The Pains from the Depth of Your Heart
By, The Angels of Death
Summary: AU. Kinomoto Sakura, Matsura Yukino: New students of Seijou High; Grade 11. Test subjects to Project 753159. Current status: Healthy, with slight amnesia. What would happen if Li Syaoran stumbled across this information?
Pairings: S+S
Dedicated to everyone. Anyone who doesn't want a dedication can have some pocky. –offers-
Chapter 9: Masquerade Ball
In a brightly lit ballroom, held up my many giant pillars, behind one, stood Yukino. Wearing her regular 'nice clothes' attire of only black dress pants and black button-up shirt, Yukino wore a black mask to cover her eyes. Her long black hair was…down. As usual. Yukino eyed her surroundings as she watched Tomoyo nearly fly around the ballroom with so many dance partners. Sakura was nowhere in sight, and the target was currently laughing his head off, drunk, sitting on a seat in the front table, as a woman with a skimpy outfit, sat on his lap and played with his hair. Yukino cringed and looked away. What was there to do, as she hid behind a huge pillar? She heavily leaned against it, tired. That was the problem. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing she could do.
The punch could be spiked…practically everyone here was drunk. A drunken man clumsily walked over to Yukino and reached his hand out to ask for a dance. Yukino smacked his pressure point and kicked him over to one of the exits, before leaning against the pillar again. Absolutely nothing…
Sakura sneakily looked around the ballroom while she hid in the restroom, trying to look for her target that was simply right next to her. Sakura's ears perked when she heard the target laugh crazily again. Where was he? Sakura sighed, giving up, as she walked out of her hiding spot, walking past her target and to the side of the ballroom, where she stood looking at a painting of…a butterfly.
"It's a very beautiful and elaborate painting, isn't it?"
Sakura jumped from shock, before she slowly turned around. A handsome man with chestnut brown hair and amber eyes wearing a black suit and mask, smiled kindly at her.
"It's one of my favorite paintings…from the others."
Sakura glanced around the room before immediately casting her eyes on the butterfly. Practically every other painting in the ballroom was with naked people from paintings from ages ago. Sakura shivered before smiling up at the man.
"What is your name, sir?"
"I'm afraid I am to keep it remained as a secret. It is a masquerade ball, is it not?"
Sakura sheepishly smiled. The man held out his hand.
"Would you care to dance, fair maiden?"
Sakura looked around the room to find her target, but to no avail, she nodded and placed her hand onto his.
Tomoyo looked around worriedly. So many men asked her to dance, so where was Yukino? She must be dying from boredom! As she bowed to the last man who asked for a dance, she made her way off of the dance floor quickly, as she looked for Yukino.
"Why in such a hurry, princess?"
Tomoyo turned to see a handsome man with black bluish tinted hair and azure eyes hidden behind a black mask that matched his black suit. He smiled before holding out his hand.
"Can you handle another dance?"
Tomoyo looked around the room for Yukino, before sighing and nodding her head as she delicately placed her hand onto his. He smiled at her and Tomoyo was captivated, until she felt a gentle tug on her hand, as he led her to the dance floor.
Touya grumbled as he watched his sister dance with a guy. Yukito chuckled with an 'I-point-and-laugh-at-you' expression.
"Well, Touya, she is growing up."
"She's growing up too fast. What if she brings that guy home? And offers him cookies? The world will end, I swear of it."
"Sakura wouldn't be that bold."
"You don't know Sakura. With all those raging hormones out there, what could possibly happen to a girl distracted by butterflies? EVERYTHING!"
Touya started panicking and Yukito put his hand on Touya's shoulder.
"No worries, Sakura's from JAC. She can protect herself."
"She has a small attention span."
"Maybe, but…wait. That is bad."
Yukito sweatdropped and laughed nervously as Touya's eye twitched behind his mask.
Fujitaka watched his little Sakura grow up as she shyly placed her hand onto another man's hand. Nadeshiko turned her head to look at the scene and smiled as she continued to dance with her husband fluidly.
"Little Sakura's growing up so fast, isn't she?"
"A little too fast. I remember that she used to ride on my shoulders…what happened?"
"You blinked to moisten your eyes, and realized she grew up."
"And I'm still blinking…"
Yukino watched as a man asked Sakura for a dance. And Yukino's eye twitched, because she knew exactly who it was. Then she saw Tomoyo get asked for a dance, and Yukino's eye twitched again.
"Ya sure do twitch a lot, Yukino."
Yukino turned and smiled.
"Shauna, what are you doing at this place?"
Shauna laughed sneakily as she ate some cheese blocks pierced by a toothpick. Shauna carried a whole tray, as she was dressed as one of the caterers. Yukino grabbed some cheese and ate happily.
"Ah…cheese."
Shauna nodded and reached into her pocket, where there was a miniature bag of popcorn.
"I'm going undercover."
"For what?"
"To spy…"
Yukino raised an eyebrow. Shauna had been her first partner when she started JAC, until Shauna retired at the age of…13. Yes, a young age. She said that she wanted to travel the world, going from one cheese convention to another. Finally, at the age of 16, she came back, claiming that she had gone to all conventions and had been kicked out for illegally selling cheese flavored pocky. To this day, Yukino still received a package full of cheese flavored pocky in the mail every month.
"To spy on whom?"
"…Syaoran Li."
"Has this mission been approved of by JAC?"
"Heh, no. I appointed the mission by myself."
"Why?"
"Syaoran Li is one sexy little bastard."
Yukino blinked before she fell down anime style. As the cloud of dust that had appeared around her, disappeared, she got up, dusting off her clothes.
"That little son of a bitch is down right ugly."
"No he isn't!"
"I find him ugly."
"You find everyone ugly!"
"…Touché."
Yukino turned to watch Tomoyo dance with Eriol before sighing and chatting with Shauna some more as they hogged all of the cheese blocks from the hors d'oeuvres table. Then Rebecca skipped in, claiming that while she was walking to the airport, she smelled cheese and rushed to the scene. And…they ate more cheese.
Sakura felt a little dizzy as she danced with the mystery man. As another slow ballroom song came up, he pulled her closer and she rested her head on his shoulder.
'He smells like…sandalwood. Weird…'
The man smiled down at the girl he held in his arms at the moment.
'She smells like…cherry blossoms. Weird…'
Sakura and Syaoran continued to dance; both not knowing each were sworn enemies.
Tomoyo looked around the room for Yukino. To no avail, she sighed and leaned closer to her dance partner.
"I don't suppose you will tell me your name?"
"The purpose of a masquerade ball is to pretend to be someone that you are not. To hide what you are on the inside. If I were to tell you my name, wouldn't I be disgracing the point of the whole masquerade?"
Tomoyo sighed before she nodded. He smiled down at her and she continued to dance with him, not knowing what he had in store for her.
Touya stared at Sakura and that guy, twitching.
"Yuki…he just pulled her closer."
"I can see that, Touya."
"Can I kill him now?"
"No."
Touya whined.
"Why not?"
"Do you want conspiracy cases to happen in JAC?"
"Ah…okay. Yuki?"
"Yes?"
"Stop being such a smart-ass."
Yukito smiled.
Fujitaka and Nadeshiko continued to watch what was happening between Sakura and that man.
"She should be on guard…she didn't even carry out her mission."
"There will be other times, dear."
"Sure…after the owner is dead."
"……Go notify her."
"Will do."
Fujitaka turned on his communication device.
"Sakura, carry out your mission."
And he turned it off and smiled at his wife. She smiled back and they continued to dance and watch Sakura out of the corner of their eyes.
Yukino whistled as she watched Rebecca and Shauna dance drunkenly on the dance floor. They tried to do the waltz, but tripped and fell on the floor, laughing until they ran out of breath. Yukino chewed on her block of cheese thoughtfully as she switched from the toothpick sticking out from the left side of her mouth to the right.
"I don't see the target dying yet."
She turned on her communication device.
"Sakura, carry out your mission."
And she turned it off and continued to chew on cheese thoughtfully as she switched her toothpick around in her mouth.
Sakura smiled against the man's shoulder. Wow. She was smiling a lot today. She nearly jumped when she heard Yukino and her father's voice float into her ear at the same time.
"Sakura, carry out your mission."
Oh crap. She forgot all about the target. Sakura's head cleared from her dream-like state and she saw the target…fool around with the woman sitting on his lap.
'Oh…there he is.'
Sakura glanced at the man.
'I can't leave him. Not yet. The target can wait a little longer.'
Tomoyo looked around the room once more for Yukino. Tomoyo felt sleepy, and she couldn't find Yukino. Why was she so sleepy? Maybe because of her dance partner's warm embrace was soothing…Wait. Where did that come from? Oh well, it did feel nice. The man smiled charmingly down to her as he pulled out a dagger from his back pocket and positioned it behind Tomoyo's back with his free hand, knowing full well that the sleeping powder he had put in her drink was working. The dagger glinted into the light as he pulled the dagger back, and pushed it forward.
BANG!
The man stared shocked at what used to be his dagger. The first half was literally blown off by a bullet. He slowly looked to the floor where the sharp and deadly tip and a crushed bullet lay on the floor, discarded.
Tomoyo snapped from her reverie and pulled out of the man's grasp, looking at the floor where the dagger's tip and a bullet laid. She looked back up to the man and shakily reached up to his face…his mask.
"This may be a masquerade ball…but I'm willing to disrespect the whole point."
Tomoyo pulled off the mask and stared shock at the face of her only friend before Sakura and Yukino.
"E-Eriol?"
He nodded sadly before he turned and ran out of the ballroom. Tomoyo watched his retreating form, before she looked around. Everyone drunk was on the floor, passed out, and Sakura was staring at the tip of the dagger in shock. Touya and Yukito were looking around for Eriol and Fujitaka and Nadeshiko were simply…dancing. Tomoyo looked at Yukino who stood next to a pillar. Holding…a gun. She waved at Tomoyo sheepishly. Tomoyo smiled. It hurt that her best friend tried to kill her, but at least her new friend kept her alive.
Sakura stared at the scene in pure shock. Tomoyo was nearly killed…Sakura noticed some movement and saw her dance partner try to edge away from her. With quick reflexes, Sakura grabbed a hold of his collar and ripped off his mask.
"Syaoran Li."
Sakura stared into Syaoran's amber eyes as she pulled off her own mask.
"Sakura Kinomoto."
"You knew about this, didn't you?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you."
"And why not?"
Syaoran smiled at her before running away.
"Would you tell, if you were in my position?"
Sakura watched as he ran out and turned to Yukino.
"You knew he was the enemy, didn't you?"
"……I didn't want you to associate with him."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"……Sakura-…"
"Don't you 'Sakura' me! You were too late! I'm in love with him because you were too late!"
And she ran away. The whole gang stared after her before walking back home. Yukino sighed as she chewed on her toothpick. Shauna and Rebecca lay on the floor by her feet, laughing madly.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH……CHEEEEEESE!"
Yukino turned away and walked to where she knew Sakura would be.
Sakura cried as she sat on top of the roof of JAC. She shivered from the harsh winds. Sakura felt some weight on her shoulders and an envelope of warmth, and turned to see Yukino placing her jacket on her shoulders.
"I would've told you. But I didn't think that you would fall in love with him so early."
"It's too late for sorry, now. What will I do, Yukino? What if we face off in battle? I can't bring myself to kill him."
Yukino stared out into the city lights before turning around and walking to the door leading to the stairway.
"Then…if it causes the loss of anyone's lives…I will kill him."
And Yukino left. Sakura stared after her, before slowly turning back. She loved him, but he was killing her agents' lives. If her friends were in danger, she decided, she would defend them. Even if it meant…to kill the one she loved.
TBC…
Gay, I know. The whole definition of masquerade is what I made up from all these definitions I was given. So…yay for me. I hope you liked the romance and drama and CHEESE! –eats some more cheese blocks-
Review and ya might get some cheese blocks. XD Thanks for even reading!
-The Angels of Death
