AN: Heyy guys, welcome to the next chapter of Recoil! *drum rolls and stuff* THANK YOU ever so much for the response from last chapter! I felt really strange about it because not much really happened, but I'm glad it was so well received! Also just a note to say I'm in the planning for a new story soon, but don't want to start until we're further down the line of this… So without further ado!
This was my old AN ^ when this was written the chapter was nearly finished. Unfortunately for us all my appendix burst and stuff so I've spent some considerable time in and out of hospital and trying to sort out my final University exams as well which I still haven't done yet. So I am awfully sorry, heres recoil xx
Chapter 11
Yawning loudly, she moved closer to the source of warmth that she could feel next to her in bed. Tomoyo, she thought with a long drawn out and pleasant sigh. It was nice to wake up to the feeling that someone cared about you enough. She contemplated Tomoyo's actions over the past few days, and how much of a good companion she had been to her. After her conversation with Li, she would have to start to heal from her wounds…. Li? Furrowing her brow, she suddenly began to recall the moments in the dark of the night that had occurred, and her eyes flew open to be greeted by a sight that she had momentarily forgotten would greet her this morning.
Moulded around her like they were two pieces of a puzzle, lay Li, encompassing her body within two strong, muscular arms. An expression of contentment was resting upon his sleeping face, which she noted was surprisingly young looking when he wasn't constantly frowning. She was startled for a moment in her examination of him, before suddenly realising that he would probably wake soon and her mortification at the situation would probably cause a rather embarrassing situation.
Looking down toward his arms, she wondered if she could wriggle out, but his grip was vice like upon her, clinging to her in his slumber. I'll just try and sleep and make sure that he wakes up and leaves before I get back up. She almost giggled to herself at this idea, the predicament becoming suddenly hilarious to her. Then she remembered, this wasn't just some boy, some young man, this was Li, gang member and cold blooded killer… She shuddered suddenly, not even trying to suppress the movement as she recalled…
Instantly she felt bad, somewhere in the back of her mind, as she remembered that calling him these things did not detract from what he had done for her, what he had sacrificed for her in her hour of need when he had come to her aid. That he had come for her in the night yesterday, he had stayed with her when she needed him. She studied him, taking in the straight nose, shaggy brown hair falling around his face as his expression remained the same in his slumber once more.
Suddenly she heard a groan and she froze, her entire body turning to ice as she realised he was waking up. Shuffling under the cover slightly, she closed her eyes and began to breathe heavier to give the impression of sleep. Li, however, was now coming across the same situation that she had just woken up to.
-x-
"Have you seen Sakura this morning?"
"No… Syaoran never sleeps in this late either, but I daren't go knock him up…"
A grin adorned beautiful china skin as amethyst eyes lit up, going to meet hassled blue ones that were looking on inquisitively.
"What did you do!" Eriol spoke accusingly, a hint of playfulness in his voice as we stood across the table from Tomoyo, a finger pointing out at her accusingly.
"I did not do anything, how dare you Sir! Accusing a Lady!" She giggled, placing a hand to her mouth in mock horror at his accusations with a large smile. He grinned and bowed at her, playing to her tomfoolery with jovial contentment for early on a Saturday morning.
"Oh I apologise my dear lady! Wouldst thou inform me of what occurrence you believe hath befallen Sir Li and Lady Sakura?" He grinned at her, resting an arm upon the chair before she answered.
"It's just possible I let him go and check on her last night…" She grinned at him, catching the twinkle in his eyes also as a smile stayed upon his features.
It was somewhere within their play acting that it had dawned on Tomoyo how handsome Eriol was. The way that his straight hair was fashionably styled yet not pompously so, how his glasses sat slightly skew-if upon his nose when he had been laughing and the urge that he had to straighten them, without knowing that it was to no avail. His grace in his movements, his fluidity in his speech and the way that he seemed to be able to capture her attention with the merest of notions. She had realised some days ago that he had captured her fascination, and felt her cheeks heating as she momentarily considered this.
"Tomoyo? Are you alright?" He was in front of her in a flash, a worried look in his eyes as she had spaced out and turned beet red. Startled, she stepped back, faking a cough.
"Oh… Oh dear! Ahem! I think… I think I forgot I had an assignment I had to do! See you later!" Practically running out of the room, she lambasted herself as she hurried away, shaking her head as she realised what a fool she must have looked, and how Eriol must have now believed she was utterly strange.
x-o-x
He opened his eyes to engage the sunlight that had filtered in the room, and looked to the other inhabitant of the bed. Fuck. Sakura. What on earth was he doing? Comforting her, just a child mixed up in all this mess. He studied her form for a moment before running a hand through chestnut locks, moving to hop off the bed and leaving the room in a swift movement.
Walking through the halls, he straightened the crumpled folds of his clothes and groaned, automatically walking toward his office and closing the door behind him with a slam. He looked to the ornate clock adorning his desk and gave a start when he saw that it was midday, he'd missed all of the morning.
Pouring himself a tumbler of amber liquid, he threw himself down into the chair, a contemplative look adorning his features. Midday… He groaned again and contemplated what the presence of Sakura was doing to him. She was invading his mind constantly, those emerald eyes and that look of horror on her face from the attack those nights ago. He sickened himself that he wanted to comfort her and make her feel better. He didn't have the time to waste becoming a love-struck teen in a flight of fancy, he had bigger things to concentrate on. As much as he had found himself wanting to help Sakura, as much as he found he wanted to talk to her and see her, which was alien to him, she was an unwelcome distraction at this time in his life.
-x-
"What are you suggesting we do next then? The hit from Jai was a direct warning; they're coming for anyone who we associate with. We're imprisoned within our on social circle at the moment, we can't go out and meet people, and we can't even let people who we acquaint with walk the streets without protection. He's upping his game."
Hiru sighed, putting his head in his hands with a troubled look on his face, he had many friends, from University, from the club scene, his family lived out there. Luckily for him, he didn't contact them much, having disowned him for being part of Li's gang. But he still cared for them and didn't want them coming to any harm.
"Look, we have to retaliate. It's what's expected of us. We can't let the rest of the town stand by and let him think he's won."
"I agree with Takashi. He's right, we'll be thought weak. At the school, at the club, the incident with Jai- we're already looking like we've fallen a step off the ladder." Samaya nodded, looking to the other men sat around the table for their views.
Silent, at the head of the table, sat Li. His call of a meeting was long overdue, from the cancelling of such after the attack on Sakura. He was staring blankly at each of them, unreadable to anyone who tried to contemplate what was going on in his mind.
"Hiru, what have we got downstairs? From your Russian contacts?"
"Grade A explosives, they'll easily drop anything to the ground within a 5 minute detonation. Perfect weapon. They won't shake the ground; they won't burst out, only up and down. Attach one to a scraper and the one next to it won't even flinch. Give you enough time to exit and get out of there before the deed is done."
Li seemed to mull this thought over, considering the other properties owned by the Mamba's in town. One in particular he knew would hit hard. But graduating to explosives from guns was a different ballgame- not that they hadn't before. But in such a day and age these attacks would attract not only local but global interest, and it would be all down to them. However, the town had the distinct ability to keep an ear to the ground on Gang incidents and prevent them from reaching the national press as to avert attention from the fact that it had become rife with the underground dealings.
"Then we hit Ingashu Tower, in two days. The Mamba's keep much of their weaponry there, we'll destroy it all." Hiru said, looking up the table to Li.
"No… I have better plans for Ingashu." He stood from the table, pacing back and forth in front of his seat. "We take the weaponry in Ingashu, that's going to be our move. But we're going to take something to the ground. Low grade, little fallout. Ingashu is too big, too noticeable and will attract more attention than necessary. We'll take down club Z, in a week… I have information that Mamba himself will be there next Friday night. We take that down, and at the same time whilst they are distracted we'll take what we can from Ingashu. The trade of weapons in and out of Tokyo is getting notoriously difficult, and whilst it's not a problem for us at the moment, one day it might be. I hear Mamba is wrangling with some Chinese experts at the moment who have developed some particularly high tech weaponry, and I want my hands on it before he gets use of it."
Everyone around the table nodded, seeming to contemplate the idea.
"So…" Eriol. "Whats the plan?"
-x-
They sat, humming together in the garden but very much alone in their thoughts. Tomoyo sat, staring at the pond with her feed dangling over the decking, contemplating her feelings for Eriol. That smile. Those eyes. She felt herself heat up, blushing to her roots as she thought of how far she'd fallen for him in the few days that she had known him.
She wasn't a stranger to male attention, but it was more the boys at her school giggling and calling her "fit", rather than Eriol and his chivalrous ways, his maturity and ability to know what she was thinking in a situation without a second glance.
Sakura, however, sat at the other end of the spectrum. Her thoughts of Li were muddled and confused, and she'd been very much awake when he had darted out of her room yesterday morning before avoiding her ever since. She had seen him pass her, eyes refusing to look her way once again. She hadn't cried in the night, almost feeling his warmth next to her. But today, when she awoke, the stark realisation that he had suddenly ditched her hit her full force and she had begun to ponder why. Li and his almost bipolar attitude were starting to get to her, mess with her head and feelings and she could barely take it any longer.
"Hey guys" A bright voice came from behind them both, knocking them out of their reverie. Meilin. They had met her once prior, her spunky personality and strange sense of humour caused Sakura some fear at first, but as she got used to the presence of her she had been the one who said hello to her and tried to give her a welcome. No doubt she had heard about Jai, but she didn't treat Sakura like a fragile doll. She was almost efficient in the way she maintained a constant persona around her, and for this she was grateful.
"Hey Meilin…" She sighed, shifting slightly to remove the numbness that had formed in her legs from dangling them into the water.
"What's with the faces?" Her eyes pierced into Sakura and then Tomoyo in turn, an eyebrow raised slightly as she flipped her dark hair over her shoulder.
"We're bored. We can't find anything to do. The guys are all in a meeting and we aren't allowed in certain areas of this place." Tomoyo sighed, amethyst eyes sparkling as she looked to Meilin.
"We're prisoners, basically." Sakura added, looking down and swirling her feet over a lilly pad beneath her.
"Don't be so silly, there's plenty you can do. In fact, there's something I've been meaning to show you." She grinned, pulling them both up by the arm with a giddy skip toward the house.
-x-
"Are you sure you won't get in trouble for this with us Meilin?" Tomoyo's voice was soft, but Sakura could hear the slight tremor in her words.
"No, you need this. You both know how to, it's just perfecting the skills."
The girls nodded and took their stances, ready for the beep from the speaker above their heads.
Beep
Several gunshots rang out, loud and clear to the three girls.
Reload
Fumbling of bullets, some dropping on the floor, a grin on one of the girls faces as she got ready to hit the button for the bleeper once more.
Beep
Another rain of gunshots. It carried on as Meilin pressed the buzzer, getting the two girls to stand, at times stiffer, softer, straighter, with less preparation, over and over again.
"Alright guys stop!"
Sweat was dripping from Sakura's head as she looked to Meilin, Tomoyo doing the same. Pressing another button she brought up the line of cardboard figures that they had been targeting, slowly but surely getting better until they got to the last of them.
"Well you aren't that bad…" Meilin inspected it closely, red eyes narrowed as she noted a particularly good head shot that Tomoyo had produced and one of Sakura's that would technically have gone straight through a jugular. She eventually smiled proudly, looking at them both, who didn't seem to know what to say.
"So you're no crack shot but at least you can hit people. Come on lets go again!" She smiled brightly as if enjoying her two protégés work, which both looked at her as if she'd gone out of her mind. Their arms ached and their ears felt like they had been shot.
"Meilinnnn!" Sakura moaned, looking at her and feeling that Meilin's idea of fun was actually slave driving her and Tomoyo, or turning them into her two little soldiers. She only giggled and winked at her, flicking the switch once more.
-x-
Four days later saw Sakura laid on the floor of her balcony, staring up at the sky. The past few days had basically involved Meilin's idea of fun, which was apparently turning her and Tomoyo into two little soldiers. As Meilin put it she had took it upon herself to teach them "self-defence". She was a taskmaster, driving hard into Tomoyo and Sakura that if they were back out there on the streets they were now being hunted by men that even trained gang members had fallen foul to, so she needed them to be crack shots and lithe and ready. Tomoyo had mastered various flips that Sakura had inputted on to Meilin's surprise, and Sakura had finally managed to account for quite a few headshots. Sparring had not necessarily been Sakura's idea of fun, which Tomoyo seemed to enjoy more than her which was quite surprising.
Her muscles ached as she stretched out once more, laying flush to the floor, her body crying out for another hot shower despite having one mere moments ago. She could see the grounds from where she lay, looking out over the manicured lawns and topiary, the decking and the pond covered in lilly pads. It was beautiful, with the soft din of the sun setting in the distance, setting the sky alight with hues of orange and red.
Her mind had fallen to Li once again by the time she moved her head back to staring at the sky, she hadn't seen him over the past few days. He was never there in the morning or the evening when she ventured down for some food, and her days had been spent with Meilin and Tomoyo. Yet, he had not come looking for her. Despite those moments they had shared, he had not bothered to come even see how her and Tomoyo were doing at training. That was if he was aware, which she had the smallest of feelings Meilin had kept him out of the loop. In a way, she wanted to see him and wanted to have it out with him, to voice these feelings that she had. Inside though, she feared that cold glare, those sharp words that he threw around in a heartbeat and the despair she would feel inside. He was acting as if he didn't know her, and she would dutifully keep out of his way until he decided that he wanted to speak to her. She felt bitter, the anger rising inside. Even if they weren't more than friends… Why could they not be friends? He was an emanation of everything she disliked at the moment, the gangster version of Li, not the kind consoling man who had helped her sleep at night.
In honesty she was angry. Angry because she couldn't detach herself from Li. When she thought about him he plagued her mind for hours, the mixture of feelings that came along with it. She felt suffocated knowing he was on the property all the time she was and that he made no effort to see her or talk. His presence, the presence of the others at the mansion, it hurt her. She longed to not feel for him, but at the moment she couldn't. But why not? She grimaced, her own internal war deciding that she would detach herself from Li, and she wanted this imprisonment at this house over. It would be puerile to go back to her home, but her clothes were running scarce and she needed them to move here. Tomoyo did too. Maybe they could go tomorrow for them and grab some shopping or coffee or do normal teenage things. She would ask Meilin.
-x-
The car lit up in the garage with a roar and burst of xenon lights from the silver chassis. She grinned, holding the fob in her hand like a precious jewel, feeling the excitement bubble inside her. Red eyes focused over the curve of the car, the large wheels, the jaguar statue placed upon the bonnet.
Next to her the auburn beauty sighed happily, and she knew she must be relieved to be able to visit her home and be free of the mansion. Tomoyo too it appeared looked happy at the fact, and Meilin could tell they were sick of the life they were currently leading.
"Before we go…" She said to the two, pulling from the back of her belt two firearms, handing them to each girl. Without flinching Sakura accepted hers, Tomoyo holding it like a delicate flower as she pushed it into her bag.
"Road trip!" Sakura grinned, climbing into the back seat as Tomoyo and Meilin took the two front. The garage doors rolled upwards and sunlight flooded in as they left the property, speeding down the road at unimaginable speeds as Meilin sang her heart out.
Sakura giggled throughout the journey, it felt almost normal. The girls were chatting, giggling and singing like normal teenagers and she felt at peace for the first time in a very long time. The slight wind from the windows pulled her hair backwards and she sighed as Tomoyo's home came into sight.
-x-
"Well, I don't know… He is so handsome."
"We've all seen how you look at him Tomoyo, I damn expect that you're going to be on that sooner than later…"
"Meilin!" The expression accompanied a horrified giggle as she covered her hand with her mouth, splashing her latte onto the table as she did so.
"What about you Sakura? Any eyes on the prizes back at home?"
Meilin's gaze turned to the honey haired girl, studying her features intently as she waited for the answer. She had heard of the altercations between her and her cousin and was intrigued if there was more to it, but with their persistent aversion to being around each other she was beginning to doubt her theory.
A frown briefly crossed Sakura's features as she looked into the liquid in front of her before looking back to Meilin. "No… No-one… I guess the guys juat aren't for me" She smiled wanly, looking to her two friends watching her intently.
"Oh… I heard you and Xiao Lang were having some problems at first… That ironed out now?"
"Pfft… Yeah, we don't talk. Stay out of one anothers way." Sakura swallowed painfully afterwards, her throat suddenly dry.
"I heard Laia has a thing for him you know… I hope he doesn't go there, she's a right royal bitch. I'd hate her to somehow wangle her way into the fold." Sakura's ears perked up at Meilin's admission. She had seen Laia around, never spoken to her. She had gorgeous blue eyes and long blonde hair, curves in the right places and a voice that was so feminine it made Tomoyo's tone look dour.
"Really? I didn't think he was the type to become involved" Tomoyo interjected, and for a second Sakura was sure that her eyes flickered to her.
"Depends… He's not really a relationship guy. But you know, he's a guy, and there are girls fawning all over men in the gang. It's not unusual that they'll sleep with their fair share of girls. Xiao Lang tends not to but I have heard rumours, and Laia is persistant…" She trailed off conspiratorially before her phone began to ring, and she grabbed it off the table with a grimace.
"Li Meilin."
"You have all of five seconds to explain your whereabouts before I come out there and drag you home myself."
"Ah… Dear cousin! I just went to pick up some things with Tomoyo and Sakura and grab a coffee… We're fine." Sakura froze at the realisation that Li was on the phone.
"You know you shouldn't be about without some of the guys, Meilin will you ever stop being so irresponsible?"
"Shut up Xiao Lang, what do you expect, us all to sit in the house all day?"
"If it suits you. Be back within the hour."
She sighed, clicking the phone off and sending the other two an apologetic look before flicking money onto the table and making for their leave.
-x-
The three of them sat around the small round table, legs crossed and eyes intent upon the items in front of them.
"Twist" A voice said, snapping the other two's eyes to the table.
A nod, a shuffle, a flick of a card.
"Stick."
"Blackjack." A grin as another shot was poured into each of the three glasses, clinking them together before the burn ran down their necks.
"Sakura! No fair!" Tomoyo was giggling incessantly by this point, several cards floundering around her as she stood to stretch her stiff legs.
They had been sat for hours playing blackjack. After reaching home, they had each retired to pack away their things and shower. They were now sat in the living room at the back, a bottle of vodka placed in the middle of the circular table as they played for shots. Sakura and Tomoyo were definitely no professional drinkers and had been giggling the entirety of the game through various shots. They never even really drank, but they were so bored. It was fun to be able to just relax and have a laugh together. It was late and most of the house was empty, either people in other rooms or in their own, even out if they needed to. The room was mostly dark apart from the small lamp they were using for light.
"Hey… there's Laia…" Meilin suddenly whispered, her slightly glazed eyes focusing right to the other end of the room and through the doorway to the kitchen as she watched her blonde head disappear. However, not more than a moment later, another figure followed her in.
All three girls gasped, Meilin immediately making to stand. "Xiao Lang!" She clapped her hand to her mouth, looking at her friends with wide eyes. "Surely not!?"
Sakura felt her heart plummet like a stone, suddenly squeezing her eyes shut and blinking furiously. That fucking rat! Her inner voice screeched. She should have known. The tears threatened to prick at her eyes but she refused to let them spill, considering through her head how much she suddenly hated Li. And Laia. Her beautiful long blonde hair, her perfect long legs… Everything she wasn't. She was a supermodel and Sakura was a pauper. Angrily she grabbed the bottle and took a long swig from it, the alcohol burning her neck as she looked at the girls.
"What do we do?!" Tomoyo whispered.
"My cousin is NOT going near her!" Meilin fiercely whispered back, her mind trying to consider what they should do about the presented situation. Shaking her head, Sakura stood too, dropping the bottle to the floor unceremoniously and uttering a profanity as it clunked on the carpet.
All three stared at it like an alien, realising they were about to be discovered. She heard the flicker of the light switch and all three girls looked up into the face of Syaoran and Laia.
"What the fuck are you three doing?!" He boomed, Laia beside him with a smirk on her face, slightly skewed hair and a few buttons missing from the skirt that was wrapped around her form.
Disgusted, Sakura looked away, catching the knowing look of Meilin. She knew how she was feeling. Betrayed. Hurt. Not good enough. Without further word, Meilin walked out to him, but as she reached him, simply shoved aside Laia to exit, Sakura and Tomoyo following behind her.
AN:
There we go! Such a long time coming I know and I can't apologise enough but I realised I had to give you something. So this is my apology! Sorry! xxxx