AN: Another chapter! I'm getting better at this updating. I actually wrote this like the day after c5 but I thought I'd give a little break in between! Keeping waiting ;) Already writing the next one too! Which should hopefully be finished when I post this. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and followed this story, particularly Fashion Fairy 26 & maniikuu! Keep reviewing everyone and remember to stay tuned!

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS.

Somewhere along the line, Sakura became sure that she had died. Her surroundings were black, pitch black and silence coveted her like a lover. She felt… nothing. She attempted to move, but she was just stuck- as if existing merely in the dark caverns of her mind. Or death? Which was it that she was stuck in?

Her vision moved, swimming, as she made out a figure in the foreground. "Don't drive like that again, 'Kura, you know it's no good for you." The figure spoke softly, and she could make out a tall male, dark hair and a soft look upon his face.

"Touya?" Her voice came out easily, the surprise etched into her words.

Her brother merely nodded, and she felt tears prick her eyes and roll down her cheeks as she felt a rushing forward toward him. When she did so, he merely stepped back, moving away from the embrace she wanted to give him.

"You can't stay, it's not your time. I love you, monster."

She cried harder, letting out a small shriek as she felt her vision begin to swim, the darkness consuming her once more. Then she felt it, she felt her body being shaken, a voice in her ear as she was roughly pushed from wherever she had been to the cold harsh reality that was her life.

"Sakura! Sakura!"

That soft voice, that friendly and soothing tone that perhaps a mother would give a child. Tomoyo.

"Tomoyo? I'm alive?" Her voice croaked, throaty and gravelly from the lack of use. She opened her eyes, emerald swimming with unshed tears and a soft moan escaping her throat as her head suddenly felt like a pile of bricks was pushed onto her.

"Oh Sakura, I've been so worried!" Her friend gasped, clamouring onto the bed that she was laid upon. Bed?

Sakura looked round, body stationary but eyes wild as she looked around. Somehow, she was in a bedroom, dark wood furniture splayed before her eyes and royal red carpet and drapes upon the cherry wood bed she was laid in. She became frantic for a second, moving her arm to pull herself up as she realised she had no idea where she was. Was she still dreaming? What was this?

Sensing the look of bewilderment on her friends face, Tomoyo spoke.

"Oh Sakura! The car, it crashed right into your side. Me and Rika … We weren't hurt as badly as you. Well, Rika was a little out of it for two days… But you, oh we were so worried Sakura. The car hit the side where you were and… It didn't look good Sakura…" Tears began to stream down Tomoyo's face, her voice breaking with each word she uttered, ending upon a small whisper as she bent down to stroke auburn hair, lacing it between her fingers as if checking that she was real.

She suddenly remembered, the car hurtling toward her, the sound of the crash and the impending doom she felt. So if she was alive, where was she?

"Where am I, Tomoyo?"

Her friend looked shifty for a moment before she spoke, eyes darting towards the doorway. What was going on?

"They saved us, Sakura. We've been here ever since. Rika only looked better yesterday and I was so worried about you."

"Who? Don't talk in riddles!"

"Eriol, and the others. Sakura they saved us. Pulled us from the wreckage… And brought us here. I'm not entirely sure where we are… But it's a big house. And there are tons of people here. I think this is where they live, their gang, you know."

Sakura's eyes flashed in fear once more- they had been brought to another of the gang hang outs? Oh no, for sure they would now never get out of this life. She proffered another glance around the room, once again taking in the decadence of it all. It didn't look like a gang hang out, it certainly wasn't as seedy as that strange grey building they had been brought to before.

"What day is it?"

"Thursday, Sakura."

"Oh." She'd been unconscious for three days? No wonder her voice hurt and her head felt like the bowels of hell. Her body felt sore, unpredictable and shaky. She looked down at herself, groaning as she pulled herself up to rest upon the headboard and take in her surroundings for another time. Her arms were flecked with small cuts and bruises, her shoulder bandaged awkwardly as possible, the faint dab of blood peeking out from underneath where the glass had embedded itself. Moving her hand, she felt her arm scream in pain and looked down to another bandage adorning her arm, stronger this time- had she broken her arm?

"You've fractured it. It's not broken. It'll heal, in time. You've got quite a few cuts, Sakura… And you hit your head, pretty bad. You need to be careful."

Her mouth formed a small O as she looked toward her friend, leaving her hand to rest by her side.

"Why didn't they take us home? To the hospital? Who fixed me up Tomoyo? When are we going home?"

Her friends expression turned pensive for a moment, looking to answer the sudden bout of questions that were fired at her.

"Sakura… We were in a gang chase… It wasn't safe for them… Or us for us to be just left in a public hospital. There's a man here, medically trained… I changed you myself, and to be honest Sakura, I don't even know. I've slept in the room next door and spent my days next to your bed and Rika's, just a few light chit chats with the others. I don't know what will happen now."

It felt as if a stone had dropped in her stomach, creating larger ripples that flew through her body. Would they let them go home, after being in the lion's den? Would they do something to them- keep them here as prisoner? Be owed for saving their lives?

Her thoughts were cut as she looked down at herself, Tomoyo had indeed changed her. Instead of her uniform, a loose fitting grey t shirt hung around her form, as well as some smaller shorts that fit flush against her skin. She could see her knees, covered in bruises and her legs, smattered with small cuts just like her arms.

"Tomoyo, help me up… I want to get out of here."

Her friend looked dubious, and furrowed her brow.

"Don't you think you should go back to sleep? Sakura you might hurt yourself."

"Just get me out of this bed; at least I deserve to know where we are."

Tomoyo moved, rounding the side of the bed to stick an arm out to help her. Sakura noted with a pang of pain that she had a bandage on her arm too, the opposite to the one she was sticking out to aid her. Feeling bad for putting her friend under pressure, she lightly grabbed her rather than giving her the full weight of her and pulled her out of bed.

Her knees shook from the lack of use, threatening to give out as she stood precariously for the first time in three days. Looking to Tomoyo with a nod, she guided her around the bed, uncaring of her apparent state of undress.

"What are they like?" She asked as they nearer the door, Tomoyo using her free hand that wasn't supporting Sakura to open it as they walked into the hallway. Once again, the dark wood and decadent décor faced her, various portraits adorning the wall and gold vases atop tables as they moved down what seemed to be as long as her school corridors, filled with various other doors.

"They've been nice. Eriol is nice, he pulled me out of the car. There are a few others, I recognise them from the club, they were all quite friendly. We don't talk much, and when we do they don't discuss… Stuff that they do. Then there's the guy who took you home after the club..."

Her friend's voice faltered as she looked to her, a small frown adorning her soft features.

"He's mean, to everyone. In fact, he's a complete ass."

"What do you mean?" Surely it was bad, Tomoyo never verbalised dislike openly for anyone.

"Told Eriol he should have left us, Sakura. Told them all that they'd have been better off leaving us to it…"

Sakura felt jarred, recalling when he had apologised to her when he made her cry. But then, she remembered his fierce face and sharp features when he had shouted at her, and a shudder thundered through her body as she thought of him. She knew he was mean, cruel, and callous. Of course he would be, in his gang world that did not fit with her life. Yet, he had apologised in what she thought was a sincere manner- but now wished that perhaps she had died?

"Li is his name, hai?"

"Yeah, never around much. Hopefully not around today; he's always in such a foul mood. Had a shouting match with one of the girls who's supposed to be his family yesterday, I think it was about us. She's nice enough, really friendly. Perhaps one of the only people who relaxed me about being here. "

Sakura hummed slightly in response, her head beginning to pound with the effort of speech. They rounded a corner and she saw some stairs appear, frilled with a red and gold runner down the cherry wood. Was everything in this house made to look expensive?

Sure, Sakura led a privileged life. But there was privileged, then there was this. It looked like a castle- all old style and not a thing out of place. How could a gang live in such a place? Surely there should be a floor littered with heroin needles and people sparring in the middle of the dwelling?

They stumbled slightly on the stairs, emerging in a reception room of sorts as they took a left. Sakura could see various seating scattered around the cavernous room, a few people littering them.

"Tomoyo, I see the mysterious girl is awake." A voice filled with mirth spoke from the sofa near them, and Sakura recognised at once the dark hair and glasses, eyes behind them laughing slightly as he spoke to her companion.

Sakura noted the slight blush on her friends cheeks as she smiled back sheepishly, nodding as she set Sakura down on a plush chair across from him. He was sat next to the man she had met before- Samaya? Yes, that was his name. She was sure of it. His brown eyes searched up and down her form before settling on her face, a lop-sided grin adorning his features.

"I imagine you are hurting quite badly, quite a crash we saved you from the other day."

Her eyes widened, he had been driving the car then? He was the one who saved them as well then, she owed her life to these men, even if they were part of some strange underground world that she was sure was on her checklist to be kept away from at the next available moment.

"Thank you… I don't know how to thank you, you saved our lives." Her voice was croaky once more and he pointed to a bottle of water on the glass coffee table, and she gratefully moved it to her, sighing in satisfaction at the cool water trickling down her throat.

"Thank you."

"Is this girl stuck on the thank you button? I didn't know she got broken that badly?" His voice was teasing, and his eyes lit up in mirth. She allowed herself to ease into a smile, listening to idle chatter between Tomoyo and the man next to her. Her head still throbbed slightly, and she could feel her body protesting at being away from the confines of the bedroom.

Her mind however, was racing. Sure, they were being nice to them. But what about going home? What about returning to their everyday lives without the threat of something like the other day occurring? Oh- the school!

"Tomoyo! Have you heard anything about the school?"

Feet shuffled against the floor next to her, lilac trained toward the floor.

"People were badly injured; the authorities don't know who was behind it… They shut for the rest of the week, and next, they're investigating, some of the teachers are apparently refusing to return. I spoke to the principal on the phone yesterday, but most it's being covered by the news. They're having a police investigation as we speak… But nothing appears to have been said about what happened with us. Not a word."

Sakura frowned as she looked to her. Surely something would have been said? Perhaps they deemed a gang car chase less important than a school being nearly blown to pieces. She felt a pang of sorrow in case anyone she was close to had been hurt and her mind twirled to Chiharu and Naoko.

"Chi, Nao? Are they alright?"

Tomoyo nodded quickly, "I called them, yesterday. A boy in Naoko's class got hit, in the shoulder. Good job he was on the football team and pretty muscly I guess." She shrugged as she finished, noticing the other two were watching them closely.

"Uhm, can I ask something?" Sakura said, breaking the sudden hush that fell between them. Samaya nodded, looking at her expectantly. She was sure they were waiting for a question that she was obviously going to ask.

"When can we go home?"

Eriol looked thoughtful for a moment before putting a hand toward Samaya to prevent his answer.

"It's up to Li… We don't plan on keeping you here, don't worry. It's just not very safe for you at the moment… Out there. We're still trying to figure out how they found out who you were, and we aren't sure. But you can really just go home when you're better, if you so wish. We don't plan on keeping you against your will." He finished with a wink and Sakura let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding as he said they could go home.

"Thank-"

"Told you she was broken!" Samaya laughed, as she blushed, realising she was about to give her thanks once more. She giggled slightly, before feeling weary once more.

"You know, I think I'll just go lie down, if that's alright? Then we can get out of your hair afterwards?"

"You need a hand?"

She shook her head at the girl at her side, pushing her good arm down onto the soft as she stood, slightly wobbling. She caught a look of concern on her companion's faces before smiling and giving them a thumb up before moving out of the room, attempting to remember where she'd been before.

Reaching the stairs, she felt her head rush slightly at the ascent, grabbing onto the bannister as she breathed, eyes squeezed shit as a wave of pain flew over her. It'll pass. A moan escaped her lips slightly as she opened them again, re-adjusting to the light once more as she heaved her body up. She felt sore, weak and dehydrated to the extent that she wasn't bothered about flying out of the door as soon as possible- she resigned to the fact that it would do her no harm to have a small sleep.

Moving up toward the top of the stairs, she faltered. Which corridor had she come down? She looked to the right and the left, sighing as she realised they both looked the same. Moving to the right and hoping that she was correct, she carried on down the corridor, her head pounding with every movement she made. Stopping against a door frame, she held her hand above her to the wall, steadying herself as she felt the fatigue thump over her. Moaning again, she felt weak her legs now shaking under her slight weight, suddenly feeling as if her upper body was made of lead.

She opened her eyes again, realising she was indeed in the wrong corridor. This one had fewer rooms, and despite the corresponding decoration she knew she was in the wrong place. Moaning again at the thought of trying to find her own room, she whimpered as she tried to shake her head to focus.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The voice snapped her out of her moment, opening her eyes in a flash to see a large figure stood before her. Him.

"I… I… I took a wrong turn." She offered meekly, attempting to compose herself despite the pressure building in her head, threatening to teeter her over the edge.

"You did, get back to your room."

His voice was sharp, his frown evident across his features. He would be almost beautiful if he didn't sound the way he did, chiselled features and deep, soul searching amber eyes. His frame was clad in a simple back t-shirt and dark jeans, broad shoulders enveloped in the tightness of it.

She simply nodded, not trusting her voice as she moved herself around to exit the corridor, her legs now shaking furiously, her mind cursing inside for letting a stranger see her like this. A stranger who wanted to leave her to die. She felt angry as well as upset with this thought, momentarily removing herself from her body as her thoughts took over. Suddenly, without warning, her left leg gave and she sprawled across the floor with a cry, tears pricking her face as her battered body fell.

She heard him move behind her as she opened her eyes, his figure crouched next to hers now, and looking down at her with an unreadable expression- did he look angry? No, surely, how could he be angry? Why was he not helping her up?

"What did I tell you?" He simply spoke at her, not bothering to help her up as she lay, vulnerable on the floor in front of him.

"Excuse me?"

"You were reckless. And they broke you."

Her eyes widened as she felt a sob wrack her body in pain, but her mind was screaming. She was laid on the floor, helpless and in obvious pain, and all he could do was stand above her, chastising her?

"I was not reckless! I was at school! This is not my fault!" Her voice came out in a wail, tears spilling down her cheeks as she looked at him as defiantly as possible, her vision swimming slightly as her head felt as if she were on a merry go round.

"Look at yourself then, tell me you weren't."

"How can this be my fault? How was I meant to know this would happen! Get away from me! You wanted to leave us to die!"

Her voice rose with unquenched anger, like a fire roaring inside her. Blood was pounding in her ears as she cried out, the tears still falling down her face.

His face slipped for a second, a shocked expression befalling his features as something flashed across his eyes. He seemed to crouch down even further, grasping her wrist in front of him. She cried out in pain as he did so, and he seemed to realise her pain as he let it go, grasping the other and wrenching her up from the ground.

She stood still as he tugged at her arm, presumably to remove her from the vicinity. Maybe even the building. Maybe he was going to throw her out on the street and leave her to find her way home. The uncouth bastard.

"Let me go!"

"Just shut up, stop being a child."

Her heart hammered in her chest, how dare he speak to her like that? How dare he?

"You should have left us to die then, as you wanted! Leave me alone, get off me!"

Her legs threatened underneath her as she felt her knees buckle under the weight, her body like a lead weight once more. Bracing herself for the impact, she was stunned as it never came. His hands were around her knees, her body thrown slightly over his shoulder and flush to his body as suddenly she was in his arms.

"GET OFF ME!" She cried, wishing she had the energy to kick and scream like she wanted to. He ignored her, rounding the corner with her traumatised frame as they did not descend the stairs, yet merely moved toward what she assumed had been the room she stayed in.

The door clicked open and she saw the room; the unkempt bed, the same drapes she had awoken to only what seemed like moments before. He placed her on the bed, softer than she would have thought possible and stood over her, foreboding with his large figure staring at her, arms crossed and eyes ablaze.

"You should know that in my house, in my clothes, in one of the beds that I own, you should treat me with some respect. I never said you should be left to die. I said you were to be left alone. You aren't part of this. So whatever cross communication issues we have here are done with. Stop acting like the child you are."

His words were vapid, his glare fixed upon his face. A tremor ran through her body as she felt the anger radiating from him, and for the second time in as many of meeting him, she felt like a child. She had felt guilt at throwing a fit previously when he ended up apologising to her, but now she felt out of her depth in his presence, fearful of what he was going to do next.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, glancing up at him once more before finding a threat in the bed sheet that had become completely intriguing to her.

"Get some rest." His voice had softened, and she looked up to him again, his arms now uncrossed and plunged into his pockets as he looked down on her, almost warmly.

How could he change his demeanour so quickly? As if bipolar, he had switched from harsh and cold to this almost warm person. Was there something wrong with this man? What was his issue. Even Tomoyo didn't like him- which was always a bad sign. If he treat everyone as he had just treat her, she was sure that she wouldn't like him either.

"Why are you like this?" Her voice came out before she could stop it, a tumble of words as her eyes widened and a hand flew to her mouth as if she could take back what she just said.

He looked stumped, staring at her like she had Tomoyo earlier in the day.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing"

"Answer me, Sakura."

She looked up at him, shocked that he knew or even recalled her name. He had a strange expression on his features, as if he was confused as to what she was asking. But the bite was back in his words, expecting an answer. Of course, he would probably be used to getting his own way. He seemed to order everyone else around, so it was obvious that he seemed to believe it the same with everyone he met.

"You're so mean, and then you're nicer. I don't understand you, and I've only ever met you twice." Her voice was soft, barely a whisper, as she once again enthralled herself with picking the spare string marring the bedding, daring not to look at him.

"The way of the world, get some rest."

His words were soft again, and she felt a pang in her heart at asking him. He sounded almost hurt, unlike the authority that was previously in his speech. Then, without another thought, he was walking out of the door, closing it with a soft click and walking down the hall.

She stared for a moment, before inching down the bedding, her mind once again reeling and her head still pounding as she drifted off to a lethargy ridden sleep.

AN: Not a cliffy *does a dance* hope you're proud. Read and review guys!