Author's note:This story is a figment of my (er dark) imagination. Similarities to any situation is absolutely coincidental. Please Follow and Review! Thank you.

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS, Clamp does. I do not own the song Ever After, Bonnie Bailey does.

Thank you again, @Arise and Awaken for a wonderful review! (-_~)_v Thank you, thank you, thank you very much for reading both my stories! And obviously, they are my top faves manga/anime too! Cheers!

Chapter 16: Phone Calls and Breakthroughs

"Xiao Lang? Why the sudden call?" Mei Ling asked him as she checked her watch. "It's 1:30 in the morning here and you do know that I am at work at this time."

Mei Ling signaled her men to leave the room. Her three bodyguards gave her a bow before they stationed themselves just right outside the door. As soon as she's alone, she sat on her chair on the elevated platform and asked, "What's bothering you?"

Xiao Lang took a deep breath before saying, "Is there any news on Xiao Shi?"

Mei Ling closed her eyes and replied, "We don't have anything."

"Are you sure our men are doing their job?" he questioned icily.

"Don't blame this on my men, Xiao Lang. If you are not satisfied with our work, then why don't you come here and finally do what you are supposed to do as the pack leader?" she spat back.

"The Wolves' rightful leader is Xiao Shi, Mei Ling. You are his supposed right hand and that is the reason why you are the one leading the pack while Xiao Shi is missing."

"Xiao Shi is not here that's why you should be the one replacing him and not me."

"I cannot be both the pack and clan leader."

"Fanren can replace you as the clan leader. But nobody else can replace either you or Xiao Shi as the leader of the Wolves. You do know that. Even I cannot do this on my own, Xiao Lang. So if you want us to find your brother, you better make the correct decision soon." she yelled at him, finally losing her patience.

"I heard you're going here for the Amamiya's party." Syaoran decided to change the subject. He walked towards the bar and poured himself another scotch before walking back to stand by his windows.

'This man is the most stubborn child!' Mei Ling stood up to get a can of beer from the fridge and took a big gulp. She needed the time to try another approach on him.

"Mei Ling? The fuck are you doing?"

"Damnit Syao, I took a drink of my beer. Is that not allowed?"

"Hn."

"Yea, I'll be going there with Auntie and the rest of your sisters. Somebody need to represent the Wolves you know and nobody else can do it since YOU DON'T WANT TO." she yelled again.

Syaoran flinched and decided it is safer to just put Mei Ling on speaker phone. He can tell that she is in one of her moods and her temper has gone haywire.

"Were you invited as the Wolves' Leader? Or were you asked to come as a Li?"

"My invitation stated To Li Mei Ling, Leader of the Wolves of Hong Kong."

There was a long pause from Syaoran's side.

"Syao? You there?"

"Is the Amamiyas involved with the mafia? Do you know which organization they own?"

Mei Ling stared at her mobile for a while before putting it back over her ear. "You don't know? Are you telling me that you've forgotten about it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Wait. I will call you back."

'Beep' Syaoran stared at his phone. What the fuck is wrong with his cousin? Did she just dropped his call?

-XOXO-

"THIS BETTER BE IMPORTANT LI MEI LING." the icy and menacing voice of her Auntie greeted her after four rings.

"It is, Auntie. I apologize for disturbing your sleep but I just got off the phone with Xiao Lang. He called me up half an hour ago. And judging by the hour, either he woke up from a nightmare or he couldn't sleep because this thing was bothering him."

At the mention of her son, Yelan sat abruptly on her mattress. "What is wrong with my Xiao Lang?"

"First, he asked me if there were any leads on Xiao Shi. He got pissed off when I said none and we had an argument since he still kept refusing to take over the Wolves. When we have both calmed down, he then asked me about my attending the Amamiyas' party next week."

Mei Ling paused for a few seconds to gather her thoughts.

Yelan waited patiently. Then Mei Ling continued, "He asked me if the Amamiyas are involved with the mafia and which organization is it."

Yelan widened her eyes. "He did not know?" she asked incredulously.

"No, Auntie, apparently he did not know. Right after that, I told him that I will call him back and then I immediately called your mobile. I did not want to wake up the whole house, Fanren and the others might cause an uproar and we might not think of this through properly."

"Good judgment. So it means that the accident he had from four years ago caused him some sort of selective amnesia which he did not tell us. I will call the hospital tomorrow to speak with his doctor. Xiao Lang probably thought that he could keep this from us."

"That's what I thought too, Auntie. Since he remembered his family, his job, the Wolves, and the clan, he must've thought he hasn't forgotten anything else. I will of course check later if he still remember Sakura and her family."

"He recently closed a business deal with Masaki this year and from what I have heard, it went smoothly. I never would've thought that he doesn't remember anything about the Amamiyas."

"He probably kept the memory of the Amamiyas as the Li's prominent business partner, Auntie, and not as the Li family's closest friends. And that includes the relationship of the Wolves and the Black Diamonds."

"You may be right Mei Ling. Now go and call him back immediately. Try to learn everything that he cannot remember, he wouldn't find anything fishy about your questions anyway since he himself do not know that there are missing pieces of his memories."

"I will report everything to you tomorrow, Auntie. Good night."

-XOXO-

Syaoran's POV

Damn that Mei Ling. I feel like something is up with her but I can't quite put a finger on it.

I've been standing here by my living room window, staring far down somewhere in the city of Tokyo. It's fifteen minutes to four in the morning and it still doesn't feel like I'll be getting some sleep soon.

Something has bothered Mei Ling. It must be when I asked about the Amamiyas. Did their underground organization fought with ours? I cannot remember of any incident.

'Ring'

I immediately picked it up and put it on speaker phone. "What the hell, Mei?"

"Sorry, duty called. I told you I am at work. Long Ye needed my approval for something."

Nope, not buying that.

"So what do you know about the Amamiya's gang? I am certain you know which organization theirs is, Mei. Spit it out."

"I do not plan to dodge the question, you oaf. I had an urgent situation here that's why I ended our call awhile ago. Anyway, the Amamiya's group is the Black Diamond. I am pretty sure you are familiar with them."

Shit.

"Are we in good terms with them or not?"

"How come you are asking me these questions?"

"Because I want to know things before I attend the party, Mei. I don't plan to look ignorant there, with me attending the event as both the Li Clan leader and a Wolves member."

"You are not just a member, Syao. You are the leader and we are just waiting for your stubborn ass to accept that."

"That job is Xiao Shi's and I would never intercept it from him. I never wanted to be the Wolves leader, Mei."

I heard some glass breaking over the other side of the line.

"MEI LING? ARE YOU OKAY?"

"Fuck Syaoran, what did you just say? You never wanted to be the Wolves leader?"

"Yes. Why did that surprise you? You knew about that even when we were just children. Xiao Shi wanted that position and I would never take it from him."

Total silence.

"Errr okay. I must've forgotten about that."

I laughed at her. "You're getting senile, Mei."

She let out a dry laugh, "Not sure if it's me, moron."

I shrugged her comment off.

"So are we good with their group or not? I never had problems dealing business with the Amamiyas but I have no idea how the relationship between the Wolves and the Black Diamonds is. I never paid much attention to the gang dealings anyway."

"We are in a very good relationship with them, Syao. Hyuuga Natsume also known as the Kuro Neko in the underground, has been leading the organization for eight years together with his cousins. We've met them a couple of times when we were younger, do you remember?"

I thought for a few seconds. "No. That's weird, but I don't remember."

Mei Ling bit her lower lip. 'Must tread carefully.' "Oh it's okay, maybe you will remember them when you see them during the party. They will definitely be there since they are all Masaki's grandchildren."

"Mei, I need to tell you something. But keep this between us first alright."

"What is it, Xiao Lang?"

"I think I know who the heiress of the Amamiya is."

'Well, duh.' Mei Ling rolled her eyes impatiently. "Care to elaborate that?"

"Ugh, we've met three years ago. But she did say her name is Kinomoto Sakura. Not Amamiya."

'What the fuck is going on? You knew each other since she was in diapers, damnit!' Mei Ling tasted blood and she realized she has bitten herself while trying to keep from screaming at her deluded cousin. "And?"she prompted.

I took another shot of whiskey and stared up at the ceiling. Damn I miss Sakura badly. "We hit it off immediately and I fell in love with her. I am sure she felt the same. I am certain of it. But then she just disappeared after a week that we've been together and no matter how much I tried to look for her, to know her whereabouts, to know who she is, I always hit a dead end. Even Yamazaki couldn't do anything about it, and his connection always gets shot down; we even received a few threats."

I covered my eyes with my right arm as I leaned back on the couch. "I think the party is an announcement that Sakura is the heiress of the Amamiya Group of Companies and a very important person in the Black Diamond Organization. Mei, you know how I feel about the mafia life. But I am in love with her and I want to be with her once I find her again. I do not know what to do."

She continued to bite down her lower lip. She needed to get through him. "Syao, what is the real problem here? Can you please tell me?"

Xiao Shi's face appeared in my mind as soon as I heard Mei Ling's question.

"When we were ambushed back in '95, I overheard the elders' conversation back in the hospital. It was because of another mafia and they wanted us dead. Fortunately, after months of recuperating in the hospital, all of us survived. But that has triggered something in me, Mei. Probably fear since I thought we have lost one another just because of a gang who's threatened by the Wolves."

I opened my eyes and walked over again by the windows. The dark sky has lightened in some parts over the horizon. I watch as the faint light spread little by little on a few other parts.

Surprisingly, Mei Ling remained silent at the other line.

"Then there was the kidnapping in '99. This time, I knew which gang was responsible since they kept saying shit on how they were more powerful than the Wolves. During this time, Xiao Shi was already undergoing training to be the next Wolves leader and the pile of garbage who kidnapped us knew of it. I watch as they beat him over and over until he will lose consciousness. I couldn't even help him, Mei. The abuse and the torture continued for two weeks before we were rescued by the Wolves. From then on, I tried to convince father and mother to not let Xiao Shi become the next leader, another person can do it. But Xiao Shi just smiled and assured me that these are all part of being the leader of the strongest gang in Hong Kong. I couldn't believe him. We were just twelve years old and he has undergone a beating fit of a full-grown man. My stupid brother has gone insane." I chuckled, remembering clearly of our conversation.

"Then finally, that day in 2011 when I got involved in a car accident and woke up to find that I have undergone surgery and was in a coma for two months. And then I found out that on that same day, Xiao Shi also got in a motorcycle accident in Hong Kong, but he was never found in any hospital. All they found on the scene was his burnt motorcycle and helmet. No witnesses. No other personal belongings. No body. No leads until this very moment!" Syaoran punched a column near him.

"Fuck it, Mei ling! My brother has been missing for four years, and it's all because of a mafia. And no matter how powerful our Wolves is, we couldn't even find out which gang did it this time! What if it was the Black Diamonds? What if it was another gang closely associated to them? We all know the weight of loyalty is within gangs! Now tell me, how can I just easily get involved with someone who may or may not be a mafia leader? When all these years, our lives has always been constantly threatened, and Xiao Shi is still out there, suffering under one of the hundred organizations who envy and despise the Wolves! What if Sakura is the leader of one of them? I am scared, Mei Ling."

I watch as the previously dark gray sky is slowly being painted with streaks of yellow, orange, and pink over the horizon, right across the huge glass windows of my penthouse.

I thought of the three times when we watched the sunrise right where I am standing now. I remember how she felt like in my arms, how the nakedness of her back felt soft and warm against my bare chest. How her slender arms felt fragile as I wrapped my arms around them, intertwining our fingers, and hugging her from behind.

I can still vividly remember the scent of cherry blossoms in her hair.

The faint pinkish tint that appeared on her cheeks while I tease her ear and neck with my tongue.

I can almost hear her euphonious laughter when my rough hands left hers and travelled to the sides of her waist, slowly travelling downwards on her smooth, flawless skin.

I watch for a few moments as the sky turned into a 'breathtakingly beautiful painting', like how she always put it, while she watch in awe as if every time is her first.

I closed my eyes for a while then opened them, the obvious thing to do seems to be staring right back at me.

Morning has finally broken.

Sakura. My Sakura.

"But I know deep in my soul that I cannot just give up on her. I will not allow her to leave my side again. I will do whatever it takes to be with her again. Fuck with my fears. Fuck with the trauma. I need Sakura, Mei Ling. Help me do the right thing to get her back."