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With Or Without You
Chapter Twenty: Testify

"I still can't believe you did that, Syaoran." I said softly, walking with Syaoran, later that night, down the streets of Tomoeda, back to my house.

"I've been planning it for a while." Syaoran smirked. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Liked it?" I turned, gaping at him. "Syaoran it was amazing! I didn't even know you could sing!"

He laughed. "It's not something I talk about."

"Obviously." I smirked, linking my arm with his, resting my head against his shoulder. "Thank you, really."

"You're welcome." Syaoran said, kissing the top of my head. "I wonder what Touya will do when he finds out you were gone."

"More like my dad." I snickered. "He was the one who grounded me. Besides, Touya knew all about this...though I'm surprised he didn't follow me..."

"Oh yeah…" Syaoran said, swallowing, hard. "I'm surprised he even allowed me to do it. He probably thinks I owe him now."

"No doubt, that's probably exactly what he's thinking." I sighed. We walked for a while longer under the moonlight, our breaths coming out in short puffs in front of us. It felt good, more than good, it felt great, to be back with Syaoran.

Wait…were we back together?

Hmm, that's an awkward question…isn't it?

"Um, Syaoran?" I said softly, hoping that he didn't think I was a complete idiot.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking down at me.

"Are we," I said slowly, totally embarrassed. "Together, again? I'm not sure, because really I-"

I was cut off, however, when he started laughing.

Oh great, he thought this was funny.

It is so not funny!

"Sakura, you sure are something." he said through laughs"

"Oh, well, glad you think that." I said grumpily, glaring at him. "Thanks so much."

He sighed and let go of my arm, resting his hands on my shoulders.

Then he leaned forward and kissed me.

Okay…good enough answer for me.

"Yes." he said softly. "If you still want to be."

"Well duh." I smirked, wrapping my arms around his neck, kissing him back.

One Week Later…

I was so nervous. Not just nervous, I was terrified.

"You can do this Sakura," Tomoyo said comfortingly, gripping her hand tightly over mine. "We're all here for you."

All of them…Tomoyo, Eriol, Meilin, Syaoran, Yukito, Touya and my dad…they were all there.

But…did I want them to be?

I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around Tomoyo's neck, burying my face in her shoulder.

I wasn't crying, I really didn't want to cry at the moment, but I thought that maybe, if I hid from what I had to do, it would just go away.

Today was the day that I would, hopefully, send Kent and Ciria to jail.

Tomoyo and I were standing in front of the courtroom doors, just holding each other, waiting to be called in.

I had strictly requested that Tomoyo wait outside with me. For I could only tell her what I had on my mind. If I told Meilin, Syaoran would find out…and if I told Eriol, Syaoran would find out.

And like hell I would tell Touya or Yukito, it would just be too embarrassing.

"I'm scared Tomoyo," I breathed, pulling away from her, fingering the hem of the pale pink skirt she'd made me.

Tomoyo had, I knew, spent hours on that skirt for me. It fell to my knees in elegant pink silk waves, finely embroidered at the bottom with tiny white flowers. All of that couples with white flip flops and a white V-neck long sleeved t-shirt.

"I know your scared Sakura," Tomoyo smiled, resting her hands on my shoulders, tears glossing her beautiful eyes. "But we're here for you, remember that."

"I know. But…" I sighed. "That's not what I'm scared of."

She looked at me curiously, cocking her head to one side. "Then what are you afraid of Sakura?"

I turned away from her, wrapping my arms around myself. "What if…what if..."

"Sakura?" Tomoyo said gently, walking around me so she could look into my face. "What's wrong?"

I felt a lump rise in my throat. "What if I'm pregnant?"

There, I'd said it. That wasn't so hard…

Tomoyo gasped and cupped her hand over her mouth. "Are you?"

I shook my head. "I don't know yet. I won't know until next week. I've been to scared to go to the doctors. And when they took the tests the first time, it was still too soon to tell..."

"What would you do?" Tomoyo asked. "If you were, I mean?"

I shrugged. "Definitely not keep it."

"You mean!"

"No!" I gasped, staring at her. "I'd never kill it! Never! No, I wouldn't be able to keep it though!"

Tomoyo smiled and nodded, reaching out and grabbing both my hands. "Don't worry about it Sakura. Whatever happens…everything will turn out okay."

"Sakura Kinomoto?" a man said, appearing at the door. "You can come in now."

I turned to him and nodded, waiting until he left before I turned back to Tomoyo.

"Thank you Tomoyo." I smiled. "For everything."

She winked at me. "What are friends for?"

I smiled and we both turned, walking towards the courtroom.

"Ready for this?" Tomoyo asked as we stood before the large wooden door, waiting to go in.

I sighed, my nails probably digging into her hand. "I don't think I'll ever be ready for this."

"Just do your best." she smiled as the doors opened, revealing the room full of people. "I know you, and you can do this. After everything that's happened Sakura, there's nothing you can't do."

"Thank you." I said softly as we walked into the room.

As I neared the little door that would take me past the audience, into where the lawyers and judge were, my stomach began to churn and flip, and my palms became uncomfortably sweaty.

"Go for it." Tomoyo whispered.

And let go of my hand.

I wanted to scream as I walked past the small doors and up to the stand beside the judge. I wanted to cry…

I wanted my mom.

You can do this Sakura, I thought as I took the vow to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Just don't look at him.

Instead of looking at Kent, who was sitting somewhere to my left, I looked straight ahead.

Into Syaoran's eyes.

He was sitting in the front row in between Tomoyo and Meilin, looking completely handsome in his dark navy dress shirt and black tie. He looked so business like and gentlemanly…except for his rock star hair.

I was glad that he kept the hair.

"So, Sakura," my lawyer said, stepping up to me, giving me a faint smile.

I really liked Mr. Jeon. I mean, he was so down to earth, and he didn't make me sit through any of the trial. He'd said that all I needed to do was testify, then I could, if I wanted, leave.

But once I was done saying my part, I knew, I would stay.

I wanted to see what happened to Kent.

And Ciria, who was sitting in the crowd behind Kent, her wrists cuffed, a dirty scowl on her face…along with a bandage that covered her nose.

I was still beaming over my amazing punch.

"Would you like to tell us what happened that night?" Mr. Jeon asked.

Uh, no, thanks.

But as much as I didn't want to…I knew I had to.

I sighed, gripping my hands tightly together in my lap, my eyes leaving Syaoran's.

I didn't want to see the look in his eyes when I said this.

"I had just gotten back from my flight back from Hong Kong," I began, my voice unusually steady. "And I'd gotten a bunch of calls from my friends…because they didn't know where I had been over the past two days. So, even though it was late, I decided to go and see them, to-to let them know I was all right."

"And what happened then?" Mr. Jeon asked, his hands calmly in his pockets, nodding at everything I said.

"Kent was there." I managed to croak. "At my front door,"

Then, I made the mistake of turning, and looking right at him.

Kent. The boy who had entered my home, and assaulted me.

I looked at him.

He had a bandage on the side of his head, and a very black eye. His arm was in a sling, though not a cast, so it was just a sprain.

Otherwise, he looked pretty normal.

I had to choke back a sob as he looked at me with his cold blue eyes.

And winked.

I felt a terrible feeling settle over me then, choking me.

He had winked at me. He had looked at me.

How dare he.

After all that he'd done, he still had the gall to do something as insulting as wink at me.

But I wasn't going to be the pitiful victim that I had been that night, oh no, I would show him who I was.

"He wouldn't leave." I said calmly, steadily, never taking my eyes from him. And he never took his eyes from me, either. He just sat there, and smirked.

We'll see who would be smirking.

"When I tried to walk away," I continued, still looking at him. "He grabbed my arm. When I tired to pull away, he hit me and I fell back into the house."

I could see it in Kent's face, plain and simple…he was scared now, because I wasn't going to break down and cry, I was actually going to testify against him.

And then, he would be screwed.

"He kissed me," I said, my emerald gaze burning. "And was on top of me. He said that no one would hear me scream. So I kicked him and managed to get away for a while. I ran to the back door, but he grabbed me and threw me against the wall."

I had to stop then, to take a breath. A shaky breath, but it was a breath.

Kent wasn't looking at me anymore, he was glaring ahead of him. But I could tell he was listening, and he could still feel my eyes.

So I kept looking at him.

"I had hit the wall hard enough that it broke one of my ribs," I said. "And partially knocked me out. I was really out of it and couldn't think properly when he picked me up and carried me upstairs. And raped me."

Mr. Jeon, noticing that I was finished, gave me a nod and a smile. "Thank you Sakura. Did you tell Mr. Anderson to stop?"

"Yes." I said. "I told him to stop. He told me not to be weak."

Mr. Jeon nodded. "Thank you Sakura. That is all the questions I have for the witness."

"Does the defense have any questions?" the judge asked.

Kent's lawyer, Mrs. Jackie, nodded and stood, walking towards me, her arms folded across her chest.

"Now, Ms. Kinomoto," she said, frowning up at me. "You say that my client raped you?"

I nodded. "He did."

"And yet you said yourself that, when he threw you against the wall, you were out of it and found it hard to rationalize, no?"

Whoa, she was good. Supposedly Kent's parents had flown her in all the was from Los Angeles. I nodded. "I was unable to rationalize, for a while. But I came to once he brought me to my room. So I was able to tell him to stop, but he didn't."

She nodded. "How was your relationship with my client before this?"

"Good," I admitted with a shrug. "I considered us friends."

"And you went out with him once, am I right?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes, once. To Riley's. But never again after that."

"Your honor," Mrs. Jackie said, turning to the judge. "My client was intoxicated while performing this crime. He was drunk, and didn't know what he was doing."

"He knew." I said, somewhat snappishly.

Mrs. Jackie turned to me. "And how would you know this?"

"Because," I said, turning to Touya with a forgiving look. "A few nights before, my brother and his friend were drunk, much more than Kent was, and they were unable to control themselves very well, but they were still able to think and make decisions."

Somewhat…

My dad was so going to kill Touya, I could tell by the look on his face. And Touya was going to kill me, I could tell by the look on his face.

"Kent knew what he was doing the whole time," I said. "A person who is drunk, or at least drunk enough not to know what they're doing anyway, would in no way be able to pick a person up and throw them against the wall with such force."

"Possibly, he could have blacked out." Mrs. Jackie suggested. "People when they are drunk can become very violent."

"I know that," I said. "But everything he said sounded sincere, and nothing was slurred."

Mrs. Jackie frowned at me. "No further questions, your honor."

She so lost that one.

"You may step down now, Ms. Kinomoto." the judge said, nodding at me.

I nodded and got down from the stand, finally turning to look at Syaoran.

I couldn't tell what he was thinking. His eyes and face were clouded with so many emotions, it was impossible to tell anything.

But regardless, he smiled at me.

I smiled back and took a seat beside Mr. Jeon, who patted my shoulder. "Good job Sakura."

"Thanks." I smiled, turning to look back at the judge.

"The jury will now go and make their decision. There will be a fifteen-minuet break." the judge said, slamming his gavel on this desk.

I sighed and stood up, turning to my friends and family.

"Well done Sakura," Yukito smiled from the other side of the fence thingy.

"Thanks." I sighed, turning to Syaoran. "You okay?"

He nodded and jumped over the fence.

Not a smart move, not a smart move at all, considering the judge hadn't left yet, and had turned to glare at him.

But none the less, it was cute.

He instantly wrapped his arms tightly around me. My side was almost fully healed, so he could hug me as tightly as he wanted. "I'm sorry," he breathed into my hair.

"Don't be." I said, hugging him back, resting my head on his shoulder.

Don't cry Sakura, don't cry.

He sighed and pulled away, holding me at arms length. "You did great Sakura. Really great."

I smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

It was then that the judge returned to give the final ruling.

Giving me a kiss on the cheek, Syaoran hopped back over the fence thing and took his seat, waiting in anticipation for the verdict.

I sat there, beside Mr. Jeon, my hand out behind me, clasped tightly in Syaoran's, waiting for what the jury would say.

I didn't even hear the first part of the speech, the only part I heard?

Guilty.

I grinned, I couldn't help it. I was as happy as happy could be.

Guilty. Kent was guilty.

And his sentence?

Three years in a juvenile detention center, seeing as he wasn't yet eighteen and so he hadn't been tried as an adult, and then twenty-four months of community service.

It wasn't the death penalty, but it worked for me.

"This court is now adjourned." the judge said, slamming the gavel on the hard wood. "And now to our next business, Ciria Rae verses Sakura Kinomoto and Syaoran Li."

I have to admit that this kind of surprised me. I mean…Syaoran wasn't supposed to be in on this, right?

I turned as Syaoran hopped, again, over the fence, much to the judge's distress, and took a seat beside me, giving me a stupid smirk.

"Uh, what are you doing?" I asked, totally confused.

"Nothing." Syaoran answered plainly.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the judge as he began the second trial.

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