(A/N: Sorry about not updating sooner…it's a little something called a writer's block. Here it is though. Enjoy.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura. I own whatever their personalities are in this story and any character that I make up. I own my storyline.

Chapter 6

She was running. To where, she didn't know. She only knew that if she stopped running...

The darkness...it was all around her, enveloping her like a noxious cloud, pressing in on her senses. No matter how wide she stretched her eyes, willing them to pierce through the dark, she could see nothing but black. Though she was running, the darkness all looked the same. She didn't know if it was passing her by, or if she was passing it by. She didn't know if she was just running in one place, like a helpless rat in a testing lab. Forever running, never to go anywhere, never to stop.

But, oh, how she longed to stop. The strain on her body and mind was unbearable beyond imagining. If she didn't stop soon, it would tear her apart completely...she would sink into the endless pit of despair...the pit in which all those before her had gone into but never come out of again. She'd seen it too much. People gone mad, because they couldn't stop, because they couldn't bear to break down the walls that they'd built up to shut the world out, because they couldn't bear to break down those walls that concealed them. They'd struggled in the end, struggled with life, struggled with themselves, until death claimed them and they'd fallen into that bottomless pit.

Pain. Constant, unrelenting pain. Pain was what broke people in the end. It was unlike any other feeling in the world. The constant coldness and hurt, knawing away inside, until you couldn't stand it anymore. It ended lives, for nothing. It was different. It was like a drug, even. To have the pain, to know that it was there. Pain let you cry. Crying brought tears. And tears brought relief. That is, if you could cry.

Some people liked the pain. Knives, needles, whips even...they were good to those who did.

But Sakura hated it. She had been taken in by pain before, been intoxicated with it, relied on it, and nearly drowned in it. The thin white scars on her left wrist proved that. And now she was running. Away from the pain. And she couldn't stop.

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Somebody was shaking her. No, no! Get away from me…

Somebody was there…in the dark…they turned their head towards her. She quickly withdrew, putting a hand on her chest as if to still her fast-beating heart. If they saw her, it was all over.

A rustling of cloth…a cold hand on her arm. They'd found her. She nearly cried out in terror. Forcing herself to calm down, she took slow breaths. They didn't know her name. That was good. She could still get away.

"Come on, come out of there…" the voice was distant.

Don't let them know…don't let them know, she prayed.

"Now…" Don't, don't…

"Sakura…"

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Tomoyo knocked gently on the door. Hearing no reply, she inserted the key into the lock and entered the room. Her dress rustling softly, she approaching the figure sleeping peacefully on the bed, she looked down at the face of the girl she had now come to see as her friend. Watching her, she realised that Sakura's sleep was far from untroubled. There was cold sweat in a clammy sheen around her body, and she was slightly shaking her head from side to side, her brow furrowing.

Suddenly, she sat up quickly, startling Tomoyo. Unseeing, Sakura trembled, panting slightly, her eyes wide.

So…dark.

Tomoyo was alarmed. She laid a hand on Sakura's arm, but that only seemed to agitate her more. Her panting accelerated, and her chest heaved with the force of the air rushing in and out of her lungs.

"Come on, come out of there…" Tomoyo said, frightened. Her words did nothing. Sakura's hands were trembling; her legs were shaking as she tensed to run from her invisible foe.

What to do? If she left Sakura alone to get help, something might happen while she was gone. If she stayed, she would have to help her immediately. And she didn't know how.

"Now." She was near tears. If she didn't wake Sakura up soon, the other girl would die from the strain on her mind and body.

"Sakura," she said desperately. Her real name. She's not Rika to me anymore.

The name seemed to have the desired effect. Sakura sprang up, out of the bed. Her eyes were wild, like a trapped animal's. Tomoyo reached out and took her hand, gently reminding her that she was okay. Sakura's gaze rested on her for a second, and the half-crazed shine went out of her eyes as she recognised Tomoyo. Her breathing calmed, her chest stopped its frantic fluttering and slowed down as she came back to reality. She held on tightly to Tomoyo's hand and looked into her eyes.

"Thank you."

A warm feeling came over Tomoyo, and she smiled. "You're welcome. After all, what are friends for?"

Sakura seemed surprised. "Friends?"

Tomoyo nodded. "Friends."

And Sakura smiled. It was a small smile, a slightly hesitant, quavering smile, as if she had forgotten how to smile truly. But it was a smile.

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Eriol patted her back gently as tears streamed down her face. "It's okay Tomoyo. You weren't even supposed to do it. Syaoran was."

"That doesn't make it okay! It's so wrong." Tomoyo's normally beautiful face was a haggard mask of tears. "I just left her there…"

"I'm sure she understands."

"Even if she does, I don't think she could ever think of me as a friend again. I went in there, having to do a terrible thing to her…"

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"Sakura…I'm sorry."

She trembled as she met the other girl's gaze. Sakura's voice was emotionless as she spoke. "Why? I know you have to follow orders."

Tomoyo couldn't bear to speak as she tightened the cuff so that Sakura's thin hand couldn't slip through. She couldn't bear to look, even, at Sakura's body, dressed only in a few small strips of leather. Her thoughts did nothing to help.

The Master…how could he? He can't force Sakura to produce an heir for him, because she doesn't love him. What he did yesterday was a mistake. He had to punish himself. She shuddered. But he can still rape her, and if Sakura can't get out, it'll be all my fault…

Swallowing hard, she locked the cuff and turned away, to hide the pain of what she had to do from the girl who was staring at her with blank green eyes. The same eyes that had thanked her a few short minutes ago. She could never look directly into them again.

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"And I just left her," she said again, softly. "I just left her there." She looked up at Eriol. "Why didn't Syaoran do it yesterday?"

"I don't know. The Master thinks he was distracted somehow, and he forgot his place. He was punished."

Tomoyo cringed. "Poor Syaoran. But I still wish I hadn't done it."

Eriol's hand had stilled in its comforting path up and down her back. But his words were kind. "You had no choice."

"I could have loosened it or something…made it easier for her to slip out and run. But I was too cowardly." she rubbed her eyes vigorously with the heels of her hands. Crying didn't help. Sakura had taught her that. "I wish I did have a choice. I wish I could choose what I wanted to do each day, instead of having to listen to the Master, and hurt the ones that are close to me."

Eriol laughed sadly. "Tomoyo, if we had choices, I can't even begin to tell you how different things would be right now."

She gave a shaky sigh. He was right.

"What if I have to hurt you someday, Eriol?"

"I'll know that you didn't do it on your own free will, and I'd forgive you for whatever it was you had to do."

Eriol always made her feel better.

"So what can I do now?" she whispered.

"Wait."

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Here she was, hanging listlessly by her wrists on the cold stone wall, and felt like the world was crashing down around her again. She was being dragged down, both mentally and physically, her shoulders close to being pulled out of their sockets, searing her with pain. But that was nothing compared to what was going on inside her head.

Tomoyo. I thought she was my friend. And yet…she just left. Without even looking back. This hurt inside…I feel it. I thought I was immune to pain that people could cause me, but I guess I was wrong. In the end, it's my fault anyway. I trusted her. I let my guard down around her. I helped her to fool me into thinking that she was actually my friend. Well, I've learned my lesson this time. No more trust. Ever.

The door swung open, lifting her out of her reverie. It broke her concentration, and the barely suppressed pain in her shoulders roared out again, making her grimace. She glanced up from behind her curtain of concealing hair, and saw two people walk into the room.

Great. Publicity.

The taller of the two walked towards her. The other came in and melted into the shadows on the far wall.

If sinking into the wall were possible, Sakura would have done it right there and then. Looking down at her with those ever-predatory eyes was the thin, harsh face of the Master.

"Hello, Sakura. Are you ready to continue our little game?"

Here she was. Hanging by her wrists on a cold stone wall, with the man that had tried to rape her before standing here, ready to do it again. The world came crashing down.

(A/N: If anybody has any suggestions or anything, please PM me and let me know. I have a new story almost done, and I'll be posting it soon. Keep an eye out for it, if you're interested. It's quite a bit lighter than this one.)