Chapter 23

Mission: Kick His Little Ass

3 guards rushed closer their fallen comrade. As one of them performed a primary survey of the unconscious guard, the other two turned their backs on them and looked around the hall with wary eyes.

They edged a few steps closer to the middle.

Thud.

They whirled around just in time to see two of their comrades in a heap on the floor. One of them yelled and reached for his gun.
"What the—"

They never saw him coming.

Swifter than vision Li flew towards them and let each of his black boots slam against their abdomens, sending them reeling backwards. He dropped to the floor and before they had time to blink, he attacked, kicking the one on the right in the face.

A round of bullets buffeted the walls and the windows as it followed his progress. He deftly rolled away from the belated attack and lunged at the nearest guard, easily knocking the gun away and punching him in the gut. He grabbed both the guard's arms and swung him in front just in time as three more guards emerged from the door to the right.

Li smirked.

OoOOOo

"Closer investigation, my ass. Shortage of men, my butt. To hell with client confidentiality. Tell me, how thick was the money he gave you to assure your loyalty???"

"Now, please, sir—"

"You won't even look into this matter a little more? What kind of incompetent arses do you have in there?"

"Sir, we don't have any evidence to prove--!"

Touya banged the phone back on its place. "It's no use!" he snarled, slumping in her seat. "They won't budge!"

An air of tension surrounded the Li household. Li Yelan and the Kinomoto family were all seated in the drawing room, hidden from prying eyes by a set of double doors. It had been hours since any report was made about Sakura's disappearance. Touya was like a volcano waiting to explode, but wrestled with it for his father and stepmother, both pacing around the room with Mrs. Li on a chair.

"Why don't we just go over to her father's or brother's house and arrest the lousy kidnappers!" Touya exploded agitatedly.

"We can't," Fujitaka answered him, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "We have no proof of their involvement in this."

"Isn't there any way to prove it?" Nadeshiko asked sadly.

"The Chien family was meticulous in keeping public appearances and their records immaculately clean. They've been avoiding arrest for decades. The chances of actually being charged with the kidnapping and—and abuse of Sakura is next to—"

BANG!

The doors were forced open as two dirty, black-clad forms—one with flowers and the other one without—stumbled into the room one after the other. In their obvious haste, Eggy and Fatty fell flat on their faces, roses and carnations mixed with the leaves as they splattered mud on the ground.

"Michael! Raphael!" Nadeshiko gasped and rushed towards them.

Touya, however, looked over them to the exasperated slim figure framed on the doorway who was sweatdropping with a hand on her hips. "Hey, Meiling, care to explain?"

Meiling rolled her eyes and jerked a thumb towards the twins. "Ask them," she said dryly.

As Fujitaka and Nadeshiko helped them get up, Eggy puffed his chest out and crowed, as if he suddenly bagged a stint to model Ralph Lauren's latest batch of underwear on the next Fashion Week, "we have the evidence!"

"You do?" Yelan asked, standing up.

In response, Fatty produced a slim black tape from his pocket and smirked, as leaves and soil fell from his hair. "Indeed."

OooOoOo

"Well, Mr. Hiriigizawa, we are grateful for this little discovery of yours," the head of the police force told him as they carted Tomas and the rest of his evil little dwarfs—er, giants—away.

Just as they were making their get away from the horrible MadHouse, a group of 25 policemen barged into the place and, upon seeing Eriol and Tomoyo, moved to apprehend them for 'assaulting two good citizens of the law who were only there to kill pests'. They quickly convinced him that they were merely doing it for the good of humanity and the fate of the world and showed him the dirty goods found in the place.

The policemen then turned their attention to the inhabitats of the house.

Eriol, of course, couldn't resist, especially when Chien confessed about his son's involvement. He had told the man then that they were agents 008 and 009, discharged to this place to dig out the dirt of the Chien family by an anonymous tip.

"We were supposed to go in a la Cody Banks and all, but we figured this was easier. We're truly sorry for manhandling—ow! I mean, physically dragging—OW! I mean, taking the place of two good citizens of the world," Eriol said sincerely, wincing from the pinches Tomoyo made with his poor choice of words.

"All is forgiven, kid," Chief said. "Now, do you guys know where his son lives?"

"Oh yes, we do," Eriol replied. "And sir, you might want to bring paramedics and all your men along, because the guy we're talking about has currently done something that would probably shake the very foundations of your law."

Frowning, the Chief nodded and quickly called his men. Turning to face the two teenagers fully, he said, smiling, "lead the way then"

OoOoOoOoo

He rounded a corner and fell back when a round of bullets shot past him.

He quickly drew his sword and, gripping it tightly, faced the ambush and charged.

OoOoOo

"Fatty and the others are on their way. They have the tape," Tomoyo told him in the pest control van as they zoomed throught the streets, police cars and sirens blaring around him as they neared his destination.

Eriol nodded and smirked. "Jake is in for a nice surprise."

OooOoOo

Too fast for them to see, he attacked with a sword on his right and a gun on his left. He moved through them with ease, shooting the legs and hands but never with the aim to kill, slicing the feet in order to render them temporarily useless. He kicked the guns away from desperate hands and dodged an intended tackle. The final soldier tried to shoot him will in the air, but gravity quickly pulled him down and Li rolled in the ground and reached for the guard's neck.

He tossed the guard's gun away as he bent him backwards, sheathing his sword in the process. He clamped his left over the man's mouth. Realizing that his enemy was far more experienced and stronger than he is, he raised his hands in surrender.

"Scream and you pay. Where are Jake Chien and his captive?" Li asked venomously. He released his grip on the man's mouth.

He gasped and whispered, "I don't know. The Master usually keeps to himself. My job is just to watch for intruders!" He flailed his arms wildly, trying to get out of Li's iron grip. Even the dumbest person alive would know it was a lie, all to get out.

"Really?" Li replied sardonically. His right arm shot out and gripped one of the man's flailing arms and with one smooth motion, broke every bone on the wrist. "Your lying skills need work. Answer truthfully and save yourself the torture. I ask you nicely for the last time: where is Jake Chien and his captive?"

The man writhed and swallowed the scream of pain, causing beads of sweat to slide down his face. Seconds ticked by as no answer was given, the man struggling as his strength waned.

Li scowled and without warning, he grasped the man's hand tightly and promptly broke 3 of the fingers. The man howled behind Li's hand as the pain increased. He nodded furiously as his defiance vanished.

Now free from Li's clamped hand, the man took deep breaths and tried to string clear sentences through the haze of agony that clouded his brain and the slowly spreading numbness in his arm. He panted. "Down the hall there—stairs… go up…"

Li sighed as the man fell into oblivion, the pain too much for him to bear. There was obviously no pain tolerance on this man. He made to drop him to the ground when footsteps caught his attention. He turned his head… and growled.

OoOo 5 minutes ago OoOoO

"I don't care what you do! Make sure the bastard doesn't get any farther than he is! I want him out of this property! What? Of course you can kill him! Dead or alive, I don't care!! I want him GONE!" Jake roared and he slammed the phone back in place. Anger pulsated through his body and he stomped towards the crumpled form on the corner and grabbed his half-sister's hair, pulling it so that she was facing him.

"This is your doing!" he hissed, pressing her firmly against the wall. "What, you think that you can get your knight in shining armor to take you away from me? Well, he can't!" Jake's eyes bulged as his hands went up to her neck. "I'm stronger! I can keep him away from you. Li Xiao Lang is beneath me!"

All Sakura wanted to do was kill him. Pain attacked her like poisoned daggers on every part of her body; her neck was being squeezed so tight she started seeing stars, so Sakura Kinomoto did the only thing left. She may not have the strength to fight with fists, but she had a weapon that was as deadly: words.

She managed to elicit a sound of contempt. "Bastard!" she rasped. "You're wrong. You can never be as good as him. Li can twist your balls and pummel you in a mere second. He's smarter, stronger and a hell of a lot more desirable than you'll ever be, you pockmarked little pig."

Jake's face twisted into a sneer as he raised his hand. Sakura held her head up in defiance—

CRASH!!!

"What the fuck?" he swore and listened as the crash was followed by a scream and chaos sounded. It was clearly on the floor where they were. Shooting for one last insult, Sakura glared at him and weakly smirked, her eyes never leaving his. "Well, guess I was right," she said, slowly sliding down. "You're nothing against him."

Jake stood up. "Oh, I'll show you how very wrong you are, my sweet." He picked up a gun. "But for your smart-ass remarks—" he whirled around, kneeled and mockingly caressed her cheek… before slamming her head against the wall.

He closed the door as Sakura wheezed and slumped. Clutching the hidden gun tightly, he briskly walked the length of the hall and rounded a corner and descended the steps.

A very unpleasant sight greeted him.

OoOOo

"Hello, Jake," Li greeted calmly as he dropped the unconscious guard on the ground and stood up, looking as if he just made a chicken sandwich instead of painfully sending a man to cloud nine for at least a week.

Jake quickly regained composure from his shock and snarled, moving towards him. "I'll have you locked up for trespassing in my property and for assaulting my guards. My father—"

"Do you know what I really hate, Jakey-boy?" Li interrupted him in that same suspiciously calm tone. He took a step forward, making Jake take one backwards. The younger boy's posture was relaxed, but his eyes were entirely different. What seemed liked melted gold mixed and churned as barely controlled anger screamed for release. Jake wasn't stupid enough not to notice it.

"Get out," Jake barked, fingering the gun hidden in his pocket, willing his hands to stop shaking.

"You know what I hate?" Li asked again. "Pathetic little gits that hurt people smaller or weaker than them to make themselves feel superior." He was still stalking towards him. Jake stumbled even backward.

"But do you know what I absolutely really truly love in this whole damn world?" Li asked, a wicked grin splitting his handsome face. "Kicking their sorry arses into seventh hell. Especially," he emphasized this by cracking his knuckles, " one named Jake, because this certain seaslug and his equally evil old man kidnapped, brainwashed and possible violated a very important person in my life in more ways than one."

Jake Chien glowered at him. "You can prove nothing!!! Get out! GET OUT!"

"Where's Sakura?" Li whispered dangerously, taking another step forward.

"I'm going to call the police if you don't get your sorry ass—!"

Li laughed mockingly. "Call the police? You think they'll listen to anything you say. Your father was convicted of having dipped his filthy hands on some shady dealings just a few hours ago. And guess what? " His mouth turned up into a sneer. "Your father told them you were in as well. Tell me, Jake, who's gonna protect your hide now? Are you willing to stretch your jail time by another 10 years by keeping Sakura locked up like an animal?"

Jake glowered. "Sakura's mine. I have more right to have her than you'll ever do."

"They knew what happened on the school grounds. Where is she?" Li asked again. "I'm asking you one last time."

"You think you can just waltz in and take her? SHE'S MINE!!" Jake screamed and lunged towards him, gun in hand.

Li's foot lashed out, his heel connecting with the older man's left knee. A satisfying crunch and a piercing scream ripped through the air as Jake collapsed on the floor hugging his injured leg. It would take a long time for him to be able to walk and even longer to heal. Li kicked it again for good measure, feeling no remorse for the man who made Sakura's life hell.

"Where is Sakura Kinomoto?" he demanded coldly as the shouts faded to labored breathing. Jake gulped in air and prepared to scream again.

"Do you want to keep your other knee?" Li threatened, leaning as Jake cowered back, wrapping an arm around himself and gasping for breath.

"At-at the end of this hallway," Jake whimpered, panting, "go up the stairs and turn right. There's a—there's a door… at the end of the hall…"

Li promptly stood up, ignoring Jake's moans as he ran as fast as his feet can carry him, trying to squelch that dreaded feeling at his stomach. Even from this far up the mansion, he thought he heard footsteps somewhere below. Shouts and bangs. He didn't care.

Sakura…

"I haven't been this naked since I came out of uterus," Sakura muttered.

"Don't let Eggy hear you say that," Li said mildly. "He'll go mental."

"Easy for you to say. YOU don't need a diamond peel; YOU don't need to wax; YOU are a man, so you are exempted from Eggy's torture, which he usually reserves for women."

Li laughed. "Was it really that bad?"

She snorted. "Oh yes."

"Can't say he did a bad job, though," he commented, smiling.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

He rolled his eyes. "Look in the reflection, you dense chipmunk. Nobody in his right mind would need inch-thick glasses to know that you look..."

"I look what?"

He shifted, poker face intact. "Beau- good. You look really good."

He rounded the corner. There were even more doors, but the one on the center, looking perfectly hatefully innocent, caught his attention. He stopped just as he was about 10 feet from the door.

"You are going to the doctor, Kinomoto, do you hear me? Bitch about it and I'll drag you if I have too!".

"Why do you care anyway?" Sakura mumbled, resting her head on his chest and then looked up at him, frowning.

He flicked his amber eyes at her. There was a small half-smile playing on his lips when he replied softly, "I just do."

Fury exploded through his chest when he rattled the knob and found it locked. He brought up his right leg and slammed it against the surface. It creaked—but didn't give. Li suddenly had an urge to chuckle. Of course it would be this way. What kind of mad psycho would leave the dungeons open? He backed up a few steps and with a yell, slammed it again and again until it fell to pieces under his ferocious kicks.

He stepped inside and squinted, opening the door halfway. It was pitch black, but as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, a small and shivering figure curled up in a fetal position in the corner caught his attention. He can spot that auburn hair in a crowd of thousands. Auburn mixed with red. Blood red.

He rushed towards her, his throat seeming to clench, allowing little oxygen to enter. Dropping to his knees, he saw that bruises and gashes littered her small frame, and how both seemed to line every surface of her face. Her lips were cracked and from what he can discern from her staggered and uneven breathing, 1 or 2 ribs were broken.

"Oh, Sakura, I'm so sorry," he whispered, gently brushing away the auburn strands that fell on her face. He cradled her in his arms, careful not to inflict further damage. He pressed his forehead against hers and whispered, "You gotta wake up, Kinomoto. We still have to torture the Egg Brothers."

He realized that he was crying. His body shook as he buried his face on her neck. So caught up was he on the moment that he didn't notice Sakura's left eye crack open. He didn't realize she was awake until she wheezed, "I'm not dead yet, Li."

He jerked up and gaped at her. Suddenly, relief exploded through his body that he had to physically restrain himself from giving her a big tight hug and keep her that way. "Eriol and Tomoyo are surely on the way. They brought the paramedics and the police so you just stay there and stay awake—!"

"I.. I just need to rest…" she whispered. Glazed emerald orbs once again started to drift close…

"NO!" Li yelled in a tense voice, knowing that if she drifted off again the chances of her waking up would drop considerably. She was so fragile. It frightened him. "You need to stay awake, do you hear me? Come on, Sakura, please--!"

A sound was heard behind him and he stiffened. Sakura's eyes, so near to closing, opened wide with fear, and Li Xiao-Lang knew even if he wasn't looking that someone was behind him, because he saw the image of a man framed in the doorway reflected in her green orbs.

"She's mine," the man said. The cock of a pistol was heard.

Three things happened at once. Li threw himself in front of Sakura, feeling white-hot pain as the bullet impacted somewhere on his body. Jake was thrown to the ground by what seemed to be a mound of carnations, roses and green leaves. Men, most in blue and some in white, filled up the room as shouts and bangs filled up the once silent atmosphere.

Li heaved a sigh of relief as paramedics carefully carted Sakura away to the hospital. It was over. The Egg Brothers could do far more harm to Jake with their butts than the police can ever do. Even through the haze of pain, he managed a weak chuckle.

"WHERE'S MY SISTER??" a loud angry voice topped everyone else. A tall and imposing young man eyed the room and, upon seeing his her on a stretcher, his face darkened and he whirled to face Sakura's stepbrother.

He was too late. The twins got him first.

"You deplorable pompous cretin!" Eggy bellowed, sitting on Jake's prostrate form, unmindful of the swollen and broken leg or the shrieks of pain. His carnation-topped hat wobbled under his rage. "You and your bloody father not only desecrated the holy house of fashion by producing such pitiable fakes, but you both had the bloody gall to kidnap—"

"—Sakura, who will eventually be the bearer of the children that I have always dreamed will torture my brother, and you had my movies pirated, you sniveling swot!" Fatty yelled beside his brother, sitting at the small of Jake's back. "How dare you?! I'll sic Universal Studios out on your hide!"

Familiar faces swam in his vision. Nadeshiko and… Touya?...were beside Sakura, one sobbing and the other cursing as they disappeared down the hall and the to ambulance waiting outside.

Abruptly, Tomoyo seemed to appear out of nowhere and dropped down his lying form and shrieked, "Oh my God, you're bleeding! You have a wound on your abdomen. You're not gonna commit hara-kiri, are you??? SAKURA'S ALIVE, YOU IDIOT! Oh god oh god oh god—Eriol!!"

Eriol rant towards them, another stretcher being held by two paramedics behind him. "Shit, Li, don't move! You've lost a lot of—"

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE???"

Li Xiao-Lang felt his mouth turn into a smirk. Li Yelan's face was pale, watching the blood drip from his son as he was transferred to a stretcher. Then, her eyes spat fire. She whirled around and faced Jake, who was now being handcuffed. "You little jackass! You hurt my son. I'll have you locked up and stripped of your sorry pride--!"

Jake tried to lunge at her, but restrained by the strong grip of his captor. Nevertheless, Li, despite the pain, leapt up from his position, startling the paramedics. Yelan took a step backward as Eggy and Fatty growled and did the opposite.

The younger Chien, now sporting a sore back (thanks to the twins) and two black eyes (courtesy of Touya), screamed, "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT! ALL OF YOU!! SHE'S MINE!"

"Quiet, young man!" the chief police ordered, hauling him towards the door.

Then Jake started laughing. "I hope she dies! If not, then I hope she turns mad! I hope all those cracked bones she has nick an organ! She doesn't deserve to live! You all don't deserve to live! My beautiful sister is mine! You'll all die—!"

Li smashed his fist into Jake's face, cutting him off. He punched and struck until Eriol and the twins managed to pull him off and push him towards the stretcher and forced him to lie down. Still, Li struggled, blood roaring in his ears. "I have to go to Sakura… where…"

"Stop, Xiao-Lang! You're bleeding!" Yelan cried out. "TAKE HIM TO THE HOSPITAL NOW!"

They rushed him outside, where a white ambulance was parked in front of a hideously bright yellow van. Eggy went inside the ambulance with him. "Where's Sakura?" he panted, as the van drove off.

"She's all right, Li," Eggy said as something cold was applied to his abdomen. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay. We are so going to strip those evil fashion-desecrating twosome of their dignity and feed them to the piranhas…"

A bolt of pain shot through his body. As Li Xiao Lang drifted off to unconsciousness, his only thought was that all was well, because Sakura Kinomoto was finally safe.

"Well, when Li Xiao-Lang, heir of the Li clan and a spectacularly amazing prat, made that screwed up confession of how much he…well.. love Sakura Kinomoto, erm… well… oh crap…"

He nearly had a heart attack when she made eye contact. Her eyes, green orbs that were almost always guarded, were open for him to see. The turbulent emotions swirling in the depths were enough to make him hold his breath. His heartbeat tripled in speed.

"… Sakura Kinomoto would like apologize for her stupidity and to say that that she feels the same way, too."

A/N: BWAHAHAHA… I updated before the two month mark!!! (dances around and trips over own feet) about two more chapters to go, folks! READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!!!

Later and Lotsa Love,

CalCarrie