24
by Aspirator
At the Eighth Hour
7:02
Takashi's hands flew across the translucent white surface as he typed on the screen keyboard, his concentrated brown eyes focused on the holographic screen in front of him. Words flew from left to right, line after line of sentences and paragraphs formed.
Beside him, Chiharu and Naoko scrolled through other holographic screen in search within the Renege database.
"What about this?" Chiharu spoke up, flicking her fingers so that the content that was on the white table in front of her moved upwards into a holographic screen. She held it with her hand like a sheet of paper, pulling it over to her left so Takashi could see.
He glanced over the chart within a second, then he turned back to his own screen. He skimmed over his own words, contemplating the information. Finally, he responded to Chiharu's expectant look with a shake of his head. "It doesn't support my argument."
Chiharu wordlessly closed the holographic window and focused back on her search in the Renege files.
On Takashi's left side, Naoko's eyes shifted quickly as she looked over her own version of Takashi's screen. She watched live as Takashi typed. She fixed spelling errors, reworded a few sentences, deleted others. She always made sure to keep a sentence or two behind Takashi.
And so they worked studiously, to the curiosity of the other Renege members.
7:07
The commander and scientist sat across each other in a plain office. At first glance, there was nothing telling about the heavy topic of the meeting. The commander sat stiffly with a guarded face and a straight back. The scientist, on the other hand, sat comfortably with his hands clasped in his lap.
"You can't kill the Variant, Yue." The scientist was calm, but there was an underlying urgent tone in his voice. "She is the last Variant on planet Earth. Do you realize the meaning of that?"
"Meanings don't matter, Fujiwara." Since the scientist had let go of honorifics, Yue had let go of the man's Doctor title. "Big Brother wants her eliminated. She's a threat."
"To the commonwealth?" The scientist scoffed.
"It threatens the system." Yue spoke in slight annoyance, as if bothered by the fact that he had to explain such a simple idea. "The egalitarian facade."
"Everything threatens the egalitarian facade. It's weak." Only he could've stated such treacherous phrases and not glance around him in paranoia. "It's based on trust and ironically built on lies." His flat blue eyes focused back on Yue's emotionless silver ones. "But this is not a political debate. This is about the Variant. You can't -"
"Dr. Fujiwara," Yue cut in with a dangerous tone, "Are you asking me to betray Big Brother?"
The old man was more patient. He breathed in deeply, letting a moment of silence follow Yue's demand. Finally, he spoke up slowly, "Do you understand why you can't kill her?"
"Don't answer my question with a question."
The scientist didn't flinch at the commander's sharp tone. He levelled the commander's glare easily. Then, he stood up, a definitive tone lining his voice as he spoke politely, "Yue, come with me, if you please."
7:14
"Hey! There you People are!" the cheerful Renege leader waved at the Cavalry with his entire arm, stopping to stand in front of them with a bright grin. "We set up another room for you five. There's two beds in there," he gestured to the room Sakura was first occupying, "and three beds in the new room, right there." He then pointed out the room right next to the old one. He shrugged as he turned back to the team, "If you want to negotiate who's wher-"
"I'll room with Tomoyo." Meiling volunteered quickly.
"I'm more comfortable with Tomoyo, as well." Eriol calmly smiled.
"Us three," Tomoyo gestured to her left and right, where Meiling and Eriol stood, "then Syaoran and Sakura in one room." Syaoran swears Tomoyo had a little twinkle in her eyes and a mischievous turn to her lips as she said, "How perfect."
Syaoran sent a glare her way, then peeked at Sakura's expression. It was unreadable, but for Syaoran's practiced eye, he spotted a trace of panic in her wide Emerald orbs.
"Oh- okay then! I guess that's settled." Yukito clapped his hands together in glee. "Where've you people been, anyway?"
"Around." It was Syaoran who answered, and the Cavalry members quickly picked up on his vague tone. Though the Cavalry bickered often, they stick to each other.
Eriol shrugged. Tomoyo and Meiling looked at each other, then back at Yukito with unreadable expressions. And Sakura just smiled at Yukito.
"Uh. Okay." Yukito nodded professionally. He lightened his tone, deciding to focus on the positives. "Better around, I guess, than the Enforcer's headquarters or something." He laughed awkwardly after his statement.
Syaoran gave him a dry look. Sakura only smiled and nodded. Eriol chuckled.
"Yeah. Ha ha." Meiling laughed along unenthusiastically.
Yukito glanced at the five again. "Right. So anyway, Carlisle's waking up around this time," Yukito nodded professionally again. "so during the day you all can mingle and go… 'around' again, huh?"
"Yeah." Syaoran answered boredly, turning to head to his room. The rest of the Cavalry trailed after him.
"Thanks, Yukito." Sakura politely ended the conversation in her soft voice.
Eriol smiled politely at his friend, wishing to reassure the Renege leader that the Cavalry will open up to him eventually, but knew he was going to miss some excitement if he didn't follow after his Cavalry members.
7:19
"I want no part of this." Rika Sasaki, who held a high position within the publishing firm, stated firmly to the three Renege members sitting in front of him. She shifted uncomfortably, glancing around at the other rebels before re-focusing back on Takashi's gaze. "I don't want my reputation tarnished, I don't want this to bite me in the ass later. I do not want to be connected to any of this."
"You don't have to be." Takashi responded easily. "We'll make sure your name will be miles from trouble and our mischievous plans." Though he meant the last part jokingly, none of the others showed signs of humor.
Rika stared at him some more; biting her lip, her hands in her lap.
Takashi knew she was considering her options in her head. He leaned forward, quietly and very clearly explaining, "listen, Rika...The Renege has always been planning for something, am I wrong?" Rika showed no signs of dissent. Takashi continued, "You all want something to happen. Obviously, none of the plans work. So we're starting small. Uh, like the Snowball Effect: Start with something small and let it gain momentum." Rika nodded slightly. Takashi straightened his back. This is a good sign. "This is small. It's almost harmless. It's just a little article with proof of our theory. All we need is access so we can publish it. That's it." The accused pathological liar paused here.
Takashi glanced to his left and right, Naoko and Chiharu who sat beside him, but they offered no support. They, too, were listening intently.
Takashi took a deep breath. Then he continued, for the benefit of all three women listening to him, "You have to understand how important this is. First, this will weed out the people that agree with us but aren't part of the Renege. Second, this will get the word out there. This is exposure - no, education for the People. So that those who live in their little bubble and don't see what we do, well, we can show them what we see." He paused again, for effect, and for his words to sink in with the women. "Third and last, this is passive. There's no harm out of this - to the People, anyway. People can agree, they can disagree, they can toss it aside and not think about it, they can think about it...no one is being forced to do anything. This way - this plan gives People the liberty to believe what they want and support who they want."
Chiharu and Naoko were starting to nod along with him as they listened. Both turned to Rika, who shifted her eyes between the three rebels.
Rika let out a slow, long breath. She gathered her thoughts for a moment, waiting a long minute before responding. "Takashi...they were right. You are a convincing person. I…" She bit her lip, letting her eyes travel across the cavern, from table to table, rebel to rebel. "I understand." She locked gazed with Takashi, backing up her words with the strength in her eyes. "I understand, but I don't think I'm willing to take that big of a risk yet."
Takashi let out a sharp exhale, but he kept his expression open. He nodded, muttering, "it's okay - it's okay, I guess - I mean, this is really - it's an opportunity for you -"
"Listen," Rika cut him off, pulling out her authoritative voice. She paused for a quick second before continuing in her normal, soft tone. "I may not be willing to take the risk, but I do not want to prevent you," and she shifted her eyes to Chiharu's and Naoko's eyes before returning back to Takashi's. "from taking the risk and maybe doing something...amazing." She ended her sentence with a meaningful nod. Then, wordlessly, she slipped a paper thin card across the table.
Takashi watched the card slide with wide, eager eyes. Unable to prevent the grin with invading the bottom half of his face, he barely contained his excitement as he gushed, "thank you, thank you-"
Rika held up her palm smoothly, cutting him off again. With a warning gaze and an equally warning tone, she voiced, "Like I said, I do not want this to come back to me. No connection to me whatsoever. If an investigation is commenced, I was unaware of all this happening. You stole my access card to publish the article, or I lost it and you picked it up and saw your opportunity, whatever."
Takashi nodded eagerly, grateful 'thank you's rushing out of his mouth.
Rika nodded at him briefly, then glanced over at Chiharu and Takashi, before standing up and walking gracefully away.
7:27
The rest of the Cavalry piled in a line against the wall. Before the pair could start their verbal match, Eriol quietly motioned towards the closed door, "Tomoyo, if you'll help me."
Wordlessly, Tomoyo waved her right arm in an upwards motion at the door, her eyebrows furrowing in concentration. Eriol, too, had his gaze concentrated on the closed door. The air rippled for a moment before settling again. They had effectively soundproofed the room by freezing all molecules passing through the door so that soundwaves couldn't escape.
As soon as the two members of the Cavalry, relaxed against the wall again. Syaoran whirled around at Sakura, blowing up at her, "What the hell did you think you were doing?!"
Sakura opened her mouth, looking ready to defend herself, but Syaoran wasn't done. He ran an irritated hand through his Chestnut locks, effectively messing up his hair, continuing, "Taking a Cavalry's place? Running around Enforcer's headquarters? Throwing around magic like they were fucking-" Syaoran struggled for words, "I don't know, water?!" Because they had an abundance of water in the Commonwealth. "You," Syaoran was gritting through his teeth now, looking ready to strangle her, "and your reckless tendency to save everyone but your goddamn self!"
Quietly, Meiling tilted her head to comment to Eriol, "I can't say I've never seen Syaoran so heated."
"Maybe one day he'll channel it into positive energy." Eriol may have quirked a smile as Meiling laughed, but he was being completely serious.
7:30
The walk was completely and utterly silent. They were walking towards the research and technology half of the Enforcer's headquarters...and through several restricted sections even Yue himself hadn't seen.
Yue didn't mind the silence, no, he embraced silence. It was the man shuffling alongside him that gave him the goosebumps. Ever since their first meeting, there had always been something about Dr. Fujiwara that told Yue he wasn't to be trusted. Every time he was around, Yue felt the need to be on guard, watch his words - even his actions.
Already in unfamiliar territory, Yue let his eye wander. Except there wasn't much to see. The hallways were plain white, with barely imperceptible doors. One thing the commander knew for sure was that there were cameras and security precautions everywhere.
Finally, they approached a plain white wall at the end of one hallway - as identical as the rest - where Dr. Fujiwara paused. The scientist turned to an emotionless Yue with an alarmingly threatening expression. Conversely, his tone was soft and even, "Understand that from this point on, what happens here, stays here. What's spoken here, stays here. Only three have ever stepped foot inside. I, Kaho Mizuki, and you." His cold blue eyes hardened as they focused on Yue's silver ones for a long moment.
Yue nodded, but soon realized the scientist was expecting an answer. Keeping his expression neutral, Yue stated clearly, "I understand." But he didn't really, because they were both looking at a plain white wall.
Dr. Fujiwara looked at him for a moment longer before finally turning back to the wall with a satisfied nod. Wordlessly, he placed his hand on the direct center of the wall. Then he looked up, and so did Yue.
The only noise being a single beep, a white rectangular part of the ceiling slid away to reveal a rectangular black lens. Through those lens, the machine first scanned Dr. Fujiwara's entire body, then Yue's. A robotic voice seemingly coming from the walls droned, "Dr. Tenorio S. Fujiwara, permission granted. Commander T. Yue, permission not granted."
"I grant permission for Commander Yue." Dr. Fujiwara immediately stated, apparently to the blank wall in front of them.
Yue glanced back down the hallway they had come from. There was no other sign of life.
There was a pause while the white ceiling slab slid back into place. Then the robotic voice from the wall stated, "Commander T. Yue, permission granted via Chief Researcher Dr. Tenorio S. Fujiwara."
A thin crack in the wall split in front of Yue's eyes, the white concrete walls sliding apart with a smooth tsss. Dr. Fujiwara stepped nonchalantly down the short flight of metal stairs, and Yue followed right behind him, quickly composing himself.
With each step forward, Dr. Fujiwara activated some sort of motion sensor light, illuminating the large lab. The walls were covered in aluminum and steel, some even had another layer of porous metal. The floor was smooth charcoal marble, both men's steps echoing with each stride.
The scientist was the first to speak up again, "Do you know where we get magic from to distribute to our citizens?"
Yue paused, reluctantly admitting, "no." He had a feeling he didn't want to know. But he had already crossed that line.
"We get them from Variants." As the last word slipped out of the scientist's mouth, he stepped down into another set of stairs. Only this one was three steps, and the moment Dr. Fujiwara's foot landed on the bottom, the entire section lit up.
Right behind the scientist, Yue froze on the second step, his eyes soaking in the scene. Slowly and heavily, he stepped down onto the bottom floor. "This…" The commander looked searchingly at the scientist, who was already sitting down at a silver lab desk cluttered with tools, keyboards, and four holographic screen floating just at his eye level. The commander paced slowly into the lit area, finding his voice again. "So this is what all the secrecy is about."
It was a large circular area, complete with scattered lab desks and holographic screens all around the circumference of the central circular lab. But that wasn't what caught the commander's attention. In the direct center was a cryogenic corpse of the last Variant they caught.
Yue didn't know his name, but he didn't need to. He knew who he was. The Level Fifteen at Granatopolis.
He floated within a cylindrical cell that preserved his body, with dozens of colorful tubes, wires, and machines hanging off of it. In fact, the five meter radius around the cylinder was populated by various machines, floating holographic screens, and even holographs of certain body chemicals.
There was a small three meter wide walking space between that and the rest of the circular area where the lab tables and other research tools were located. The scientist sat at one of the desks closer to the staircase where Yue stood.
Dr. Fujiwara watched Yue's reaction with a sort of satisfied smugness. "Producing magical energy for the Variants is like photosynthesis for plants. They produce it as long as their blood is running through their veins. Now," he clasps his hands together, adopting a voice most teachers use to explain new concepts. "From what we've gotten enough so far from past Variants, it appears that their energy will produce for some time until their blood veins eventually freeze from lack of oxygen postmortem. This is why citizens have so little magic. We don't have that much in the first place, plus we lose some energy in the conversation process from primary body vessel to secondary -" Yue looks at him impatiently. "Right, you don't need the specifics. Essentially, we've tried producing our own magic, or something similar, but we're not quite sure how it all works. Our research area into Variants is still very small considering we never got one alive."
"They're hard enough to catch dead." Yue grumbled.
"Yes, I know about Granatopolis." The scientist stated nonchalantly, eyes sweeping over his research and work. "But that was Commander Shaw's fault. It was bad planning. I believe you are much more intelligent than that."
Yue pinned his inquiring gaze on the scientist, his spine stiffening. "You don't have access to that kind of classified information as a researcher." It was a statement, not a question.
The scientist didn't answer. Rather, he looked back at the floating holographic screens boredly. After a deliberate pause, he spoke up, "Commander, now that you understand the nature of the situation, are you ready to reconsider my request?"
7:32
"My reckless tendencies found Kero!" Sakura had screamed back at Syaoran. Completely ignoring the man at this point, she paced the room. She was barely breathing as she poured out all of the turmoil in her head to her Cavalry friends. "The commander knows we were at Granatopolis. Or at least me. He recognized me. He was the one that dropped the bomb!" Sakura ranted, pulling at her hair stressfully. "He knows! If he knows I was there - then he knows there were survivors - and - Big Brother knows - and - and he has Kero. He must've captured Kero at Granatopolis -" Sakura whirled around to meet Tomoyo's eye, looking for confirmation, "that's where we last saw him, right?"
"We shouldn't jump to conclusions." Tomoyo answered wisely.
"He has Kero." Sakura emphasized, stomping her foot. "I saw Kero in-in -"
"Was it a prison cell?" Tomoyo softly asked.
"...no." Definitely not. "But - they could be pampering him for...I don't know. It was big, and there were machines, beakers, lab tables - it was a lab."
"Kero did set up that force field." Eriol stated as a matter of fact.
"They're using him!" Sakura raised her hand to physically throw out the idea.
Tomoyo opened her mouth to reiterate that they shouldn't jump to conclusions, but Syaoran beat her to it. "Wait a second," Syaoran stepped closer, "you replaced Tomoyo so you could get in the Enforcer's headquarters to break free and just run around looking for our little magical friend that we're not even sure is in the Enforcer's headquarters in the first place?"
Sakura hated when Syaoran sees right through her. "I - well - now we know he's there!" Sakura fumbled for a response, crossing her arms stubbornly. "And I had to make sure he was okay!"
"Damn hero-complex." Syaoran growled, dragging a hand down his face. "We had to go back in there to get you, you know that?"
"I could've gotten myself out!"
"Oh really?" Syaoran scowled, crossing his arms to mirror her stance. "What were you going to do? Freeze the entire Enforcer army? You'll faint before you make it to the goddamn doors."
Sakura set her jaw, refusing to answer him. She only pulled her crossed arms tighter and huffed.
Nevermind her silence, Syaoran could go on preaching to her. "You were so close to-" Syaoran cut himself off before he could launch into another heated speech. He clenched and unclenched his hands, pacing about the room. Then he whirled to glare at Sakura, "The commander could've killed you! He could've - you know what you are!"
"What I am?!" Sakura repeated incredulously, marching up to Syaoran exuding a mixture of hurt and anger. "It's not a disease, Syaoran!"
"You know I didn't mean it like that, Sakura." Syaoran used that quiet, modest tone of his. Yes, Sakura knew. He, too, strode forward so they faced each other, but he kept his distance. "What are you trying to prove?"
"I'm not trying to prove anything!" Sakura agitated response didn't help her case.
Syaoran wasn't convinced, nor was he keeping his cool. HIs voice rose considerably as he continued, "You take Tomoyo's place, without a plan, trying to save the day or some stupid - then you throw your magic everywhere like it's going to solve everything - What are you trying to prove, huh?"
Sakura's hands clenched into fists by her side as she tilted her chin upwards to send Syaoran a strong glare. "So what if I take Tomoyo's place? So what if I use my magic to fight? I'm not weak!"
"I never said you were." Syaoran levelled her look with a steady, confident gaze. "Nobody here thinks you're weak."
Sakura swallowed thickly. "I...I...what's it to you, anyway? Why do you care?"
It wasn't like Syaoran was going to answer, so Eriol meddled, "It's just his way of saying he's worried about you."
Syaoran reacted quickly by whirling around to glare hard at the other Cavalry male. "I'm not worried about her!"
"Then what are you saying?" Tomoyo lightly asked.
"I'm just - I was just - ugh!" Syaoran stuttered and stumbled. Finally, he just turned around to face a confused Sakura again. "What kind of - just walking into the Enforcer's headquarters like that - You dropped yourself straight into - what does Eriol call it? - the tiger's den!"
"It's lion. Lion's den." Eriol cheekily corrected.
"Yeah, that! You just volunteered to come face to face with death for what? For a little magical fucking -"
"The only magical creature on Earth!"
Eriol, surprisingly, interjected again. Shaking his head, he spoke up, "actually, history dictates that-"
"NOT NOW, ERIOL!" Both Sakura and Syaoran screamed at Eriol.
At least Syaoran was the first to put in his word after their synchronised yell. "You're an idiot!"
"Oh, that sounds like concern." Sakura sarcastically called over his shoulder at Eriol, then returning, "I'm the idiot? I'm the reason you got out of that torture chamber in the first place!"
"That was brilliant, by the way," Eriol put in, "freezing our cuffs and all."
"Thank you," Sakura tilted her head slightly, smiling sweetly at the history-enthusiast, "Eriol." She turned back to Syaoran with a pointed look.
"You shouldn't be using magic in the first place!" Syaoran yelled back at her.
"Unbelievable!" Sakura threw up her arms, then threw them down as she tilted her chin up to look at Syaoran properly. "I can't ever please you, can I?"
Syaoran stepped closer, his voice suddenly low, "Why would you want to?"
Sakura opened her mouth then closed it. There was a long moment of silence as the pair locked gazes. Whatever the two saw in each other's eyes, apparently they both agreed on it.
Simultaneously, the pair reached for each other. Sakura's hand trailed up his cheek then wound around his neck as the other hand was lost in his silk-smooth hair. Syaoran gathered her in, his arm pulling at her waist desperately, crushing her close to him.
Meiling's mouth dropped open, Eriol blinked in surprise, and even Tomoyo's lips parted slightly.
The pair engaged in a chaste, passionate kiss. For one quick moment, nothing else mattered. It was just Syaoran and Sakura. It was as if all the years they spent apart came crashing like a wave over them as they pushed themselves at each other passionately. And again, it came like a wave as Syaoran breathed Sakura in deeply. They were just diving in, letting their hearts win, for once.
"That..." Eriol shifted his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose, always one to put in his word, "...escalated quickly."
But it was short lived. Syaoran mind surfaced over his heart, again, as he abruptly let Sakura go. She stumbled, back, letting go of his head and grabbing onto his shirt for balance. They were both breathless, and for a short second, they stood there staring at each other. Her bright Emerald eyes wide. And his intense amber eyes a dark golden hue. Syaoran stepped back once more, and Sakura let go of his shirt.
Breathlessly, Syaoran didn't look at her as he uttered barely above a whisper, "what am I doing?" In a whirlwind, he was out the door, out of sight.
7:33
Yue turned the scientist's words over in his head. Finally, he voiced in clarification, "You want me to get her alive so she could be your lab rat?"
"Yue." The scientist shook his head at the brute way Yue phrased his request. "You understand why we need Variants now, don't you? The Variant is the last person on Earth left who can produce her own magical energy. We need her." He taps the machine. He walks over and looks at some charts. "The People need her. People like their little bit of magic, Yue. If we take it from them," he shakes his head, "it will not be pretty. The Commonwealth is going to collapse on itself."
7:36
"What's going on here?"
Takashi, Naoko, and Chiharu jumped at the voice, turning around to meet the inquiring gaze of Yukito. Both his eyebrows raised at their reaction. He stuffed the donut in his hand back in its paper bag, folding it over, and setting it down at the corner of the table.
The trio watched the Renege leader as he walked around the table so he stood across from them. His expression turned completely serious as he sat down. He pulled the floating holographic screens that separated them down so that they sat perfectly flat on the table and out of the way. "I heard some concerning comments about you three." He paused, watching the three's reactions. Especially Naoko's downcast chin and Chiharu's bit lip and shifty eyes. Takashi on the other hand was completely composed, looking right back at him steadily. Yukito shifted his gaze back to Chiharu. "Like you are about to do something dangerous."
"I don't think it's dangerous." Takashi immediately responded.
Chiharu made a humming noise, glancing sideways at Takashi.
Yukito raised his eyebrows again. "You have a lie detector sitting next to you, Takashi. I would watch what I say."
Takashi smiled, "yes, Chiharu is sitting next to me, and she was right. Maybe I think it's a little dangerous, but it's only a small article."
Chiharu coughed.
"A small but significant article." Takashi corrected, glancing sideways at Chiharu. The woman didn't meet his eyes.
Yukito sighed. He leaned forward slowly, his eyes shifting constantly between the three. "Listen, no matter how small, how big - no matter the magnitude, as long as it hints of rebellion against the government-"
Takashi immediately cut in, "It doesn't-"
But Yukito quelled him with a look. It's no wonder he became leader of this group, he had a natural talent for leadership. "There's a reality you need to face, Takashi. And you two, Chiharu and Naoko, need to listen carefully to this. We can look on the bright side all we want but we need to understand the reality here. Once you get the article out there - not even - once you step out into Carlisle city with that article in your hand, you're in danger. Rule number one -"
"Big brother is everywhere." Naoko monotonously recited.
"Yes." Yukito nodded, "the Enforcers will find out and they will find you. Now matter how clever your scheme, how encrypted your codes, they will find you. You don't want to know what happens after that."
Seeing that the Renege leader has finished what he needed to say, Takashi spoke up, "This is just a little, harmless article that'll get the idea out there -"
"That's the problem, Takashi." Yukito cut in gently. "Ideas can be threats to the government too." Seeing Takashi's disagreeable look, the Renege leader continued in an amiable tone. "I'm not trying to stop you, Takashi. I'm just telling you the situation here. I don't want you," and his eyes shifted to Naoko and Chiharu, "to be blindsided when you go out there. I just want you to understand the reality of the situation you're going into, here. Alright?"
Takashi nodded, his steady gaze never faltering. "I'm willing to take the risk."
Soft grey eyes locked in on steady mahogany ones. After a moment, Yukito nodded, "so be it." He glanced at Chiharu, then Naoko, "what about you two?" Here was their chance to back out.
The Renege leader was met with silence.
Yukito sighed, looking between the three. His eyes then returned back to Chiharu. Quietly and politely, he requested, "Chiharu, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Chiharu nodded, "sure." And the two stood up, walking away from Naoko and Takashi. Though both followed the Renege leader and rebel with their eyes, they made no motion to attempt eavesdrop.
As soon as Yukito believed they were far enough away, he rounded on Chiharu. Quietly, he gently asked, "Are you sure this guy is trustworthy? He's asking you to participate in something dangerous."
"But it's something." Chiharu emphasized, mimicking his quiet, near-whisper tone, "we're finally acting, doing something. For once!"
"Chiharu…" The Renege leader sighed. "Yes, we are. We are," he agreed, and Chiharu knew a 'but' was coming. "But it has a price. Remember, rule number ten -"
"Everything has a price." Chiharu quoted, nodding. "Yes, I know."
"Do you?" Yukito questioned softly, his soft grey eyes searching Chiharu's. "Do you, Chiharu? I'm concerned for your safety. You have a future, Chiharu. I don't want…" He glanced back at Takashi's figure.
"We'll be careful." Chiharu reassured him.
"Careful isn't going to be enough." Yukito retorted seriously.
The two locked eyes for a long moment, until Yukito sighed. He tilted his head back towards Takashi's and Naoko's general direction. "Alright, go - but -" Yukito stopped Chiharu's already turning figure, "be more than careful. I mean it, Chiharu. You have a life ahead of you, you don't want to ruin that."
Chiharu nodded at Yukito with a sincere smile.
7:38
Sakura was still catching her breath, staring out the door in a pained expression. Dazedly, she backed up until the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed. Slowly, she sat down, staring blankly at the opposite wall.
Meiling glanced at Eriol, but he was already silently communicating with Tomoyo. Tomoyo nodded at Eriol. Taking the cue, Eriol squared his shoulders and walked out the door, following after Syaoran's path. Then, the responsible Cavalry member smiled faintly at Meiling, gently tilting her head towards the door.
"I'll go find something to do." Meiling quietly muttered, passing a grateful Tomoyo and closing the door behind her.
Gently, Tomoyo sank down on the bed next to Sakura. The only noise between them was the quiet inhale and exhale of breath. Then, Tomoyo spoke up softly, "Why couldn't you have teleported yourself out, Sakura?"
Sakura looked at her, pondering the question for a long moment. With a weary gaze in her vivid Emerald eyes, she answered, "I didn't want to run anymore."
"Sakura," Tomoyo breathed heavily, choosing her next words wisely. "The moment you stop running is the moment the People start accepting Variants."
Sakura didn't answer. She looked down at her toes. There was another long moment before she finally spoke up. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I don't understand him."
"Who does?" Tomoyo answered with a small smile. She shifted, causing the bed to shift a little also. "Sakura...you didn't expect everything to go back to normal when you called us back, did you? It's been years, Sakura. And you just...you up and disappeared on us last time. You didn't expect us to -"
"No, no. I just…I don't know what I expected." Sakura looked at Tomoyo's soft, comforting Amethyst eyes. "I guess, maybe how you and Eriol are now. A professional, polite distance." She laughed lightly as she looked away again. "Yeah, I noticed. Of course we're not gonna just go back to normal like those few years hadn't happened. But Syaoran..."
"With Syaoran," Tomoyo swung her legs a little, again, choosing her words wisely. "All common sense goes out the window when it comes to you, Sakura."
7:41
Naoko scanned the article one last time - her umpteenth proofread. She tilted her chin downwards barely a centimeter at Takashi, who saw her stiff movements with concern. First, however, the journalist stored the articled in a tiny microdrive, a storage device the size of his thumb.
Then he turned to his editor with his full attention. "Naoko, is something bothering you?"
She didn't answer at first, hiding behind her bangs. Then she swallowed thickly. "I just...I don't think…"
"What is it?" Takashi gently urged her.
There was an excruciating pause as Naoko worked up her nerve. In a small voice, she stated, "I don't know about this."
Takashi blinked. He glanced at Chiharu, who coincidentally glanced at him. Then he turned to Naoko. "It was something Yukito said, wasn't it?"
Naoko didn't answer, but the way she averted her eyes answered for him. "Maybe-Maybe he's right…the world's not ready."
"The world's not ready, or you're not ready?" Takashi retorted, his ever firm gaze on Naoko, sending her a meaningful look.
At that, Naoko looked up at Takashi through her thick frames, her bangs no longer hiding her eyes. She was terrified.
Takashi turned around to fix his jacket, pocketing the microdrive. In a subdued voice, he stated, "it's okay. You don't have to be a part of this. I won't force you to do anything."
Naoko hesitated, shifting her feet while she stared at Takashi's back. Then she looked at Chiharu, who didn't meet her eyes.
Quietly, she shuffled away, glancing over her shoulder intermittently.
There was a long moment of tense silence.
Finally, Takashi looked up to meet Chiharu's eyes.
He didn't have to say anything. She did.
"I'm with you."
7:45
Eriol knew he wasn't going to be heard if he had tried to counsel Syaoran like he knew Tomoyo was to Sakura. But there was something he saw back there, an irrational fear that surfaced during Syaoran's argument that he wanted to confirm.
"Syaoran." Eriol called out seriously, quickly shifting his feet to cut off the other man's path. Those frustrated Amber orbs focused on his sharp azure ones. "What did you see in the fear simulation?"
The reaction was immediate. Syaoran's jaw clicked, his eyes flashed to a bright yellow flame for a quick second. "That's none of your business." He snapped, turning to stalk away.
"As I thought." Eriol lowered his chin, his suspicions already confirmed by Syaoran's tiniest muscle twitches.
7:49
"Can't you glean enough magical energy from her dead body?" Yue asked with a reluctant frown.
The scientist's flat blue eyes flashed in momentary annoyance up at Yue's silver ones. But he composed himself quickly. "I suppose, yes, to last us another decade. What then?" He shakes his head. "We're not going to have this forever. We'll run out eventually."
"She'll die eventually."
"Yes, but not before we've really researched deeply into how magic is produced. Is it some sort of mutation that makes a Variant? How does that mutation affect their body chemistry? You understand?" The scientist sat down again, "And not before we store a lot more of her magic during her lifetime."
Yue paused considering this. "If I let her live, even if it is becoming your lab rat, I will still be betraying Big Brother." And he's seen the consequences of that: complete demolition of his mind, body, and soul.
Much like how he had dealt with everything else, the scientist was calm, poised, and didn't miss a beat. "Everybody has choices to make, Yue."
9:00
A/N: (Blimey, this chapter was LONG!) Hopefully, this clears up the muddle over Syaoran; showing that he doesn't hate her, he's just really conflicted over her. And Sakura is just so confused, as we all are now.
And also I casually addressed a plot hole that has bothered me since chapter two. Thankfully, nobody else caught it - or called me out on it.