she'll ever get out of the concrete room alive, or not, it all depends on different things. Before she could get too analytical, the annoying broken ribs moved a little bit, poking into one of her organs.

"Great," Sakura muttered as she shifted so that the rib would stop poking one of the vital organs protected by her thoracic cage.

Her emerald eyes fell upon the necklace in the far corner. She glared at it for the hundreds that its worth. When she woke up and noticed it, she threw as far as her broken ribs, and bruises would allow, which turned out to be farther then perceived. It seemed to mock her and just for that, she wanted to melt it down with a blowtorch. Alas, that dream is so close, yet so far.

Of course, once she gets out of there, she's going to try to convince Syaoran to stay, go to all her favorite restaurants, and finally, above all, get a restraining order against her "dear" husband. Smiling, and despite her mind's protests, her eyes began to drop, allowing her to enter slumber land.

……………………………………

Syaoran just got off the phone with his mother. After telling her that he was withdrawing most of the money out of the bank, she asked him what it was for and he replied, "Just a business deal." He could tell that his mother was shaking her head and decided to not question any farther. After all that, she gave him her blessing to take out the money.

It was Friday, the appointed day that the sick bastard had told him to give him the money that was pretty much close to a budget of a small country. He was hoping that it wouldn't come to him giving into Renjiro's demands, he had been wishing for another way, but it never came. It was all too depressing.

The only good thing that happened was Suzo coming back. Her being around made things brighter and filled with hope instead of the bleakness that was there before. Fortunately, the little girl is at Tomoyo's where the security is better then Sakura's apartment. He opted to stay at her apartment to keep Kero company and also it, for some strange reason, made him feel closer to Sakura then at the fashion designer's abode.

He patted the oversized dog's head as he headed out the door to the bank that was a few blocks away from the apartment. It was sunny out, a nice temperature, no cloud in the sky, all totally opposite of the mood that he was feeling at that time. People walked along the sidewalks, chatting on cell phones, kids talking incoherently to parents, and cars honked at pedestrians that would accidentally go out into the middle of the streets.

The inside of the bank wasn't as busy as the streets were, instead, it was very quiet, the only noise was the whispering between tellers and the customers, plus the occasional tapping of the keyboard as transactions are recorded.

He waited in the line for about half and hour when it was finally his turn.

"How much?" The female teller asked, fingertips poised over the keyboard, ready for action.

Syaoran wrote the necessary figure on a piece of paper and handed it to the woman. Smiling, the woman took the paper and her eyes fell upon the number. Instantly, the blue eyes widened beyond all physical limits and she looked like she was about to faint. Regaining her composure, she asked if he wanted cash or if this was some kind of robbery.

"I can assure you," Syaoran replied, exasperated. "Its not."

"Then-?'

He was getting impatient; he didn't have time for this type of stuff. "Look, just put it on a non-traceable check." An idea hit him as the woman pulled out a pad of small slips of paper. If he didn't manage to get to Renjiro and the man managed to escape, Syaoran could always leave a trail for the police to chase. "Make it out to Hitachi Renjiro."

A few moments later, he stepped out of the taxi and onto the cement sidewalk at the train station. To him, the whole thing seemed cliché, like in some third rate movie or something.

He pulled the check out into plain view. He could feel the red haired man's eyes following his movements, making sure that Syaoran was doing what he was supposed to be doing and not trying to cheat out of the deal.

Syaoran started to head back towards the entrance, but made a detour, as a second thought. There was something that he needed to know and the only one who will be able to answer would be the causer of the situation. He sat down on the bench, staring at people walking by as they headed to the trains, acting as if he never had even met Sakura's ex before, which is true, they had never met face to face before. "When will I get Sakura back?" He asked, not even realizing that he used his roommate's first name.

Renjiro smirked, the insane look in his eyes growing even further. "You'll get her back as soon as I check out the money to make sure that you're not short changing me."

Syaoran grunted in return and got up from his spot on the bench, leaving the insane man behind him.

"Although, we never discussed if you'll get her back dead or alive," Renjiro whispered to himself, his voice lost to the murmurings of the crowd.

……………………………………

Syaoran was feeling dejected when he got home. He had no clue as to what to do now, the only thing that anyone could do was to wait and hope for the best. Of course, he wasn't the only one that was feeling that way; Kero was eating less and was always standing by the door, as if waiting for Sakura to come home. Watching the dog whine at the door made him feel sorry and forced him to decide on taking him out for a walk. Grabbing the leash hanging inside the closet, Syaoran hooked the dog up, and leave the apartment, not even worrying about the security system since it didn't matter anyway.

Like that day a while ago, the dog pulled him, sniffing the ground as he went along, heading towards the downtown area. "I think this is sign to go to the gym more often," Syaoran muttered to himself as the Retriever made a turn onto another block.

In front of them was the old bank that was abandoned when they went through its thirtieth robbery in one month, due to the fact that it was built in an area before it became the high-crime area of the city. Syaoran stared at it for a second and was startled when his cell phone rang.

"Hello?" He asked into the mouthpiece.

"We found Sweet and Slow, the two women who found Miss Kinomoto's daughter," the detective's voice came from the earpiece. "Thought you might want to question them yourself, after we get done with them."

"Sure," Syaoran replied before hanging up, it wasn't often that those who knew the victim were involved in a case; too much emotional involvement is bad for the investigation. Tugging on the leash, ignoring the growling emitting from the animal on the other end, Syaoran left the area, giving no second thought to the abandoned building in front of him.

He arrived at the station after dropping off the dog. The detective rose from the bench where he had been waiting for Syaoran. "This way," the detective instructed as he began to lead him through the winding hallways of the building, walking past people that were either worked there or was being brought there against their will.

They arrived at a room where the two prostitutes where waiting to be questioned even further. Before Syaoran entered, the officer handed him a gold ring. "Pretend that you're married, that's all I've got to warn you about." Raising an eyebrow, the Chinese citizen entered the room.

The two women looked as if they had slept with their make-up on, for it was all over the place. Their hair was tussled and all over the place, making it look something similar to a rat's nest. They seemed to be upset and depressed at the fact that they're in such a dreary place. However, as soon as Syaoran entered the room, their eyes lightened up and began to make suggestive comments. "My other customers compare to nothing on you." Sweet commented.

Slow grinned. "Just think of all the fun we could have!"

Syaoran could feel an eye starting to twitch. "Sorry ladies, I'm all ready taken." To prove this statement, he showed him the fake ring the detective gave him.

"Aw, too bad, we just learned some new things that we have been wanting to try out," One of the ladies commented in a dejected manner.

"Maybe, if you took off the ring, you would feel less guilty about it," the other tried, hoping to change Syaoran's mind.

"No."

The two ladies pouted, complete with the whole entire lip thing being done. "The reason why I'm here is to ask you where you found Suzo."

The ladies looked at each other, contemplating on whether or not to tell him where they had meet up with her.

"Please, you have to tell me, her mother is missing and there's a chance that where you found her might be in the area where she's being kept at," Syaoran pleaded, just short of getting onto his knees and begging. "Her live is at stake here and Suzo would be very upset if her mother was to die." He waited for their answer, silently hoping that they'll tell all that they know.

Sweet was the first to give in. Sighing, she replied, "The only thing that we can tell you is that we found her in the downtown area, somewhere near the corner of 21st and Hibachi."

"She was heading at us coming from somewhere in the area near the old restaurant were a gang hangs out at," Slow added in. "That's when we first noticed her, so we couldn't tell you where she was at before, not exactly at least, just the general direction."

Syaoran smiled, the first in a while, he now has a lead to the whereabouts of Sakura. "Thanks."

The two ladies grinned and tried to strain themselves from making lewd comments about how he could repay his thanks. "You're welcome," the both of them replied. "We hope that you find Sue's mom."

Syaoran nodded as he wondered why they were calling Suzo, Sue, and left the room. The detective followed him, smiling along the way; now they're finally getting somewhere.

"What's going to happen to those two?" Syaoran asked as left the building.

"Who? Sweet and Slow? Nothing much, we're just going to put them in jail for a bit, we always go through this, at least once every two weeks, they even have their own cell that they've decorated."

Syaoran just shook his head as they clambered into the detective's old car. They headed towards the downtown area, the anticipation building up as they moved closer, and closer to their destination. The silence in the car was unbearable, neither one had anything to say. Syaoran couldn't wait to see Sakura and the detective couldn't wait to see Renjiro behind bars serving lifetime.

They finally made it to the downtown area of the large city; the evidence to this is all the graffiti that littered the side of buildings, not to mention all the rundown apartments and businesses. Homeless and various other strange characters loitered the roads, all-looking worse for the wear. The actual streets had cracks all over the place due to improper maintenance. All in all, it was a run down area of the town.

They finally found the corner the two ladies described and parked the car. The detective turned on his security system, something he hardly ever does, however, being in the environment that he is in, there's no telling what could happen to someone who left their car in the area.

Syaoran and the detective found the rundown restaurant the prostitutes told them about, hopefully, they'll find another clue from whoever is inside the building.

They entered the building, instantly, gangsters looked up at him, wondering why the heck is a non-member entering their hideout. Syaoran gulped, the sweat starting to build up from being the center of attention along with the detective. "Can anyone tell me if they have spotted a red haired man walking about?" He asked, hoping that someone has.

One of the gangsters stood up from his spot at a beat up table. "Who are you to barge in here and demand things of us? Why should we tell you if we have seen anybody? I think you need to be taught a lesson on proper etiquette."

Syaoran restrained the urge to growl as he rolled up his sleeves and loosened his collar. "Fine then. Let's make this quick, I don't have enough time for this."

The two circled each other, assessing the other's abilities and appearances. Just as the gangster was about to make his first move, someone entered the room from one of the doors that lead to the back. He looked to be the leader of the small gang. He wore an expensive business suit and even more expensive jewelry around his neck and on his fingers. His dark hair was slicked back with gobs amount of gel. "I'd prefer if you didn't do this here," the leader said, making everyone stop in their tracks. "The last time there was a brawl here, it took me days to get all the blood off of the furniture. I'd rather have you guys do this in the gym next door."

"If I win, I want all the info you have on a certain someone," Syaoran said, in negotiation with the gangster that had threatened him earlier.

"Sure," was the reply. "However, if I win, you'll have to be our personal punching bag." That proved that those gangsters were as dumb as they looked.

"Now that, that is all settled," The leader said. "Let's go next door. I haven't had good entertainment in a while now."

Everyone in the restaurant left, following the leader and the two fighters. All of the gangsters were all ready putting bets on who would win, or who would lose, even the detective joined in, although he was aiming for Syaoran in support of the man. They arrived at the rundown gym, the musty smell of un-use hitting their noses instantly. The leader hit the switch, lighting the place up with a slight flicker of the light bulbs.

They walked along the brown colored walls, hoping that the ceiling was stronger then it looked. Eventually the leader came upon a door. He opened it, allowing everyone to enter. Inside was a huge boxing ring covered in dust and old sweat and caked blood. "This gym belonged to my late father, I'm sure he would be happy for it to be in use again," The leader explained as he stood next to the structure. "Now, get to it."

The two men nodded and entered the ring using the small set of stairs stationed at each corner. Syaoran took off his shoes and handed them to the detective. All of the other gangsters surrounded the ring, cheering for their favorite.

Syaoran took a defensive position, his fists ready and barred. His eyebrows formed a scowl as his opponent took an offensive stance. The world around them faded away to the point where they could only hear their breathing and each other's beating hearts. After a moment's hesitation where the world seemed to stop they moved, rushing at each other. The gangster pulled back his arm and aimed for Syaoran's face, who just blocked it with his arms.

As the fight progressed on, Syaoran realized that the whole entire thing was pretty much stupid, hadn't his mother told him to not fight unless it was in self-defense? Mentally shaking his head at the irony of it all, he went in for the kill, kneeing the opponent in the stomach. The man coughed up a bit of blood before finally keeling over, landing with a thud onto the mat.

"Now will you answer my question?" Syaoran asked, exasperated by everything.

The leader of the gang smiled as he clapped his hands. "That was a very good show and being the honorable people that we are, we'll answer any questions that you may have to the best of our abilities."

"Thank you," replied Syaoran.

The other gangsters started paying off bets they made during the match, even the detective had received some money.

"Let's go into my office so that we can have a private conversation." The leader walked out of the gym room, Syaoran following him, and headed to a room next door. "What is it that you want to know?" The leader asked, sitting down in a broken chair behind a desk.

"Have you seen a red-haired man walking around here recently?"

"Sure," The leader replied. "He's been hanging around the old bank, real shady, even more so then we are. If you don't mind me asking, why is it that you're looking for him? He seems to be very dangerous."

Syaoran clenched his hands at his sides. "He is and he stole something important to me."

…………………………………

Sakura woke up. The pain was still there and nothing else had change, except for the fact that there was some food stationed next to the door. That's when she got an idea, one that either will allow her to escape or at the most, get rid off the pee in her bladder. Using her arms, she crawled to the door, hoping that the motion won't upset any of her cuts and her ribs.

Grabbing the tin cup, and after spilling it of its contents, Sakura threw it at the door, resulting in a very loud noise that made a ringing noise appear in her ears. She continued to throw it at the door, and yelling at the top of her lungs for Renjiro to allow her to go pee. Hopefully that and her waving to the camera in the corner would bring attention to her. Finally the sound of locks being unlocked rang through the concrete room, dumping the contents out of the bowl, she prepared herself by standing up (with shaking legs and a hand on the wall next to the door).

Someone entered into the room and she had just enough strength to hit the person over the head with the tin bowl, knocking him out cold.

Smiling, she left the room, going as fast as her broken body would allow.

……………………………

Syaoran stood outside of the building, staring at it. He should've known that was where Sakura is at, since it was beyond obvious. Kero always heading in that general direction and the fact that Renjiro was some kind of money junkie, Syaoran wished that he could bang his head on a wall.

The detective called for back up as Syaoran just stood there. "They're on their way as we speak." In the distance siren rang out sharply, getting closer with each passing second.

"Can't we just go in?" Syaoran asked, tired of waiting for the squad to get there.

The detective shook his head solemnly. "No, we need back up for this type of thing, Hitachi is really dangerous and we have to expected the unexpected with him. Besides, you shouldn't even be here; emotionally charged people are the worst things for cases like these. They make us nervous. Actually, I had this one case where- Hey! Where did you go?" Syaoran wasn't anywhere to be seen. He checked his holster only to find his gun missing.

"Hot damn!" The detective swore as he radioed in the station, urging them to get there faster since a moron decided to go in before it was considered safe.

Syaoran took the safety off of the gun, got it ready to be used against possible thugs, and crazed ex-husbands. In away, having the gun in his hand made the building seem less formidable, even as he stepped through the broken doors.

His feet encountered the once plush carpeting of the old bank. In front of him was the old teller booths where people had had lined up at when waiting for their turn. It was dusty and there was a foul smell in the air. A few bullet holes littered the wall, from a time when the back was robbed almost everyday and didn't have a good enough budget to actually fix it.

He could almost know how Sakura was feeling at that very moment.

…………………………

"Damnit!" Sakura had just found another dead end. She had been trying for the past 15 minutes to find an exit, but to no avail. Its like something was working against her, not allowing her to leave her prison. Oh, how she wished that she had a map to use or at least eat, she thought as her stomach gave a very loud rumble. She limped out of the corridor, trying another direction.

She paused after a few feet, allowing her broken body a chance to rest. This was becoming very taxing on her, but the determination to reach the exit suddenly flared up, she won't allow herself to remain there any longer. Gritting her teeth, she pushed off of the wall and continued walking on.

After passing by a corner, going straight since she had all ready went down that way, a pain suddenly spread from the back of her head and the black that she has been accustomed to entered her vision. Sakura could feel herself falling and then… nothing.

………………………

Syaoran felt something course through him, like he was getting closer to his goal. He followed the feeling, turning down a hallway. One of the lights flickered before burning out, drowning the corridor in total darkness. Sighing, he walked into the dark, straining his hearing so that he could hear what was going on around him. However, the only thing that he could hear was his beating heart, thumping loudly into his ears. Annoyingly loud.

Just as he turned a corner, a loud, slamming sound of a door being closed, alerted him, coming from the opposite direction. Deciding to follow his only lead, he turned around and walked across the hallway he had just turned from, trying to pin point the origin of the sound. When the echoes finally died down, he had something short of on idea of where to go from there, he only had to continue down the corridor he was all ready in.

A door stood in front of Syaoran.

The hairs on the back of his neck pricked in apprehension, like there was something dangerous on the other side of the door. And he knew that is where Sakura and Renjiro was at.

…………………

Sakura floated into consciousness seemingly hours later (which was, in reality, only ten minutes). She tried to lift her arms, only to find out that they were bound to something and couldn't be lifted at all. She opened her mouth to swear, but something was blocking her mouth. Within a matter of moments, she realized that she was bound and gagged like in some old Western movie and she became a damsel in distress.

Great, she wanted to say as she took in her surroundings. She was obviously in an office of some type, sitting in the chair behind the desk.

The door in front of her clicked open and Renjiro entered the room, looking slightly smug as he took in her predicament. "So, you woke up," He said as a crazed looking smile fitted onto his features, whilst the door slammed behind him. "And here I though that you would be out for at least another hour."

She glared at him hatefully and wished that she could wipe off that smile from his face, forever. However, she wanted to ask how is it that he's not back in that room, lying unconscious on the floor.

He must've seen that question looking in her hate filled eyes. He smirked. "I knew what you where trying to do, you think I didn't know?" He gave her a reprimanding look and "tsked." "I have a very hard head, I just feigned that I was knocked out and let you escape."

Just so that he could toy with her and make her think that she was scotch free, Sakura thought as a cold sweat began to form.

Renjiro walked around the desk. When he reached her side, he ran his fingertips along the side of her face, causing shivers to run through her. "Do you want to know the reason why you are tied up here?"

She didn't know whether to nod or shake her head, and thusly, didn't do anything at all.

Taking her silence as a "yes," he continued. "Your friend, Mr. Li, decided that he would try to trick me. And since he didn't keep up his end of the bargain, I'm going to not keep mine, right in front of his face." He let out a low chuckle as he thought about his revenge.

Sakura could only guess what the bargain was; the only thing she knew for sure (as evidence to her being kidnapped and all) was that she was part of it and perhaps money.

She felt him suddenly kiss the side of her face and she felt the disgusted feeling blossoming through her. "I can't wait to see you when you die, all the blood will match nicely with your perfect skin and maybe even bring out the color of your hair."

The blood drained from her after that statement.

The door clicked open a moment later. "So, it begins," Renjiro commented as he stood to his full height next to her. "I just can't wait." The gleeful look in his eyes made Sakura want to get sick and throw up, however, if she were to do that, the bile would just go back down or drown her because of the gag.

Syaoran entered the room and, upon seeing him, she could feel her heart clench. She didn't know how much she missed him until she saw him standing there, looking as surprised as she was. She could feel her eyes soften at the sight of him. He looked a little hassled, but otherwise, undamaged and unhurt. Tears pricked at the sides of her eyes.

"Ah, yes," Renjiro said, breaking Syaoran's eye contact with hers. "The famous Mr. Li. Last time we met, I never did say how much it was a pleasure to be in your company. I must say, however, that I didn't appreciate the trick you tried to play on me." His smile never faltered, however, the look in his eyes looked crazed and angry, really angry. "Did you think that I didn't know that the Federals could've find me with a check? Did you really think that I would be as stupid enough to leave a paper trail? No, you are the stupid one."

Renjiro pulled out a rectangular slip of paper from his pocket, ripped it in half, and let the two slips fall slowly to the ground. "This represents that our deal is void," the smile fell off of his face. "Now, I shall void my end of our deal."

Syaoran visually stiffened as the crazed person pulled out a gun from his jacket. Renjiro looked at the weapon for a moment and grinned. "This is my precious, it has never failed me before." He pointed it in the direction of Syaoran, whom all ready had his gun prepared and aimed, ready for use. "I shall enjoy this."

The gun swung to Sakura's direction and was pointed at her temple. An audible click sounded against her head and cold metal pressed into her hair. Sweat began to form from the pores on her skin.

"Do you want to know why I decided to marry you?" Renjiro asked softly into her ears.

She all ready knew why he did what he did, because he was a greedy bastard that wanted her money, all of it. However, she couldn't' say a thing because of the gag.

"And not Miss Tomoyo?" He continued. His face suddenly twisted into something ugly and hateful looking. "Its because you were too freaking happy and naïve. I wanted to see you break; I wanted to see you hurting when I wasn't there for you during your most emotional time of need. I always hated the way you smiled in my direction, like you actually trusted me and loved me. I. Hate. You."

Sakura glared at him with mutual feelings shining from her eyes.

He saw the look in her eyes and smiled. "Would you like to say something to me before you die?" Without waiting for an answer, he pulled the cloth downwards which freed her mouth.

However, she didn't say anything, just stared defiantly at him.

Renjiro raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You have nothing to say, even after all these years? I would think that you had a few choice words to say to me, but I guess not."

In front of her, she could see Syaoran tense up, again, which told her that her ex put a finger on the trigger and was slowly pulling on it. She closed her eyes, prepared for what was to come; hopefully, it will be swift and painless.

Time seemed to slow down as she clenched her eyes even further, encasing her in darkness.

Syaoran broke the silence as he shouted, "NOOOO!"

The cold metal was pulled away quickly, as if Renjiro had something that suddenly attacked him. Sakura opened her eyes and turned her head to see her dog, Kero, holding onto Renjiro's throat with his teeth and growling out of the sides of his mouth. Renjiro looked just as surprised as she was. How'd Kero get there? Moreover, since when was he an attack dog? She watched, in morbid fascination, as blood pulsed in between his sharp fangs and dribbled along his muzzle and down Renjiro's neck.

Renjiro opened his mouth, as if to say something, but shut it quickly when he realized that that would only cause pain. Instead, he placed the gun under the dog's chest and pulled the trigger.

"Kero!" She cried out as she watched her dog fall to the ground with a few specks of his own blood flew into the air and landed in splatters next to him and on Renjiro. "You bastard!" She yelled at her ex- husband with tears started to form behind her eyes.

While Renjiro was recovering from his injury on the neck, Syaoran ran up and put him into an arm hold and even breaking one of them with all the pressure there was being placed onto it. He made sure to grab the gun away from him and threw it into a far corner. "Don't move," Syaoran ordered as his strong hold put more pressure on Renjiro's arms. "Or I'll shoot your brains out." Syaoran grabbed both of his arms with one hand and put the gun to the back of his head.

No one said anything for a few moments.

Officers poured into the room a second later, giving orders and, all in all, making a commotion as Renjiro was apprehended and dragged out of the office. Paramedics arrived next, just as Syaoran got Sakura free from her bonds. She got up and ran to her dog, crying slightly at seeing all of the blood. He opened an eye open weakly, as if telling her that he would be okay (she didn't believe him, however) and shut it a moment later.

"Miss?" A paramedic put a hand on her shoulder. Sakura, reluctantly, moved away from her dog. "We'll take him to the animal hospital where he will be taken care of." The dog was placed on a stretcher and carried out.

She stood up, despite the protesting of her wounds. Syaoran stared at her intently as another paramedic checked him out. "You should get those checked out," He softly said to her, in reference to the wounds that were visible to him. The relief in his voice touched her deeply as she nodded and fainted, falling to the ground with another painful thud.

……………………………

"Mommy!" Suzo cried as she joined her mother at her bedside in the hospital a week later. The wounds were healing nicely, but slowly, and Sakura was slowly gaining the nutrients that she needed since they were lost during what happened, so Suzo was instructed to not touch her mom, unless Sakura said that she could.

"Hi, sweetie," Sakura replied as she smiled lightly and placed a hand on her daughter's head. It's a joy to see her child again, all safe, and sound.

"Momma, I saw Kero today. He's getting better and the veter- vatirn… um… the animal doctor said that he will be able to come home with me in a week," the girl said excitedly. "When are you coming home?"

Sakura sat there thoughtfully as she pondered on the question. "I guess, when the doctor tells me that I can."

The girl seemed to become crestfallen. "I'll bring you something back," Sakura said; in hopes to bring a smile back to her daughter. That seemed to do the trick and the girl smiled as she chatted about what happened since she had last seen her mother, which was, apparently, a lot.

"Time's up," announced the nurse as she entered the room. Suzo left the room with a slight skip in her step. The nurse turned to Sakura. "There's a gentleman out there who says that he knows you. Would you like me to send him in?" Sakura, having a faint idea on who it was, nodded, and the nurse left in order to bring in the man.

"Turns out that Kero got away from Hiiragizawa when they were out for a walk," Syaoran announced upon entering the white and pristine room.

Sakura sighed in exasperation. "That sounds just like something that Kero would do."

He nodded in agreement. "Also, Renjiro is getting life-time for the crimes he committed. It seems like he has been killing, embezzling, and just about everything else in the book for quite sometime now."

Sakura didn't say anything as she took in the info.

Silence ensued.

"So…" They both said at the same time and both slightly blushing.

"You first," Syaoran said, pointedly with an expectant look on his face.

"When," she began. The tiredness seemed to hit her all of the sudden. "Are you leaving?"

"Not for another few months."

"Oh."

Syaoran opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but closed it when nothing came out. "What is it?" Sakura pressed, seeing the indecision in his eyes.

"When I leave, there's something I need to tell you. And perhaps," He paused and seemed to tense up. "By that time, I'll be ready to tell you what I need to tell you. So, just wait until then, okay?"

Sakura nodded, not understanding what it was that he was trying to say, but understood that she would have to wait for until he was ready.

The nurse re-entered the room and told Syaoran that visitor's time is up and that she needed rest. He gave a quick "bye" and left. Sakura used the remote next to her bed to turn the TV on. The news blinked on and a man sitting behind a desk had a solemn look on his face. Coughing, he announced, "Hitachi Renjiro, was found dead this morning, after committing suicide, late last night, by biting on his tongue, causing him to drown with his own blood. He's known for…" The news anchor listed off all the crimes that Renjiro had committed and the screen blacked out after she pressed the "off" button.

At last, it's all over, and now she could sleep in peace.

…………………………………

Several months later found Sakura at the airport with Suzo holding onto her hand. Her injuries were all healed and the bruises had faded away, unfortunately, the memories would never leave her. There were times when she would dream about still being in the concrete room, waiting for someone to rescue her. Still, she was relieved that everything was over with and that there wasn't anything else to worry about.

Except for one thing.

What was it that Syaoran had to say? She was really curious about that one.

They were in a café, waiting for his plane to be called (which wouldn't be for awhile if the delays had anything to do with it). Syaoran went to the counter to get something to eat and drink for them, whereas Tomoyo, and Eriol went off to look at the other stores, leaving Sakura and Suzo to their own devices.

Sakura sighed as she placed her free elbow onto the wooden table and cradled her chin in the palm of her hand. She was bored beyond heck. Suzo, noticing this, asked her mom if she wanted to play a word game. Nodding, Sakura played against her daughter (who, surprisingly, has a very large vocabulary for a five year old). As they played, Sakura became thankful for the air conditioning. It was the middle of August and was hot as heck. Not only that, but in five months, it would be an entire year since Sakura met Syaoran. A whole, entire, "fun" filled year, complete with stalkers, roommates, stupid fashion shows, and guys hitting on her.

Not that she was complaining or anything.

Syaoran arrived a few moments later, carrying three cups of something-rathers and a bag filled with a few baked goods. He handed her and Suzo two of the cups, explaining that Suzo's was a milkshake and Sakura's was a tea flavored smoothie, and sat down in the chair opposite of them.

They chatted for a few moments about this and that. Sakura thought that if she was an outsider, they look like a small family just hanging out together on a sunny afternoon and not people who were about to split ways.

A lady on the intercom announced Syaoran's plane flight. Both of them sighed as they stood up and left the small café. Suzo was the only one to talk between the three of them as they reached the gate.

It was time for Syaoran to finally say what it was that he wanted to say and it was making Sakura apprehensive to the point were the butterflies in her stomach were having a party. She knew that whatever he had to say would change their lives forever.

They arrived just in time for the last call. He turned to look at her for a moment, sighed, and seemed to preparing himself for whatever it is that he's about to do. He stared at her for seemingly a long time before he said, "Aw, screw it." Grabbed her and kissed her, again. It was tender and soft, but something short of passionate. It was over with all too soon.

Sakura scowled at him for a moment. "What the hell what was that for? Why do you keep on insisting to kiss me?"

"Well," Replied Syaoran as the gate emptied out. "The first was for comfort and the second was for good luck."

"What about that one? She asked with a raised eyebrow.

He seemed to blush for a moment. "That was because I love you." He quickly said "bye" to Suzo before Sakura could say anything (of course, she stood there with an agape look on her face) and got in line with the rest of the passengers.

"Aren't you going to say anything back?" Tomoyo asked as she stood next to Sakura, video camera in hand.

"What should I say?" Sakura asked since all her brain functions had temporarily ceased.

Eriol walked up to the three girls and smiled gently. "I think that you all ready know what needs to be said."

Sakura blinked as her feet carried her to over where Syaoran was standing. She reached across the red ropes and pulled on the sleeve of his shirt. When he turned to look at her, she said "I love you too," and dashed back to where the others were at, blushing all the while, like some high school girl. She turned around and watched as Syaoran grinned happily before handing his ticket and getting onto the plane.

It didn't rain for almost a month afterwards.

OOOOOOOOOO

Mom? You know that saying you used to say to me, all the time? The one that went "You can dodge the raindrops all you want, but there will always be one that will land on you? I used to never understand what that meant. However, recently a raindrop finally landed on me, and I love it very much…

OOOOOOOOOO

Authoress's Notie:

Hi, everyone, it's been awhile since I last worked on this story. So, please, whatever you do, don't hurt me. This chapter has been the most difficult for me to write, mostly because I knew for a long time that this story would only have 14 chapters (excluding the Epilogue, which I will put up once I write it. The Epilogue won't be very long, but at the rate that I'm going at, it'll be about a year before I put it up).

I guess that the reason why it has taken this long to write a 12-ish page story, it because that I have never come to the end of a story before I didn't know what to do. But I press forward and managed to get five pages written today. After the seven-page mark, I couldn't do anything for several months, which made me feel guilty that I only wrote that much since I last put anything up. However, once I finally gained inspiration, the rest wrote itself. The part I despise the most is the gangster scene, that was the stupidest thing ever, but, it was necessary for the story.

Putting all that aside, Renjiro's finally gone, and I'm sad to see him go since he represents a major theme (that I didn't know that was there) of this story, which is that Greed (not money) is what makes people do the craziest thing (Renjiro kidnapping the two just to get Syaoran's money). The other theme is that you can't avoid love forever (although, I, myself, have managed to do a great job of that so far…) cause, like the raindrops, will land on you, even if you are fast enough and clever enough to evade them.

But you guys don't want to know about that.

I'll get working on the epilogue soon enough, so expect that.

A few more things to say. First, I'm up on Deviant art, just go to my Bio and it'll be there. If you want to see my livejournal, just click on my homepage, and if you are on Gaia, my name is KNight007.

Lastly, go read some of my other stuff all ready; they need some lovin' too, you know? If you are into mysteries (like stories written by Janet Evanovich) go read "The Devil's Game." If you are into Vampires go read my CCS crossover with Hellsing, "Magic and Vampires Don't Mix" and finally, if you are into Fruits Basket, go read my newest story "Another Onigiri Tale" which is a Sci-fi set sometime in the future.

Thank you for all the reviews by the way, I've received 124 since I have started this story and I cherish each and every one of them. Now, go read my other stuff, or else…

Questions? Comments? Just want me to do your house chores whilst you go to the pool? Click on the purple button and off you go…

The Can-Can group

(speaking of which, after a year of waiting, someone finally asked if I was an actual group or what, I've been waiting for someone to say something like that. There's only one person in this group, my penname is just something that I came up with at the top of my head when I found out that all the other names that I wanted to use was all ready in use, but yes, thank you person who mentioned that)