My Happiness, My Heartbreak
Author's Notes: It's all so fast.
But it's far from done, my friends.
Disclaimer: All characters and places are property of the manga-ka CLAMP and companies related to it. Only the plot and story is my intellectual product.
Chapter Seven: The Eventuality Continues
"What do you mean he's gone?"
"He's gone, sir."
"Gone? He left the building? And you allowed him to?"
"Sir, there was no such instruction to-"
Touya stopped himself. He might end up in Psycho faster than he wanted. "No, I'm sorry. He's my responsibility."
With no further politeness, the sour-faced nurse stomped down the hall, entering and exiting each hospital room and leaving a screaming patient behind. Collecting blood as if collecting taxes.
Touya faced the reality. That person was not here. Sakura was in dire condition. He couldn't let that boy take away all he had left! To think - he only found what he had lost today, only to have her snatched away by Death.
How many more people did he kill?
The block-like text of a certain day's newspaper called out to him, wishing to be resurfaced. But it was like looking through a distorted glass wall. There was something there, but it was unreachable until one found the door.
"I won't let my younger sister die. Not after I almost did, and Father left."
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He was sure that every hotel had his name listed on their blacklist.
While Li was definitely a common name, Syaoran - or Xiao Lang - was a unique identifier. It had a certain musical ring to it, somehow.
It was a curse.
But he definitely couldn't go back to the hospital and face them…especially because Touya was piecing each detail together like a giant puzzle.
And boy, was he good at puzzle-making.
It was a choice he had to make.
For himself.
For those efforts.
For all that he did.
For all that he didn't do.
…………………………………………………………
"Sakura, can you hear me?" Touya asked wishfully, hoping even the slightest response would come from the motionless girl.
There was nothing to say that she was alive except for the struggling pulse on her one undamaged wrist.
On the other wrist was a fresh bandage that was already starting to get stained. With that sight, Touya promised another punch in store for that brat. So many kicks. More punches. Then he would turn him over to the police, before he lost control and killed him himself.
"Sakura?"
There was nothing.
…………………………………………………………
The rain had not relented yet. The drops angrily attacked Li's shoulders, as if they knew every hidden and wanted to punish him for all his foolishness. The shadow of What Might Have Happened still covered him like a safety blanket.
He decided quickly. It was fair enough.
After 15 years of being pushed around and pushing people around - it was going to continue.
He looked at the street sign and tried to find his sense of direction. Somewhere in the distance, an ambulance started to blare. It went to the east, increasing speed as it did.
Li Syaoran hastily followed, going as fast as he could in the puddle-dotted sidewalk.
…………………………………………………………
As he tried speaking to Sakura again, there was a gentle knock on the door.
Standing up heavily to open it, he struggled to support himself upon his weakened legs. He was used to the youthful vitality that surrounded him, and the sensation felt odd and unexpected.
What he really didn't expect was who was at the door.
"Touya-san. I'm here to explain everything."
…………………………………………………………
Before he could explain anything, Touya was already calling for assistance. He was being dragged to a familiar place - nonetheless, it was someplace he really didn't want to go into.
The psychiatric ward.
All those months of screaming and yelling, pounding at the door for some hint of freedom - all inside those horribly cheerful yellow walls. As if they were welcoming him into hell.
And it was three months of hell.
He had been severely traumatized by the past events. All that they saw was a scared little boy suffering from a number of disorders. The investigation took two and a half months to complete, and still-
It led to nothing but trouble.
…………………………………………………………
"Too late, Li Syaoran. I know your full name now." Touya said, vowing vengeance on the man. He was nothing but a man with evil in his heart, abusing the kindness of someone he made an orphan a long time ago.
"It's not going to be long, now."
…………………………………………………………
They recited his full list of disorders.
One.
Two.
Three.
Possibly four.
Five.
Maybe six.
Then a number of mild ones.
He didn't really care. What scarred him was a fact that hit him very, very late.
When Touya-san opened the door for him, he knew the door was the one of Kinomoto Sakura's hospital room. But she looked so fragile - like Touya did before his burst of passion - like she would break when a particle of dust would land.
But the green line was different.
Up. Down.
Up. Down.
Making mountains of neon against the black.
That was better, right?
…………………………………………………………
That was all she remembered.
The blood had entered her eyes, and she seemed to go deaf.
It was like a knife scratched her wrist. A small one, probably the one that she used to skin the apples that they had bought.
Nonetheless, it hurt.
…………………………………………………………
The doctors in the room always looked at the clock.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
The hands twirled round and round in a never-ending dance of numbers and lines. Yet Li wouldn't watch it forever.
There was a commotion from downstairs. Yells. Shouts of fright. More glasses breaking. It made his head ache even more. The sounds were getting louder, but varied. So many reactions -
"Li Syaoran, is he here?" Said a man dressed in uniform. Many others filed up behind him, pushing the door wide open and breaking the rusted hinge. They didn't care.
Li knew their uniforms…
Police. They always sought him.
"Li Syaoran. You are under arrest for multiple homicidal cases and attempted homicide."
This is the end of everything.
See, Father? You were that stupid. There is such thing as an eventuality.
A smile found itself into his face. Standing up calmly from the cushion, he calmly walked toward the line of drawn guns and put his hands behind his back. All the while, the men were silent. The glint on his amber eyes was just too--
…………………………………………………………
"Ah!"
"Sakura-san! You're awake! Finally!"
"Touya-san? Wait…what happened?"
It was blurry. She was in a room that she didn't know, full of machines, tubes and wires. Her wrist hurt considerably, and her head throbbed with a striking ache. Every muscle was in at least slight pain.
"He tried to murder you."
He? Li-san? But---that means…
"Impossible. He was getting the first-aid kit--"
"He tried to murder you. We found him holding the knife, kneeling on the floor, but--Sakura-san, I thought you were not going to make it." Touya said, not wanting to go into details.
Still incredulous, Sakura wished to decide for herself the facts. "Let me talk to Li-san now, Touya-san. I need to clear everything up with him, I'm sure-"
"He's not here. I called the police once that happened, and they're now conducting an investigation where he tried to kill you. That was two hours ago."
Two hours ago!
It was impossible.
It was all a dream, right?
She would wake up, and her father would tell her it was a long, horrible, scary and horribly long nightmare. Then he would tuck her into bed with a goodnight kiss, and close the door silently.
But no matter how hard she pinched her cheek, it didn't happen.
No.
…………………………………………………………
"By the facts, Li Syaoran, you are hereby found guilty of multiple homicide and attempted homicide."
He smiled, and everyone was silent. Even the judge was cowering from his high seat. Smirking to the attendees, he stood up straight.
His mother told him to smile always. No matter what the situation - smile.
He broke that promise for so many years. Maybe he could start now.
A gasp went through the crowd at the next announcement.
"You are hereby sentenced to death by lethal injection."