AN: Disclaimer for this chapter and the last that I forgot to put it on. I don't own anything

Hi guys! Welcome to the 10th instalment of Recoil!

Just a quick note to say thanks for the positive response I've received! I can see a lot of people reading and not a lot of reviewing though :( Oh well I hope you're enjoying it and on with the show!

RATING IS NOW CHANGED: This will now be rated M. After re-reading last chapter, just to be safe, I want to change it. I always said I would probably change it in the future, so I guess now is the right time to do so.

Chapter Ten

Rubbing the sleep out of her amethyst eyes, a yawn etched its way across the young girls' features as she robotically moved from the bed and out into the corridor. The cold floor assaulted her senses as she stumbled into the next room, a deep frown adorning her beautiful features.

Entering, she spotted the reason for her restlessness, shaking and sweating profusely under the cover of the four poster bed. With a sigh she heaved herself onto it, sitting next to the other girl whilst whispering calming words and stroking her hair. Despite the dream state of her companion, she seemed to react to her soothing, settling down with tears flowing down her cheeks.

Oh Sakura, what can I do to help you? The thought had plagued Tomoyo's mind since Sakura and Li had been brought back to the mansion four days ago, as she watched her outgoing friend become introverted from the emotional scars of her very near demise. She had cried taking comfort in the others who had also attempted to soothe their distant friend, with little avail. Those emerald orbs that she knew so well had no light behind them; barely a flicker of emotion would pass across her face as she spent all her time in the bedroom, gazing out of the window like a robot.

She had conversed with Eriol many times in the past few days, a go-between through him and Li she knew. Li had been sparse in his presence since the return to the home of the gang, and as far as she knew the meetings that had been of greater frequency since the brutal attack as Li attempted to find some shred of redemption. She had heard Sakura cry out for him in the night, two in a row, as if his presence would make the demons in her mind disappear. Perhaps Sakura's need for her rescuer was what would ultimately help pull her out of her coma like state, his presence had seemed to bring her some safety.

Sighing as Sakura fell into a deep stupor once more; she pulled the cover over herself and slipped further down the bed, still clinging onto her like a child. She had been worried sick about her friend before, as Sakura felt like family to her. With Sonomi's lack of presence in her life at the moment, Sakura was some form of familial comfort that she could revel in; yet now she felt it slipping from her grasp. She needed her best friend back.

-x-

"Eriol?"

"You look tired, same as the past few nights I take it?"

A frown adorned his elegant features and for a moment she allowed herself to take in how beautiful this man was before her. Every time they spoke to one another she could never believe that he was part of a gang, such a well-spoken and intelligent man would surely be deemed for better things in life. They had become rather close, as much as was possible, in the few days that she had spent in the house. For some reason he appeared to be the most reasonable and willing to listen to her, especially in her plight to return her friend to her normal self.

"Have you seen much of Li?"

"Yeah. I saw him at the meeting, I haven't seen him since. Why, what's up?" A twinkle in his eye let her know that he knew exactly what she wanted from him.

"Do you think he would go speak with Sakura? They haven't seen one another since… You know. I just feel like it might help to have someone who went through it with her… He saved her Eriol." A tear came to her eye and before she was aware of what was happening, he reached up and brushed it away. Closing her eyes and breathing deeply, she looked up at him, their proximity had never been as close before and she could catch the faint aroma of apple blossom and acacia as he did so. When she dared open them again, he had moved, looking anywhere in the room but her as she felt her cheeks turning scarlet.

"I'll go see him, I imagine he's in his office. I'm sure he'll be willing to help." His smile was genuine, lighting up her features too as she took him in and nodded, watching him traipse down the hall to find Li.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Closing the door with a click and entering the familiar office, Eriol noted the haggard look Syaoran was sporting underneath his usually cool exterior.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine. I'll be better when we've put some kind of plan into action. I keep drawing blanks as what to do what would warn them off the most." He reclined into his chair, and Eriol could surmise that his friend had obviously been different since the attack on the young female currently residing in one of the rooms.

"Tomoyo came to speak to me."

Raising an eyebrow, Syaoran examined the expression of his companion. "Is it unusual that she came to see you? I don't doubt that it's not just me who has noticed your constant presence around one another."

Coughing, Eriol looked away for a moment before shrugging slightly and playing with the lapel of his jacket. Syaoran could see the usually calm man was quite flustered at the mention of the dark haired female.

"Anyway, it's about Sakura." Eriol watched keenly for a reaction from the other man with the mention of her name, and despite the calm exterior he could see some semblance of emotion behind his eyes as he mentioned her.

"What about her?"

"Would you go see her? She's having night terrors or something, Tomoyo's dead off her feet trying to calm her down, she seems to think that seeing you will somehow… Rectify the situation slightly." Eriol couldn't keep the concern out of his voice as he spoke, remembering the upbeat and spunky young girl that had been in place of this shell that remained.

"I'll go see her. Is that why you're up so early?"

Eriol nodded, yawning and stretching out like a cat. It was just before sunrise, the day daring to peek through the trees lining the exterior of the property next to the high gates that allowed them entry. Peering outside for a thoughtful moment, he stood, leaving the room in silence without exclamation from his friend.

-x-

He didn't know how long he had stood in front of the door, but he was beginning to fidget with his pockets as he stood there considering whether he was to enter. He felt almost suspicious as he stood there, like an intruder, even though it was his home. His contemplation of how to speak to the girl in the room had been running through his mind all morning, and as she had not emerged he felt himself compelled to go and see her as Eriol had suggested. Why had he not been before? The reminder of that night had played in his head constantly over the past few days, the sickening crack of her skull being hit against something, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth and her apparent state of undress had somehow haunted his mind. Why she affected him so, he was unaware, his previous anger at her dissipating as soon as he saw her harrowing form the other night.

Knocking finally, he listened keenly to the door waiting to hear a response. Hearing none, he frowned, opening the door in front of him and entering the room. Glancing around he saw her clothes from that night, piled up neatly in the corner, still covered with the slight traces of blood and dirt from her dealings with Jai. Shuddering, he entered, noting that she was stood out on the balcony, clad in only an oversized shirt of his and what he guessed would be her underwear underneath. He saw her stiffen at the creak of the door and her eyes dart back to join his, an unreadable expression befalling her features as she analysed his form before turning back to lean over the wrought iron railing, sighing heavily as she did so.

In a swift motion he was next to her, and she could smell the scent that she had been cocooned in the couple of times she had been close to him, washing over her senses as she closed her eyes. Finally. She had wanted to see him, she hated to admit it. Despite her state of undress, she was comforted by his presence, from his rescue of her.

"You look better" He commented, turning to lean on the balcony facing her, watching as she opened her emerald eyes and mirrored his movement. He could see still the cut on her head, one on her lip and noted that her arm had once again been bandaged, the same arm as before. Bruises were evident on her neck and legs and he shuddered with the thought of where else had been marked by the assault. He didn't know what to say to placate her.

"I don't feel it." She spoke with a solemn tome, no hint of amusement like he would have expected of her. This innocent girl had been transformed to one that had horrors in the night and demons she was unable to face. At the moment, he was unsure of what he could do to help.

"It takes time you know, to recover from something like this." His eyes bore into hers as they looked to one another, blazing amber searching for a hint of the spark that had previously rested in hers.

She gulped down, and he could tell she was wavering on the boundary of tears. She shook her head and looked up toward the sky with a pained smile. "I guess I just don't want to feel anything at the minute, I just can't think of what happened without blaming myself."

In a second he was closer to her, gripping her arms softly and holding her to face him, an expression of confusion crossing her face as her eyes widened. "The last thing you can do is blame yourself, Sakura. If you blame yourself, wonder what you could've done differently, it'll drive you into the ground. Don't forget that."

He knew, deep down, that he himself had blamed her in the hours before her attack for staying at her home alone and in the hours after punished himself for not allowing Eriol to place protection over her. However, to hear from her soft pink lips that she was blaming herself… He could not fathom it. In the deepest recesses of his mind, he had never expected that they would send Jai for her, known for his sexual exploitation and cruel ways with women. Jai was an unexpected twist in the caverns of Mamba's mind, brought out as retribution, and he knew it was a way to get at him, rather than the innocent girl that stood before him.

Snapping from his reverie, he noticed that the girl in front of him had taken a step back toward the balcony and was trying fruitlessly not to cry. "Hey…" He whispered, walking toward her and wondering what to do in the way of comfort. He had told Eriol he would help try and fix her, but could not find what he was expected to do. Emotions of women he was unsure of, the Li women having been brought up strong and unyielding, the girls of the gang always… Willing and flighty. Yet, in front of him was a female who invoked in those around her some kind of need for her virtuous personality and fiery character.

"Oh Li, what am I meant to do…" A single tear fell down her porcelain cheek, and inside he had to will himself from stopping to brush it away. Back to Li now? He was almost glad that she had not called him Syaoran, the voice of her those few days ago ringing in his mind, her broken and frightened call out to him as she sobbed and shook in his arms.

Without further thought, he stepped forward toward her once more and pulled her into an embrace, her small head falling into his chest as he did so. She froze with the contact before relaxing into his arms, just as she had previously. Shushing her, he held her there before placing a quick kiss atop her hair. "It'll be alright, just allow yourself to get better."

Before he knew what had occurred, he felt himself blush and untangled from her, leaving the room in a hurry and a shocked Sakura stood behind him.

-x-

Once again, she yawned and moved her dark hair out of her eyes. Sighing, she pulled the quilt from her and moved automatically toward the corridor. Tomoyo was getting fed up of this; not that she did not want Sakura to recover, she just wanted a decent night's sleep. Suddenly halting seeing the figure stood contemplatively in front of the door, a gasp escaped her mouth.

"Li?" She whispered, startling the young man who had obviously not heard her approach.

"Is it like this every night since?" He looked at her with a frown upon his features, the cries of the woman held in the bedroom in front of him obviously causing him pain.

"Yes… I come to her though, to help…"

"Can I?" He sounded unsure for the first time she had heard since they had met, and she forced herself to stop from raising her brow at the question.

"Be my guest, I'll be next door if you have any problem…" She turned and retreated back to her room, unknown to the brown haired man, a sly grin adorned her beautiful features.

He entered, unsure of what to do to placate Sakura. He had been told by Eriol it would be around this time that she would become distressed and right on cue, she had. He had stood outside the door wondering if he would add to her distress, but with Tomoyo's blessing he now stood there. Writhing underneath the covers was Sakura, unconsciously crying out in her sleep.

"Stop… No… Please… Stop… Just kill me, just kill me…" She cried harder, tears now slipping down her face as he approached, unsure what he would do. Her breathing was laboured, chest rising and falling where the covers had slipped down unknown to her. Sweat covered her brow, dripping in small beads down her face which was contorted into a grimace

He stood, shocked, staring at the girl for a moment and for what he assumed was the first time in his life, he felt nervous. What am I meant to do? He considered bolting through the door and letting Tomoyo deal with it, before remembering that she had been willing to open up to him previously and now he was sure that he should at the very least try.

Swiftly moving forward, he stood over the bed, her cries still continuously ringing inside his head, marring every other thought that dared to enter his brain. Before he could think for another moment, he sat on the bed, indenting it slightly and causing her body to move with the downward motion, yet she did not wake. Carefully, he pulled her toward him, burying her head toward him and halted for some reaction.

He felt her freeze, unconsciously, and then her breathing began to slow, tears still flowing down her cheeks. Is she still asleep? He could not tell. His mind whirred as he considered what he could do, whether it would be wise to wake her up. What if she thought he was going to do something to her? That was the last thing he needed.

"Sakura… Sakura… Wake up." He whispered into her ear, hearing a soft moan emanate from within her. Suddenly, she froze completely and he knew at once she was awake.

She struggled for a moment, breath becoming sharper and he knew she was panicking. Pulling her out of his embrace to arm's length; she looked at him with wide doe eyes, recognising that it was indeed him who had come to prevent her night time torture.

"Syaoran?" The words came out sleepily, disjointed and soft. Her voice was hoarse from the screaming, her nose clogged from her outburst. She looked shocked.

"You were… You were screaming… I didn't know what would help…" He trailed off, looking into her eyes for a hint of acknowledgment in them. She looked down, obviously embarrassed at his presence in her room.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to." She began to cry once more, her shoulder shaking as he circled them with his thumbs, his grip upon her still firm.

Pulling her form to him, he stroked her hair, quietly making shushing noises to calm her down whilst she wept.

"It's okay… I told you earlier…"

She nodded against him, grasping at his shirt with a small first, holding onto the green material as if for dear life.

"Let's talk about it… We were both there." He dared, knowing the painful subject would still be sore with her, yet he imagined that as she had not spoken to anyone about it yet it may help her cause. He knew immediately she did not appreciate the idea as she froze once more.

"It's okay, come on… Tell me."

She broke then; once again tears cascading down her face and a crimson blush etching upon her cheeks. It was if the dam had suddenly crumbled, letting the waves of terror course through her and the demons of her mind creep their way into showing on the outside.

"I just keep thinking of it… Of what would have happened if you weren't there… Why wouldn't he just kill me? Why did he have to do that?"

He stayed silent for a moment, mind turning over her small voice and obvious trauma at the event. "There are some things that are beyond the control of us, Sakura… We cannot control the actions of another, but what we can do is be thankful that he didn't get any further… No matter how bad it is what happened, just remember you're still here…"

She nodded against him; he could feel the cogs turning in her head almost as she contemplated his thoughts. "I never thought of it like that…"

"Don't let it break you, don't let it change you Sakura… You're better than that… Who else could make me come and save them like some damsel in distress?" He teased, and to his great surprise she giggled, still sniffling yet she had actually laughed.

"You're not funny, you would have done it for anyone." She was quiet again, a sombre tone to her voice, making him frown.

"That's the thing… I don't think I would have…" His voice was a whisper and she drew away and looked up at him, emerald eyes full of unshed tears and a slight, yet certainly there, wonderment. Then, she smiled at him through her tears; a smile that he knew hadn't been upon her beautiful features in days.

She yawned then, supressing it barely in the dark room. "You're tired, you need some rest…" He whispered, yet he didn't let her go from him.

She looked at him with a cocked eyebrow before she shuffled down into the bed and pulled the cover over her, he still sat on the edge. "Would you do me a favour?" Her voice was quiet, like a mouse in the night.

He cocked an eyebrow back at her for an answer, an amused grin starting to creep up his face. "What would that be little one?"

She blushed profusely at this before clearing her throat, fiddling with the bed cover. "Would you stay with me? Tomoyo usually comes in…" She whispered, and for a second he contemplated making her repeat her request just for jest. However, seeing that she was still distressed, he simply nodded and got under the cover himself, watching as she rolled over to face the other side of the bed with a small smile upon his face. What is this girl doing to me?

AN: Awwwww! Shorter chapter this time because I wanted to get you one out at the weekend! The next chapter we shall return to this scene in the morning… And some further developments in the way of action! Because we all love action! R&R but most importantly I hope you enjoyed it!