The Prized Jewel

Author's Notes: Here are some questions harmony had:

Umm...I'm a little confused about Syaoran's age. If he was 22 in the last chapter then how come he's 20yrs old two years later? Maybe I read wrong...

It was interesting chapter. But I have a few questions. In this chapter you mentioned how powerful and strong The Jewel is...I wanna know what it is that she does that makes her so powerful and important. Will we be getting to see Sakura in action and doing some of the things that The Jewel does.

Dont get me wrong...I do like your story but I'm I'm just a little confused about certain things. I guess my questions will be answered in the coming chapters.

First off: He's TWENTY. In the first chapter, it says that he is 4 years YOUNGER than Touya, who is six years OLDER than Sakura. Therefore, Syaoran is two years older than Sakura. In the second chapter when they meet, Sakura is only eighteen; so therefore Syaoran is twenty. I'm sorry if I confused you in anyway.

Another thing is that it does say why The Jewel is so important and powerful. Read the 3rd chapter again to clarify but in terms of strength like…being the top fighter that is in later chapters.

Also in terms of Syaoran being her protector without knowing who he's protecting is why this story is different. It's a little mysterious. And "The Council" wants to make it difficult so that if Syaoran does find out who the real Jewel is, he gets a seat in that Council. You'll have to keep reading.

Any other questions, please feel free to put them in your reviews. Oh and by the way I don't know how most of the minor characters look like, so just picture them.

Summary: She was a prized possession to everything and everyone. He was a man who liked to make conquests built with a stone cold wall. Because of this, the world of gangs charged him to protect their most prized jewel, Sakura Kinomoto. He hadn't expected that when he fell in love with her, that he was going to fall in an ocean of chaos.

Disclaimer: Don't own it, don't sue me, but this story is entirely mine.

.:Beginning:.

Sakura sat with Tomoyo in the middle of the classroom, waiting for the teacher to come in. Strangely, Sakura had been rushed off to school earlier than normal, which was a rare thing. Suddenly the teacher walked in with a student following right behind her.

And Sakura noticed the messy mop of chocolate hair and the bright amber eyes that she was sure she could make out in a crowd. 'Syaoran…'

"Good morning class, the reason why I'm so late today is because we have a new student. Syaoran Li."

Syaoran scanned around the room for any of the girls who would look like the girls he had seen in the pictures Touya had provided for him. He saw one of those girls, curly dark brown hair and bright light brown eyes.

Then he also saw the girl sitting next to her, the girl who had dragged him into the chocolate store a week ago. 'Sakura…'

"Why don't you sit behind Rika, Li-san."

"But sensei, the seat behind me isn't available." Rika said.

'So the girl is Rika…' Syaoran made sure to remember her name, she was one of the girls he had seen in the pictures.

"Howabout you sit behind, Kinomoto-san."

Sakura smiled warmly at him as he made his way over to her. He gave her one of his lopsided smiles and sat down behind her. Her auburn hair looked silky and gleamed under the light. She turned around and caught him staring with his beautiful amber eyes.

"Well I had been hoping I wasn't going to be seeing you again, Li-san." Sakura said.

"Maybe destiny wants us to be together." Syaoran joked. Sakura said nothing and turned around, turning her attention back to the teacher. Syaoran leaned closer to her and whispered, "You're eighteen and you're already in a third-year class?"

"What can I say? I'm a genius." Sakura whispered back without taking her gaze off the board and taking notes with her left hand.

Syaoran chuckled, a deep low throaty sound that made Sakura feel strangely warm. And with that, they both refocused back on the topic at hand.

.:Lunch Break:.

Sakura couldn't help but wander back to how her teacher had introduced Syaoran. His family name was Li. She bit her lip as she strained her memory of where she had heard that name before. She was walking back to her dorm, books in hand, before going to lunch.

'Ugh…I can't believe I can't remember where I've heard the name Li before!' Her mind screamed in agony. Sakura sighed as she opened the room to the dorm she shared with Tomoyo. Tomoyo was never really around considering ever since Sakura found out about her secret relationship she had with Eriol, she had been more open about it. Tomoyo would be out for days with him and often wasn't in the dorm. Hence why they made sure that every Wednesdays they would hang out.

She dropped her books and bags down at the desk and looked around the room. It was scattered with pictures on the walls and strangely it was very neat. Sakura and Tomoyo were both pretty neat freaks so they tended to keep things much cleaner opposed to the dorms of other college students.

Sakura grabbed her keys and her wristlet and headed out for lunch. As she walked around the campus, she searched her memory back to where she's heard the name Li before.

As she waited for the waiter to bring her the menu, she remembered. The family name of Li belonged to a powerful clan in China who owned several large businesses with heavy political influence.

Somehow Sakura had thought that Li was from one of the triads, relieved at having remembered that the family name of Li was actually just business in China, Sakura felt that she could be herself with Syaoran.

After all, if he had nothing to do with the triad world, she won't have to worry about him finding out her secret.

.:Lunch Break with Syaoran:.

So far Syaoran had only managed to spot one of the four girls, Rika. Turns out that Rika seemed to have recognized him because when he tried to approach her and have a friendly conversation, she seemed to rush off.

'This isn't going to be easy.' He sighed. 'I mean if I don't even know who I'm going to protect, how am I gonna protect The Jewel?!'

Although he was frustrated, he knew why. The Council wanted to keep The Jewel as a secret as much as possible, even to him who is supposed to protect her. If he could find out which one of those girls was really The Jewel, maybe he'd be able to learn a lot more about her. By doing so and getting close to The Jewel, he would gain power. And The Council didn't give out power very easily without proving their worth.

Syaoran crossed the street and thought about where he wanted to go for lunch. He didn't have any more classes until two hours later, so he thought he would be able to enjoy his time.

However Syaoran hated to eat lunch alone. He always liked having company, preferably women. His mind ran down a list of women he had previously encountered that would die to see him again when his mind went blank when a spark of auburn caught his eyes.

There she was, sitting alone across the street looking thoughtfully out at the world as it seemed to rush by her. She had this pensive and peaceful look on her face with a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. A cup of whatever sitting in front of her and the sun picking her out of the crowd to put its light on. It merely took his breath away.

And the next thing he knew he had crossed the street, almost getting run over by cars that rushed to their next destination but all he thought about was how beautiful she looked. The little bell on the door chimed and his feet walked him over to her table, dodging people as they hurried out. But she seemed to be in her own world, unaware of time or the people.

When he stood next to her, she still had not noticed him. He continued to stare at her.

Sakura thought her waiter had came back and turned around with a big patient smile. To her surprise, Syaoran was there.

"Syaoran?"

He seemed as if in a daze because he did not reply. Sakura called out his name again and he snapped out of his trance and gave her a smirk. She could swear that she saw a little pink on his cheeks.

"Hey, Little Girl! I thought you looked lonely and in need of some protection against those big tough guys, so I'm here to do that for you!" Syaoran said to try to brush off the feelings that he had previously held and the thoughts he had just a moment earlier.

"I'm not little gosh! You must have horrible memory if you've forgotten that I'm an eighteen year old genius as a junior in college!" Sakura said, a look of anger on her face.

'She looks cute…' His mind whispered. Her eyebrows furrowed and her lips took on a pout with her emerald eyes sparkling as if a fire was behind them.

"Well I had offered to take you to dinner, but I guess lunch can work too."

"I hadn't said that you could have lunch with me!" Sakura huffed.

"Well I'm sitting here and there doesn't seem to be any other empty tables with a pretty lady sitting there, so I guess you're gonna have to have this date with me!"

"But I don't want to be on a date with you! I mean you didn't even ask!"

Syaoran laughed. "Well I'm volunteering you!"

Sakura huffed and said nothing. She took a sip of what seemed to be tea to Syaoran. The waiter came with the menus at last and Sakura ordered a plate of angel hair pasta with chicken while Syaoran ordered a steak.

"So Sakura, since you keep rejecting me, does that mean you have some guy in your life?" Syaoran asked in between one of their conversation. Sakura blinked for a second and smiled happily.

"Nope!"

Syaoran was confused. A beautiful girl was single, and he jumped at the chance. He could nail her in a week if he told her he loved her and took her out on all the right dates…

"Are you interested?" He asked.

"Not at all." Her blunt answer surprised him. Before he could reply, she continued. "I don't have much luck with men in that department. All they want is sex and well, I'm like most women, I look for someone to love. I haven't found that type of guy yet so I guess I can be a virgin for life!"

Her answer had came off humorous but deep inside, Sakura held pain in her lonely heart. She's had very bad relationships in the past, with men from the triad world and just…the normal world. The men had either neglected her, abused her in some way, or worst…used her. She had gotten so tired of it, and more importantly so hurt. She had given up on men but she still had this tiny hope that if she found the right one, she'd cling on forever. (AN: That's how I am. Horrible relationships I tell you)

Syaoran looked right past the dry humor in it and saw the truth. She had been hurt, he quickly noticed. He inwardly sighed, knowing that there was no way in hell she was going to sleep with him.

But something inside of him stirred, there was something about this girl that he wanted to know more about. And it wasn't what was underneath her stylish clothes.

.:The Next Day:.

As Syaoran walked in the halls, his eye caught on to another girl from one of the photos. She was walking into his direction with her head down and before he could move out of the way, she bumped into him.

He helped pick up her books while his mind worked quickly. 'Quick find out her name!' His mind screamed for him to do.

"Hi, I'm Syaoran."

The girl glared at him and shuffled her feet a little. Deciding to be nice for once, she told him her name.

"I'm Chiharu." They took hands and Syaoran got a conversation going.

"So are you a third year here?"

She glared at him again and nodded, she quickly tried to walk away but Syaoran quickly caught up with her.

"Hey I thought we were over about boys having cooties! So why are you avoiding me?" Syaoran asked. 'Her personality traits seem cold and distant, fitting for The Jewel.'

"Because you're agitating me." Her curt reply was.

"But I didn't even do anything!" He shouted. 'Wrong move.' His mind shouted because she turned around and gave him a fierce glare that shut him up. Before his mind could process anything else she had walked away.

"Definitely the qualities of The Jewel." Syaoran muttered.

You see the reason why many people believe that The Jewel was a "cold, heartless, bitch" was because of the lifestyle she seemed to live in the stories. She was a killer who killed anyone. She held secrets that if she spilled, she would die. Logically, she would be distant and untrusting towards people after the several ordeals she's been through. A killer as successful as she would be heartless.

Syaoran wondered what else could make The Jewel a cold hearted bitch because she had to have somewhat of a normal life outside of the triads to be in college. He wondered what else made this Chiharu girl the way she was.

And if she was The Jewel, he would protect her and fulfill his mission.

.:Touya:.

Touya was worried. After that day with the Black Wolves, he had sent one of his men to spy on those suspected to want to rebel.

Touya hadn't heard from him in two weeks now.

He ran a hand through his hair and looked at the clock again. Two weeks was too long, his guy had either been killed or worst…joined the rebellion.

A knock on the door took him out of his thoughts and he called them to come in.

"Sir we have a letter for you."

Touya took the letter and ripped it opened, maybe it was from his guy.

Touya,

The rumors are true. That is all I'm going to tell you and this is going to be the last you hear from me. Don't look for me. I'm sorry, Boss…

He crumpled up the paper. He knew what this meant, he had betrayed him and joined the rebellion.

"Sir?" The bodyguards behind him asked.

"GET OUT!" He demanded and they left without a word.

He threw the ball of paper in the fire angrily. The rumors were true, a rebellion was starting. It was going to escalate, as all things in the triad world did. Touya took a deep breath.

He wanted to protect his sister, fiercely. It had, after all, been his fault that The Jewel existed. When he had started out in the triad world, he didn't have much power. When he learned of his sister's existence and how skilled she was in playing with the government and marital arts, he arranged that he meet with her.

Her presence in his gang escalated and he gained more power. The Clows allied with several other triads with her presence and The Council was formed. They decided that she was much too important to let go.

And they had trapped her into becoming The Jewel of the triad world. She had taken it with an emotionless face and took it as if she was a robot told what to do. When he had begged that she run away from Japan, she simply shook her head. Told him that she had gotten herself into this and that she must suffer the consequences.

It had been his greed that got her trapped like a precious jewel. It had been his selfish being that got her into the world of bloodshed and murders. And she suffered the burnt of it. Gone was her innocent, naïve, and happy state of mind that drew out the good in everyone. True that she was always going to be optimistic and seemingly happy, because her personality never changed since she was sixteen.

But he had destroyed her. Sakura had become tainted with a dark light of murder and she constantly couldn't sleep as she dreamed about all the people she had painfully killed.

Now this rebellion from the world who had sought to protect her, was out to kill her.

And he had to call on the one person who could stop it. He had to call the one person who could find out the main player in this rebellion and crush it. He had to call the target to save herself.

Touya had to call Sakura. Touya had to put Sakura in harm's way once again.

Touya's hands balled into tight fists. A brother was supposed to protect his little sister, especially someone as wonderful as his Sakura but instead, he put her up in the way of a bullet as he blended with the shadows.

Touya slammed his fists on his desk and crumpled down onto it.

He loved her so much, yet his guilt consumed him. And it was only a matter of time before Sakura would burn. Touya could only shallow his sorrow and let things unfold...and pray that his beloved little sister was going to survive.

.:End Chapter:.

Author's Note: I had wanted to make this chapter a lot longer but I wanted some suspense. There WILL be romance between Sakura and Syaoran so don't worry! And a lot of action and everything, you just have to wait. I don't even think I had updated this quickly before, lol. Never have I ever gotten so many ideas about a story. I hope you guys are all happy about this story and like it as much as I have.

But always don't forget to: laugh, enjoy the moment, and REVIEW!

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