Thank you SO much for all the reviews!
You guys kick ass!

With Or Without You
Chapter Twelve: Encounter

I was excited. More than excited, even. I was joyous.

I would go to Hong Kong, stick it to Yelan, then be back the next day.

The best part? I would be gone on two of the three days I had the house all to myself, so when I returned, no one would be home, and it would be as if I had never left.

Except, of course, Touya would know that I did…and he would, most likely, hold that information as blackmail.

But hell, I had blackmail, too.

Not that I could use his drunken night as blackmail anymore though, especially after what he'd done, putting money in for my plane ticket and everything.

I still couldn't believe that Touya, of all people, had agreed to let me go to Hong Kong and ask for Syaoran's hand in marriage.

I still couldn't believe that I, a mere seventeen-year-old, was taking such a big step at such a young age.

Then again…it wasn't like I was actually going to marry Syaoran now. I was just…preparing ahead of time.

Also…it's not as if I had permission from Yelan yet, either.

Damn it all.

I was so caught up in my thoughts, that as I continued to walk, I didn't notice the figure striding up from behind me.

I didn't notice, until that person reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me to a halt.

"Well look who it is." Ciria growled, her grip on my arm was feral. "Little Sakura Kinomoto."

"Nice to see you, too, Ciria." I smiled sweetly. You see, when dealing with one's enemies, it gets them more angry if your nice instead of mean.

Try it, it works, a lot.

"Don't you dare with the pleasantries." she snapped. "Where's Syaoran?"

"At school, where he should be." I said.

Where you should have been when they taught us manners…

"Good, then at least I get to talk to you." she smirked.

Then she turned, and began to walk down the street, pulling me along with her.

I could have screamed "kidnap!" or "rape!" but that probably wouldn't have worked, because for all anyone else knew, she could have been my mother.

Yeah, her anger aged her.

It was funny.

"You do know that you'll be marrying someone two years younger than you." I said. Not that it mattered how old Syaoran was…

"He's turning eighteen in a few months, so it's not two years." Ciria said, continuing to pull me down the street.

I have to admit I was kind of worried about what she was going to do to me. I mean, for all I knew, she could be the ringleader of some bad-ass Chinese gang.

That would suck, because I didn't have an umbrella or anything to hit her with.

Just the envelope with the plane ticket to Hong Kong.

And like hell was I going to hit her with that.

No way, I wasn't even going to show her.

"You know," I said as we neared a parking lot, where she pulled me up to a white rental. "You're making me miss my fourth period. I was already late, but now I'm screwed."

"Just get in the car little girl." Ciria growled, pulling open the door for me.

I looked down at the leather interior. It seemed somewhat…ominous.

You see, I'd just watched an episode of The O.C., where Jimmy got in this gangster dude's car, and he got the shit kicked out of him. It was tragic.

I did so not want to be Jimmy.

"If you need to talk to me or whatever, you can do it here." I said, folding my arms stubbornly across my chest. I was so, so thankful that my plane ticket was safely zipped up in my purse at my side. If she even tried to make a grab for my purse, I would make it so she'd never be able to have children.

"Just get in the car Kinomoto." she snapped. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"I didn't say you would, but now that you-hey!" I growled when she grabbed my arm and pushed me, literally, into the car.

"I'm in a skirt you fag!" I couldn't help but hiss as she slammed the door behind me.

Kidnapped by my ex-boyfriends fiancé. This'll be a good one to explain to everyone.

Ciria got in the driver's seat and turned on the engine, stepping on the gas and pulling out of the parking lot.

"For whatever reason you're kidnapping me," I said, sitting up properly in the leather chair. God I hated leather, it was so uncomfortable. "I encourage you to re-think it. Just because the dark side offered you cookies, doesn't mean you can-"

"Shut up all ready!" Ciria groaned. "God you're annoying!"

"I know." I grinned.

"I'm not kidnapping you, anyway." Ciria frowned. "I'm giving you a warning."

I widened my eyes in mock-terror. "Oh, is the mall shutting down? That's just tragic."

"Shut it." she hissed. I could tell I was annoying her terribly. It was fun. "I'm warning you to stay away from my Syaoran."

"And why is that?"

"Because he's my fiancé and he belongs to me now." she retorted.

Wait. He belonged to her? That was just sick.

"He's not some slave you can just buy, you know." I growled, growing rather defensive. "And besides, I've done nothing to even try to ruin your relationship!'

Other than, of course, plotting against you…but still.

"You don't have to." Ciria frowned. "Two nights ago, at the club. I saw what he did to that guy you were dancing with. Now tell me what's between you and Syaoran. I heard that you were together once, but I want to hear it from you."

"We were together, and that's all I'm going to say." I said bitterly.

"Well you're not together anymore, so stay out of my way."

"You don't even love him, do you?" I asked suddenly, turning to her.

She frowned, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "Love? There is no love in this situation. It's all about money, and his family has a lot of it."

"Well you aren't in the gutter either." I snapped. "So why don't you just drop the engagement? That way you can meet someone you actually love and Syaoran can too."

"What, so he can go back to you?" Ciria laughed. "I think not. I'm not in this life for love, Sakura, I'm in it for what I can get out of it. And as far as I'm concerned, I've hit the jackpot with Syaoran, so I suggest you stay out of my way, unless you want to disappear."

"Oh, like I'm so scared." I all but laughed. "It's a free country Ciria, and I can do what I want."

She rolled her eyes. "I saw that boy you were with at the park. Go with him, forget about Syaoran. You probably wouldn't be faithful to him anyway."

"I would so!" I gasped. "You have no idea what happened between Syaoran and I, do you?"

"Why would I want to know?"

"Because that way," I said as she pulled up to the school and put the car in park. "You know who to watch out for."

She turned and glared at me as she unlocked the car doors. "Last time Sakura, stay away from him."

I smirked and got out of the car, leaning in the window. "Well, now that we've had this nice little chat, I think I'm going to ignore that warning."

"Sakura-"

"And don't worry," I said, cutting her off. "I won't tell Syaoran about our little chat. This will be between you and me."

"Fine then." Ciria said acidly. "But in the end Sakura, I win, I always win. And I have the Li family behind me on this one."

"We'll see about that." I said, slamming the door shut, turning, and walking into the school courtyard.

We'll see about that…

XxXxX

"Sakura where were you?" Tomoyo growled when she saw me standing in the hallway just after fifth period, pulling things out of my locker.

"What do you mean, where was I?" I asked innocently.

"You weren't in fourth, or in fifth!" she growled, her hands on her hips, standing in front of me. "Where were you?"

"Plotting to join the army." I said tonelessly.

"Tell the truth Sakura."

"Chatting."

"Chatting." Tomoyo said flatly. "With who? Yourself?"

"Well…no…with a person." I shrugged, pulling my backpack onto my shoulders.

"With who? This had better be good Sakura, I was worried sick! I thought you were kidnapped or something! I knew you'd gone with Yukito, but he'd never keep you this late."

"Well, I was." I said.

"Was? Was what?" she said, just as Eriol walked up to us, also not looking too happy with me. "Yukito kept you later?"

"No, I was kidnapped…sort of." I smirked. Though really, it wasn't funny.

"Seriously Sakura," Eriol frowned, obviously not impressed with my behavior. "Where were you?"

"With Ciria." I frowned, getting annoyed that they weren't believing me. "She pulled me off the street, into her car. Is that so hard to believe!"

Tomoyo gaped at me. "W-What? Sakura, you aren't serious…are you?"

"Yes." I said. "Duh. Why would I joke about a thing like that?"

"When? Why? What did she say?" Eriol asked, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me slightly.

Whoa…

"She was just giving me a warning." I said.

"She threatened you?" Eriol growled. "What the-"

"Calm yourself Eriol." I laughed. "I'm fine. I'm just not going to listen to her."

"What did she say she'd do if you didn't?" Tomoyo asked. "Listen to you, I mean."

"She said I'd disappear." I said thoughtfully. "Though I'm not really sure how she can accomplish that..."

"Sakura!" Tomoyo gasped. "She said that?"

"Yeah..."

"That's it." Eriol frowned, finally letting go of my shoulders, which would have bruises later, most likely. "This has got to stop!"

"Exactly!" I grinned, reaching for my purse with the envelope in it. "And I have the way-"

"You have to leave them alone." Eriol said.

I stopped reaching for me purse then, shocked by what he had said.

What?

"What are you talking about?" I gaped at him.

"Sakura, Eriol's right." Tomoyo sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised if Ciria went through with what she said. We don't want you getting hurt for something as silly as-"

"Silly?" I gaped at her. "How is any of this silly? We're talking about the man I love here! I'm not going to give up on him and let him live out the rest of his life with that-that bitch!"

"Sakura please!" Eriol begged. "Syaoran can take care of himself, but you-"

"I can take care of myself very well thank you!" I growled.

Screw them! I was so not going to show them the plane ticket now!

Better yet, I would so not even tell them I was going to Hong Kong in a week!

"You know what?" I said simply, plastering a fake smile to my face. "You're right. Why should I put my physical safety in danger for someone who has obviously already forgotten about me?"

"He hasn't forgotten Sakura," Tomoyo said, a special twinkle in her eye. "Just let him come back to you. Everything will work out, don't worry about it."

"Sure." I smiled, my hand resting over my purse, the envelope safely tucked inside.

They'd see…

Okay! Hope you liked it! Review!