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 for the likes and follows. (_~)_v
And thank yooooou for the amazing reviews! @EmilyChang and @Ashley !
Here's another chapter because I haven't been updating for a quite a while. (*) Hope you guys will enjoy it!
Chapter 23: The Main Event (Part 1)
"Will you, Kinomoto Sakura, take me, Li Xiao Lang, as your lawfully husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, until death do us part?"
Syaoran held Sakura's beautiful soft hands in his left as he prepared himself to place the simple platinum band he had rushed to purchase this morning on her left ring finger.
The two of them gazed into each other's eyes solemnly, unaware of any other noise, only hearing the loud thumping of their hearts and the captivating voice of one another.
"I do."
Syaoran felt his heart skip a beat the moment he heard her answer and he could not move. He just stood there staring deep into those emerald orbs that has strangely become clearer from a moment before and yet misty at the same time. It was magical to him, it was beautiful, she is truly the most beautiful in his eyes. He bent down to gently kiss the corners of her eyes and a small smile formed on his lips as he felt her eyes crinkle at the sudden touch.
"Xiao Lang…… I already said I do. You need to place the ring now, you know." She let out a soft giggle and Syaoran chuckled himself.
"Alright, I am sorry." He kissed the tip of her cute button nose and both her cheeks. Then he pressed his thin lips on her soft luscious ones before gently biting her lower lip as he slowly inserted the band on her finger.
Sakura gasped softly, "Xiao Lang, I think you are only supposed to kiss the bride once the ceremony is finished."
Syaoran kissed the corners of her lips, then her jaw, and then going further down to the left side of her white slender neck and then softly sucking the skin on its base.
He could hear Sakura's soft whimpers and he grinned to himself as he held her left hand into his tightly and supported her small back as he tilted her backward to kiss her further down to her left chest, stopping at exactly where her heart is. She was wearing a simple yet elegant white silk dress that hugged every single curve of her body. And with its soft material flowing like water, the sabrina cut neckline doesn't make it much of a challenge for Syaoran to expose the areas he wanted to expose at all.
Alternately sucking on the tender skin and gently kissing it, Sakura is slowly losing her senses. She grabbed on Syaoran's neck as he lifted her in his arms and carried her back inside the house.
He whispered low into her ear, his voice hoarse from the passion burning inside him at that moment.
"Your everything is mine from now on, Li Kinomoto Sakura. Your body, your heart, and your soul. You are mine alone, as I am to you."
Sakura pulled his head down to kiss him fiercely in affirmation and he moaned in her mouth as he quickened his steps towards the master bedroom.
Syaoran looked into Amamiya Masaki's eyes and with a mixture of arrogance and confidence, he replied to him,
"Your granddaughter is already mine to start with. I have married her in 2012 before she disappeared in my life. But her disappearance did not make me want nor need her less. Nor did it annul the marriage we both consented to. I am your little Sakura's husband and she is my wife. I do not care of whatever she is involved in or of any circumstances she's been under or is currently in or will be in the future. I am more than willing to give her every support she needs since I am wholly hers to start with."
He then turned to Natsume.
"Does that satisfy your question?"
Natsume's cold, unyielding face broke into a rare smile and he held out his right hand towards Syaoran.
"It did, my brother. Welcome to the family."
Syaoran and Natsume shook hands and gave each other a quick hug. These two men hold the most influence in Sakura's life. One is the bestfriend she's had all her life, the one who saw her in her lowest and has taught her how to make herself stronger as the years go by, without ever leaving her side no matter what. While the other is the only man she has ever fallen in love with and has willingly devoted the rest of her life to.
Amamiya Masaki was stunned. Syaoran's words echoed in his mind and he asked incredulously,
"You and my Sakura are married? When was that? Do you want me to end your life right here at this very moment?"
Natsume, Tsubasa, and Ruka who were exchanging congratulatory handshakes with Syaoran at that moment froze in place.
Ooops, they've forgotten that the old generation definitely do not think that a secret wedding is practically normal these days.
Or was it truly normal?
Because even Li Yelan and her daughters stood there with mouths agape, like their souls have left them in shock of Syaoran's words.
Hmmm, maybe it was only normal to these few gangster men.
Syaoran saw his family's reaction and when Yelan returned to her senses, he felt her piercing gaze and he knew his mother is exerting all of her willpower just to keep herself from beating up her own son in front of everyone.
And of course, he also could not deny that the Old Man Masaki is emitting a deadly aura that Fujitaka, Touya, and Tono suddenly appeared right behind him. They probably sensed the murder their General is feeling now.
But how to explain to these people without him losing his head before he gets reunited with his Sakura?
"We did the ceremony by ourselves." He raised his left hand and showed them the ring in his left finger.
Everyone, even Masaki, find the ring familiar. Which of them haven't seen how Sakura kept crying all these three years while holding onto a similar but smaller ring.
Masaki remembered that he would secretly visit his granddaughter's room at the middle of the night and he will find her asleep on her lounge seat by her bedroom window, holding onto a ring with a tear-stained face. He will then go to her bathroom and prepare a warm wet towel and he will gently wipe her face clean. After that, he will place the ring safely in her left ring finger as how he previously saw her wear it, afraid that if she will misplace it, it will cause her so much heartache that just by thinking of it, his own chest also tightens painfully.
So that is what the ring is for.
It was the promise ring between her and Xiao Lang.
Or can he too call it a wedding ring? Ah, youngsters these days. Calling things that are not technically correct, confusing the people around them!
Li Yelan let out a sigh of relief.
She broke her silence by saying,
"Li Xiao Lang of my own flesh and blood! That is not a real wedding and you know it! We need to prepare your and Yin Fang's wedding from tomorrow, do you understand? I want my little Yin Fang to have a grand wedding since that is what she deserves, and you will help us prepare it! I do not care how busy you are at work, you need to exert effort on your wedding too, do you understand? Oh if Nadeshiko knew you married her precious daughter without the proper ceremonies… oh my heart!"
Old Man Masaki nodded his head fiercely in agreement.
"Yelan, we must talk about the wedding tomorrow! Fujitaka, take a leave from work. The three of us must get some details down so we can proceed with it properly!"
Fujitaka gave a good-natured laugh. "Yes, Father. I will do as you say and will accompany Yelan while she and her daughters are staying with us here in Tokyo. Touya and Tono can take care of business in my place. I am sure Nadeshiko will strangle me in my sleep if I do not help in our princess' wedding arrangements."
As the three turned towards the table where Fujitaka previously sat with Touya, the remaining people gave a sigh of relief.
"I would've tortured you immensely if you have officially married my sister without us knowing about it." Touya glared at Syaoran.
"Hey, if Sakura wanted it done that way, I would've agreed to it and still wouldn't care whether her family will get angry at me or not. I only want to fulfill her wishes." Syaoran answered breezily.
"F*ng brat."
Syaoran smirked at him.
Tono cleared his throat. "It is almost time, everyone must settle on their seats. Syaoran, since you agreed to be Sakura's husband, stay on your current seat. Natsume and Sakura will be joining you later on that table. The rest of you guys know your seating arrangements, right?"
The women of the Lis nodded and returned to their previous table.
Ruka, Tsubasa, Toru, Tono, and Touya went to their table.
Everyone gradually relaxed themselves since the issue between the two families have been solved peacefully. Cocktails and whiskeys were served generously with a couple of food to appease their hunger. Now that the tension has been lifted, they realized that they've been hungry for quite a while now.
--XoXoXo--
It was 15 minutes before 10pm and the lights were lit up brightly once again.
This time, the guests were a mix of men wearing business suits and of men wearing plain shirts and black pants.
For example, it is something like this:
At this time, two men of between ages 28 to 50, wearing black business suits entered the banquet hall. Walking right behind them are six men of ages 20 to 30, wearing slim cut black denim pants, black sneakers, plain navy shirt, and black leather jacket. This makes up one representative of a yakuza gang, invited by the Black Diamond. The two men wearing the business suit are obviously of the highest rank, the older on is the head similar to Masaki, while the younger is the next generation head similar to Natsume. The other men wearing casual yet presentable clothes are still of high positions like Ruka and the others. No one of a ranking lower than the lieutenants (the young masters Ruka, etc,) are allowed inside the banquet hall.
Some gangs attended the party wearing their colors, while some just went by wearing the traditional all black clothes. Meanwhile, all members of the Black Diamond are required to wear an all black outfit, from their shirt down to their shoes, and all must expose the black dragon tattoo on their forearm.
As the hall were quickly filled with all one thousand guests from different prestigious gangsters all over Japan, China, Germany, USA, and England, everyone were enjoying the flowing drinks served to them and some were happily chatting up with each other. The chattering abruptly stopped when a group of people entered the hall.
Wearing a deep green long qipao dress with a high slit reaching her left mid thigh, Li Mei Ling appeared under the archway. On her feet were a pair of embroidered shoes of the same color as her dress, with golden threads used for the intricate designs. Her long silky black hair were tied into two buns at the side of her head and she was holding onto a similar deep green fan with golden embroidery on her right hand.
Head held high, a piercing gaze, and a mighty yet elegant aura on her; she caught everyone's attention. Li Mei Ling is the current head of the number one underground gang of the whole of Hong Kong. The one and only Li Mei Ling of the the Li Clan, Leader of The Wolves for the past four years. Under her leadership, even if she was just but a woman to the other male leaders' eyes, they highly respect her since the growth of power of The Wolves cannot be ignored by the other gangs. The Wolves maintained their constant rise to power for years and by now, not one group of the four big countries invited tonight, do not know of The Wolves.
As everyone was gawking at the Li Mei Ling since she is the only female Leader present tonight, a tall figure of a male suddenly appeared right beside her.
Everyone's eyes widened at this sight.
Li Mei Ling is tall for a female, but she still didn't even reach the chin of this male. This male was wearing black sunglasses, and had his thick silky brown hair tied in a low ponytail. One can see his high nose, finely sculpted cheekbones, and strong jaw. His left ear has six platinum earrings pierced in, while his right only has one at the earlobe and another at the topmost. Both earrings on his right ear are of a wolf head's figure while the ones on his left are all plain studs. His jade white skin and lightly pink thin lips makes one wonder how he could've been leading a mafia when he appeared perfectly handsome like some Prince Charming in a fairy tale.
May it be a male or a female, one will agree that this male is one fine man. Beautiful, although no male present here tonight will say this out loud.
He was wearing a deep green plain cotton shirt that could have been someone's undershirt, black slim cut cotton pants, and a pair of shiny black leather shoes that must've been more expensive than those businessmen were wearing with their suits during the first banquet.
There were also a few visible yellowish-purple bruises on both his long slender arms, making one guess of how good can this man be in fights. He is tall and appeared to have a lean, muscular body. Everyone here possesses a middle to high level of martial arts and they knew never to underestimate someone through body frame alone.
As he and Mei Ling walked side by side towards a few vacant seats at the second row, middle center, the crowd broke into a low buzz.
"Who is he to appear right beside Li Mei Ling? Is he her husband?"
Mei Ling's eyes narrowed and her lip twitched in annoyance.
Xiao Shi grinned at her and he reached out to hold her arm to apparently "assist" her as they near their seats.
Mei Ling gave him a deadly stare and whispered so that only he can hear, "You dare mess up with my reputation?"
Xiao Shi chuckled and grabbed her arm. It may seem like a gentle hold to everyone, but Mei Ling gritted her teeth as Xiao Shi pinched her arm.
"Aw come on, Mei Ling. Don't you miss your favorite little cousin?"
She silently allowed Xiao Shi to guide her to their assigned seats and when they've settled down, she saw Xiefa and the rest of her female cousins sniggering at her at the corner of her eyes. She rolled her eyes at them and growled at Xiao Shi.
"F* you, you bastard."
He pinched her cheek and Mei Ling watched in horror as the camera caught this on live stream video and it was shown at the multiple televisions around the hall.
"Let's settle this in the arena later, you shithead!"
The five lieutenants of the Wolves that accompanied them tonight and are seated at a table behind them offered a silent prayer for their Young Master Xiao Shi. He should know better than to piss the Leader.
--XoXoXo--
It was exactly 10:10 pm and like the first banquet, the music from before were turned off and the lights were gradually dimmed until the hall was covered in darkness and the only light were coming from the moonlight and the stars piercing through the transparent ceiling. A male's voice was heard all over the speakers and it wasn't as friendly and pleasing as the announcer from before.
It was somewhat chilly and the guests were reminded that this is no ordinary banquet, this is the Black Diamond Organization's unveiling night.
Two warm yellow spotlight coming from both sides were turned on, lighting the entryway of the banquet hall.
This time, Syaoran did not act nonchalant as before.
He turned his body from his chair to clearly see Sakura as she enter the hall.
--XoXoXo--
Actually, Natsume was supposed to tell Syaoran beforehand what this banquet is all about but he knew of his intelligence so he will figure it out on his own. So instead of pulling him aside to tell him a brief background of what will happen tonight, Natsume just left the hall and went to join his cute little chick as they wait in her room for their main entrance.
"Natsume-nii, did you talk to Syaoran about me?"
"Hmn."
"I mean, not just about me! About me being a leader of our group!"
"Er."
Sakura gaped at her cousin.
"YOU DID NOT TELL HIM?! Like not a tiny bit, at all?!"
She bit her fingernails nervously. Oh she wanted to pounce on her cousin so badly but she must control her temper, the party is about to start.
"Come on Sak. He's not dumb! He probably knew what this is all about you know. Why would we introduce you to the Underground if you are not to lead ours?"
Sakura's breathing slowed down a bit.
Natsume-nii is right. My Xiao Lang is not stupid.
Natsume continued,
"Plus, his memory has returned, even if it was only in fragments, he most likely figured out that the Amamiyas and the Black Diamonds are one. Calm down, my baby chick. He hasn't retreated, right? The storm has passed. Come on, we need to go now sweetie." Natsume pinched her nose and Sakura let out a soft chuckle.
"Tsk. Why is it that you can twist your mistake into something right after some time?! You know you were just too lazy to explain everything to him." She slapped his arm.
"Only my little chick can get tedious explanations from the great Natsume Hyuuga, you know." He rolled his eyes as he quickly grabbed her hand and dragged her quickly towards the hall.
--XoXoXo--
Everyone's attention was on the hall's entryway.
Tonight, they have travelled to be a witness of the unveiling of a very important person of the Black Diamond Organization.
Rumors had it that there will be another leader beside the Black Diamonds' current Leader, the Kuro Neko.
What does another leader mean? What will it entail?what will it symbolize to their organization? What will be its effect to the other organizations?
Another leader may mean two things; firstly, either the current leader will step down as the new one will step forward, or secondly, it will mean that there is another source of power as a second leader will mean that the organization has gotten stronger and it finally required two leaders to keep the organization stable.
Thus, having two leaders as long as both will be in equal standing, both will be the head and will possess equal authority, entails that the organization will become more powerful than they currently are in the future.
It will symbolize a constant surge of power to their group, as seeing and knowing who their leaders are brings utmost pride to the lower gang members. The more they revere their leaders, the more their respect to them grows. Thus, they become good followers and while this peace and harmony are maintained within their group, the organization itself becomes formidable and it will not be an easy task to go against them or to reject any demands or requests they may have to another group.
Thus, it will mean that the already number one mafia group of the whole Japan, who controls hundreds of business dealings underground and "legally" while sometimes borrowing the name of "Amamiya Group of Companies", can become stronger than ever, depending on who this new leader is.
But anyway, a rumor is still a rumor.
They will know tonight of what the truth is.
Their current Leader is the Kure Neko, and he has been their leader for the past fifteen years. He is still at his prime, why would he step down?
Tonight must be just some special event wherein an announcement regarding the Black Diamonds and their business structure will be made. After all, when the leaders of each mafia group received an invitiation for tonight, they immediately RSVP-ed a yes without pondering about it.
May it be a small or a big gang, nobody wants to get on the Black Diamond's bad books, you know. (A/N: yes, just like the AGC!)
As the crowd craned their necks to see who will emerge from the entryway, three tall men of almost similar builds appear. All three were wearing similar black crew neck shirts that weren't exactly fitting, but it still enhances the lean muscles of their upper body. They wore the same black slim-cut cotton pants and extremely expensive black leather shoes similar to Xiao Shi.
The four's outfit was obviously prepared beforehand for them by Toru and Tono. They could just imagine what kind of trashy outfit those four misfits would wear in such a very important event and The General and Li Yelan would have beaten all four to tears if that happened.
Tonight, the three of them purposefully wore their body piercings. Well, you know, just for fun.
Mochu has five earrings on his left ear, and another four on his right. He happily wore his right nose ring which have silver chain connected to the earring on his right earlobe. He also had on a thick silver arrow ring pierced on his right eyebrow that gave him a fearful appearance.
Koko and Kitsuneme don't have any other body piercings like Mochu; they only have similar number of ear piercings as him since they all had it the same time they finally graduated from the university back then. Koko and Kitsu wore diamond studs on all nine piercings and as the light touches each one, the two of them appear dangerously handsome.
On their right arm, a majestic tattoo of a black dragon can be seen. Unlike the ordinary members, their tattoo is definitely bigger. Ordinary members only have either a miniature tattoo of a dragon (lowest members) or a 2x2 inch dragon head (middle rank leaders).
The head of the dragon occupies the whole inner forearm, as its body was drawn further until it disappears into their upper arm where the shirt sleeve covers it.
It can be said that unless they want to keep their tattoo from others, they are restricted from wearing anything but long sleeved clothes.
And this dragon have different colored eyes to symbolize their hierarchy in the Black Diamond Organization.
For the top rank leaders, which is divided into another three group rankings, have three different colors of the dragon's eyes.
The third rank members have the same size of dragon tattooed on their whole right arm like these three young masters. The only difference is their dragons have a striking blue eyes, which is different from the second rank members. Currently, those who are at the third rank are Toru, Ye Sha, Ye Mei, Su Mei , and Su Yue.
The second rank members are of course, Koko, Kitsuneme, Mochu, Tsubasa, Ruka, Tono, and Touya. Their dragon tattoos have a striking red eyes and with the exception of Touya, all tattoos are on the whole of their right arm. Touya's tattoo is located on the whole of his left back, similar to Natsume's, since his position in Masaki's grandchildren is still one of the highest.
The top rank members consist only of three people. The General of both AGC and Black Diamond Organization, Amamiya Masaki, the Leader for the org for the past fifteen years, Hyuuga Natsume, and the new secret leader for the past three years, Amamiya-Kinomoto Sakura.
Both Masaki and Natsume have their dragon tattooed at the whole left side of their back. Unlike the other members, their tattoo is of different colors, almost making the proud looking 2D dragon appear alive and real at their back. It's body arches towards their spine, as if it was in a deep discussion with another dragon on the other side. But of course, the right part of their back is clean of any tattoos, so it was just what the painting-like dragon tattoo depicts in the viewer's imagination.
Actually, that is what the true intention is when the story-telling of the dragon tattoos were finalized during the birth of the Black Diamonds. If a male is to lead the group, this is what the tattoo will look like to symbolize his power and authority over the whole group. Basically, the size of the tattoo reveals the ranking of the member. This is also equal to the power he holds.
Of course, everyone knows that the color of the dragon's eyes hold another meaning. That is another power ranking.
But even at the beginning, Masaki had dreamt that his underground organization will also be lead by one of his granddaughters. Hence, the story of the "Royal Dragon Team" emerged, wherein while the male leader have a majestic tattoo on his left back, the female leader will have a symmetrical dragon on the whole right part of her back.
When seen together, these two dragons must be of mirror image and facing each other. This symbolizes the equal hold over the organization, neither is above nor below the other.
But of course, because of the difference of a male and female body, the size of the dragon cannot be fixed. The only rule to be followed regarding the size is that the whole dragon, from its head to its tail, including the other design details such as the clouds and mists surrounding it to emphasize its grandeur, must occupy every single inch of its supposed canvas (the left back or right back).
This is the pain one must endure for hours over a span of years, that the top leaders had to go through.
And only once it's been completed can the leader be officially introduced as a Leader of Masaki's organization.
And this explains why Sakura had to wait for three long years before she can have this coming out party for both groups. She cannot appear as the heiress of the AGC first and not yet the Leader for the Black Diamonds since most of the businessmen that are tied to the AGC are also with the organizations they deal with in the Black Diamonds.
Plus, she had entered an agreement with her grandfather regarding Syaoran.
She was supposed to be kept hidden from Syaoran so that she can put all her focus on her training in both the AGC works and underground tasks, until she is ready to take over the Black Diamonds.
And while she underwent tremendous martial arts and armory training, with a few race driving training in both motorcycle and different type of cars, she still had to spend a couple of hours every month for the completion of her tattoo. They also needed to wait for some parts to heal before continuing since it is very much detailed compared to ordinary tattoos and it even have some secret inscriptions hidden in the drawing.
With it's bright and blazing golden eyes, the top ranking members' dragon tattoo is truly a masterpiece and Masaki is extremely proud of this tradition.
"We now present the Black Diamond Organization's three lieutenants, Amamiya Koko, Amamiya Kitsuneme, and Amamiya Mochu."
Koko, Kitsu, and Mochu begin to walk forward but stopped after a few steps. They are to wait for Natsume and Sakura to appear and then they will all proceed together toward the stage.
When the three stopped walking, the crowd guessed that the Kuro Neko will now appear at the entryway and they all focused their eyes on the vacant space.
Suddenly, a domineering tall man with a black cat face mask appeared with a smaller yet equally domineering woman beside him, also wearing a black mask. But the woman's mask covers only the upper half of her face, clearly exposing her cute little nose and her full sexy lips coloured with a bright red rouge.
Syaoran swallowed hard.
He looked at his watch.
'What time does this fucking show ends anyway?'
Sakura has been subconsciously teasing him since 8 in the evening and he can't wait to just finally hold her in his arms and talk things over with her.
Oh and of course, do things to her exceptionally fine body. After all, he's giving her the reins to play with his body too. Everything should be fair between husband and wife, right?