Cherry: Yay! Chapter 5 is finally here! I am really proud of this story. It's come a long way since the idea first popped into my head. And a lot of the stuff in the story has evolved so well. sighs happily Anyway, On with the chapter!

Disclaimer: ...I'm going to hold off on the snide remarks to all you dimwits out there who may believe that I'm trying to steal Clamp's works.

Chapter 5: Clue 1

The ride to the city morgue was all but short, but to Sakura's surprise, the Mustang that Syaoran has was far from being just a toy. And though he was bragging, Sakura really didn't mind listening to the story about it.

Though his mother hand imported the car to his home, it was in pieces and rusted. Syaoran had rebuilt it from the ground up.

The morgue was a dull building. The stucco was a pale gray color and the door was steel and heavy.

The two entered the building and the receptionist gave them access tot he lab.

"Ah, you must be Kinomoto and Li. Mr. Kinomaka told me you would be stopping by," a girl, roughly Sakura's age said.

She had short, cropped brown hair, and circular glasses.

"Yes, where is the body from the car accident?" Syaoran questioned.

"Right over here," the girl said, walking to a huge, file cabinet-type thing and pulled a draw out.

Sakura drew back at the smell that accompanied the body.

"Here," the girl said as she handed them two masks and two sets of gloves. "I haven't done as extensive a search as I would like to do. I've been quite busy."

"No problem," Syaoran replied.

The body was mangles from the car accident.

"He was pinned against the dashboard and the steering wheel. I am pretty sure that was the cause of death, but, there was something odd about it. There is a bruise where the heart is located," the girl said.

Sakura looked where the coroner was pointing. "That looks like my shoulder..." she said absentmindedly.

Syaoran gave her a quick glance before looking back at the body. "Would a bruise like that be the result of an injection?"

"It very well could be, like I said, I haven't had much time to do an extensive examination."

Sakura nodded. "Miss...uh..."

"Yanagisawa," the girl replied. "Naoko Yanagisawa."

"Alright Ms. Yanagisawa, this is under a full FBI investigation and we would really appreciate it if you could give us the blood work test by tomorrow. We need to know if there are any drugs in his body," Sakura explained.

"Alright," Naoko replied hesitantly. "Tomorrow will be cutting it close," she added in thought.

Sakura and Syaoran exited the morgue and got back into Syaoran's car.

"What did you mean that the bruise on the body looked like your shoulder?" syaoran asked while they were stopped at a red light.

"What?" Sakura asked turning to him.

"What is wrong with your shoulder?" Syaoran asked again, a bit more sternly.

"Nothing, I meant to say that it looked like my shoulder a few months ago," Sakura replied quickly.

"She's lying to me..." Syaoran thought, but did not continue.

"We should probably find the car he was driving," Sakura said, changing the subject.

"I was already planning to," Syaoran replied.

"That was too close," Sakura thought.

Once they reached the junkyard, it was more difficult to locate the car from the wreck than Sakura and Syaoran thought it would be. There were so many black and silver sporty utility vehicles than one could imagine, and it too the better part of the day to find.

Once they reached the car, Sakura moved the door out of the way. It was not even attached.

"Damn," she said softly as the inside of the car was revealed.

There was blood everywhere, glass from the shattered windows was sprayed all over and the seat and the steering wheel seemed to be one. The windshield was bent almost in half and the cracks spread across its length like a spider web. But it's origin was a hole about the size of a dime.

"That has to be where the dart filled with opium entered," Sakura said, pointing to the small hole.

Syaoran jerked the other door off and look around on the floor.

"With the location of that hold, the dark would have had to land somewhere under the seat...but after the truck smashed into it, it could have slid around," Syaoran said.

"Wouldn't it have stuck in his chest?" Sakura asked thoughtfully.

Syaoran looked up at her.

"You're right," he said.

Sakura looked at him. "One of the opium distributor's men must have taken it back when they pulled the files out of the car."

Syaoran sighed.

Sakura looked down at her watch. It read '7:07.' "We might as well head back to headquarters. It's past seven."

Syaoran nodded and started back to his car.

When they got back to headquarters there were only a few people still there. Tomoyo wasn't one of them.

Sakura sighed as she picked up the note that was on her desk. Written in nice, even letters was: "Sakura, Eriol asked me to dinner so I decided to go. Hope you don't mind. I took the keys to the car with me so you can't drive home and aggravate your shoulder. Hope you find a ride home. Bye. Tomoyo."

Sakura turned to Syaoran. "Do you think you could drop me off at home? Tomoyo took the keys to our car with her and she went out to dinner with a colleague."

"Sure," Syaoran replied.

"Thanks," Sakura said and grabbed her overcoat off her chair where she had left it that morning.

They walked back out to the car and Sakura gave him the directions to her house.

"See you in the morning," Syaoran said after Sakura got out of the car.

"Yeah," Sakura replied and watched him drive off. "He's not so back..."

Sakura walked to the door and rummaged around in her purse for her keys. Then she froze. Her house keys were on the car keys, and the car keys were with Tomoyo.

"Shit," sakura said and looked around.

Syaoran's car was just pulling away from the stop sign. She ran after him.

Syaoran briefly checked his rear-view mirror and saw Sakura running after him.

"What is she doing?" he asked himself.

He pulled over to the side of the street to wait for her. Sakura run up to the car, out of breath.

"Tomoyo," she said taking aa deep breath, filling her lungs, "has the keys to the house as well. I'm really sorry about this."

The corner of Syaoran's mouth twitched as he held back a slight laugh. "Well, get in."

Sakura opened the door to the Rangoon red Mustang and slid into the beige, soft leather seats once again. She sighed, "Tomoyo could have at least left my house key."

Syaoran shrugged and stepped on the gas.

"I feel like a fucking idiot," Sakura thought as she looked out the passenger side window.

The drive to Syaoran's apartment wasn't that long. But their stomachs growled as they passed the many restaurants that were serving dinner.

"Damn, I'm so hungry, it feels like I haven't eaten in days," Syaoran said as he tossed his keys onto a cabinet by the door and slipped his jacket off.

Sakura was a little apprehensive upon enter Syaoran's apartment. The first thing she noticed was the sword, all the way at the other end of the house. Surprisingly, it was gleaming brightly in the dull light from the kitchen.

"Make yourself comfortable for now. I'll order some food," Syaoran's voice called from the kitchen.

"Right," Sakura replied, carefully slipping her jacket off and hanging it by the door.

She slipped her shoes off and then walked into the living room. It wasn't huge, but it was pretty spacious. She hesitantly sat down on the edge of the sofa.

"Why am I so..." she thought, searching for the right word, "nervous?"

She usually wasn't the kind of girl to get nervous around boys, she'd grown up with an older brother, so his friends used to come over all the time, that was, before her father re-married. She scowled.

"Anything wrong?" Syaoran asked when he saw the look on her face.

Sakura looked up at him. "What?"

"I asked if anything was wrong," Syaoran repeated, slouching down on the other side of the sofa.

Sakura thought how best to answer his question; there were many things wrong, but could she trust him enough to tell him her secrets? "No, I'm fine," she finally said.

"Lie number two..." Syaoran thought.

Something was definitely wrong, but he decided not to probe. He'd only met her that day and they hadn't set up any trust factors yet.

The room was silent as Sakura sat on the edge of the sofa, her hands in her lap, and Syaoran slouched down.

"I'll be right back," Syaoran said and stood up, leaving the room.

Sakura nodded and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Damn you Tomoyo... you did this on purpose..." she thought.

The lighting was soft with the flickering candles and the dark, star filled night. The moon was waning.

"This restaurant is lovely Eriol," tomoyo said as she smoothed out the napkin in her lap for the fortieth time.

Eriol has his elbows on the table and his fingers laced under his chin, smiling. "So you have said."

Tomoyo laughed. "But it's the truth."

"Tomoyo," he began, he suddenly seemed nervous.

"Yes?" Tomoyo replied, picking up the glass of wine off the table.

"I was...wondering," he went on slowly.

"Oh, please tell me you want to make us official..." tomoyo silently hoped, as she waited for him to continue.

Eriol opened his mouth to continue, but the waiter walked up. "Good evening, are you ready to order?"

Eriol dropped his hands, "I believe so."

Tomoyo's heart dropped a little. "Maybe next time..." she thought.

"What may I get for you miss?" the waiter asked.

"I'll take the Pollo Baccio," Tomoyo replied.

The waiter scribbled her order down and then turned to Eriol. "And you sir?"

"I'll have the Capellini Filletto di Pomodoro," Eriol answered.

"Is there anything else you would like? An appetizer?" the waiter asked, pen poised.

Eriol looked at Tomoyo and she shook her head. "No thank you," he replied.

"Alright, I'll get right on your order," he replied, scooping up their menus.

After the waiter disappeared into the sea of other people dressed in black slacks and white shirts, the table was silent.

"So," both said at the same time after a few minutes of unbearable silence.

"You go ahead," Tomoyo blurted out before Eriol could say anything.

"Uh... how is life with Kinomoto? Crazy as ever?" Eriol asked and looked down at the table.

Tomoyo sighed inwardly. "It's crazy, but I'm not complaining. At least I'm not living a boring life." She laughed.

Eriol smiled. "Where did my courage go?" he thought.

Tomoyo smiled bak and then their food arrived.

There was a knock on the door and Syaoran got up to get it. He had changed into a dark green t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans that made Sakura's heart beat faster and faster.

"Sakura, get yourself under control!" she mentally yelled at herself and looked down at her hands, she could feel all the blood rushing to her face.

"Thanks," Syaoran said and closed the door. He was holding two bags of Chinese take-out.

The smell was unbelievable, the aroma of sesame chicken, the sweet smell of egg rolls and the spicy mustard to go with it. The smell of the fried rice was delicious, Sakura thought her sense of smell was going to overload. She followed Syaoran into the kitchen.

Syaoran quickly pulled two plates and two bowls out of a cabinet and handed a set to Sakura. Then he pulled a drawer open and pulled out two sets of chopsticks. "Help yourself," he said after handing her the chopsticks.

"Thank you. I'll pay you back for my portion of the food," Sakura replied as she scooped some rice into the bowl and set some chicken and egg rolls onto the plate.

Syaoran shrugged and walked to the dinning room table and sat down. He seemed to be deep in concentration.

Sakura sat down across from him and slowly ate.

"Out of curiosity," Syaoran started.

Sakura looked at him, chopsticks halfway to her mouth. "Yes?"

"How long have you been tracking down this opium distributor?" he went on. His face was drawn and his eyes were dark.

"Well...I guess you could say for about two months, but Kinomaka only told us the other day, you were there, what exactly we were doing. I mean, he has sent use out for some pretty strange stuff that, up until now, I only thought was for other cases," Sakura said quickly.

Syaoran did not reply.

The silence was brutal. Sakura did not know what to say, or do, for that matter.

"This is so awkward..." she thought.

Sakura had her head down, but she was watching Syaoran closely. His eyes went from dark and angry to depressed and dull. He gave a quick shake of his head and started eating.

The muffled sound of a cell phone ring came and it took a few moment for Sakura to realize that it was hers.

"Oh!" she gasped and pushed back in the chair, hurrying over to her purse to dig out her cell phone. "Hello?" she said into the device.

"Sakura! Where are you?" Tomoyo's frantic voice exclaimed through the earpiece.

"I'm at Li's house, you took the car keys and my house key was on them," Sakura replied, holding the phone a little ways away from her ear.

There was a loud crack and there was nothing on the other end of the line.

"Tomoyo?" Sakura called. "Tomoyo?"

Syaoran turned to look at her. "Is something wrong?"

"TOMOYO!" Sakura called into her cell phone again. "Oh my God.."

Syaoran was at her side. "What is it?"

"Sh-she was just there...damn it! You have to take me home! She's not responding on the phone!" Sakura said, quickly grabbing her purse and jacket, but refusing to hang up the phone.

Syaoran grabbed his coat and keys, slipping on his shoes and hurrying out the door, Sakura was close behind.

It happened so quickly. One minute she was talking to Sakura, and the next she woke up in the hospital with a splitting headache. Tomoyo looked around, she was a little disoriented and her eyes had a hard time focusing.

"Where-" she started.

"Tomoyo!" Sakura exclaimed and was at her side. "Tomoyo, it's me. Are you ok?"

"Sakura... what... what happened?" tomoyo asked and tried to sit up.

Sakura wouldn't let her.

"You were hit in the head with a bat and then your purse was stolen," Sakura explained.

Tomoyo felt the back of here head; there were stitches. She laughed softly. Sakura was confused.

"Why...why are you laughing?" she asked.

"I never pictured myself getting mugged...it was always you," she replied with a smile.

Sakura frowned. "Why thank you..." she said sarcastically. "Anyway, you really could have left me my house key, then this wouldn't have happened."

"But Sakura, I did leave you your house key. I put it in your coat pocket," Tomoyo said.

"Fuck," Sakura thought as she stuck her hand in her pocket and felt the cold metal of the key. "Best not to mention this to Li..." she added.

The doctor walked in and picked up the clipboard from the end of the bed.

"Well Ms. Daidouji, I see you are awake. How are you feeling?" he asked, checking things off the chart.

"I have a headache, but that's about it. How bad was the injury?" Tomoyo asked.

"You have a slight concussion and there was a pretty deep cut on the back of your head, but we stitched that right up. You can't wash your hair for a week," he explained, his dark hair falling in his eyes while he continued to look at the chart.

Sakura squeezed Tomoyo's hand in comfort.

"How long will she have to stay here?" Sakura asked, not looking at the doctor.

"A few days, we want to make sure that as a result of the blow, her brain doesn't swell," he replied, looking up, noticing that there was another person in the room.

His eyes widened in shock when he saw Sakura.

But Sakura still did not look at the doctor.

"Alright. No Tomoyo, I'll talk to Kinomaka so don't you worry about it. And I'll talk to Eriol too, he'll be worried sick about you," she said.

Tomoyo merely smiled at her.

"I'll check in on you again tomorrow," the doctor said and left the room quickly.

"I should probably be going too...I'll stop by tomorrow after work," Sakura explained, standing up.

"You don't have to, you know. I'm a big girl," Tomoyo replied.

Sakura shook her head. "We'll need a new set of keys for the car."

Tomoyo nodded.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," she said and walked out the door.

"She's such a good friend..." Tomoyo thought and looked out the window of her room.

Sakura met Syaoran in the waiting room.

"How is she?" Syaoran asked when she stopped in front of him.

"The doctor said she'll be fine, but he wants to keep her here for a few days to monitor her," she replied.

Syaoran nodded.

"Well, I got the house key, it was in her pocket so the muggers didn't get it," she said, pulling the key out of her own pocket. "So, if you don't mind, could you take me home one more time?"

"Yeah," Syaoran replied, "let's go."

The two left the hospital and Syaoran waited until Sakura was inside the house before he left.