AN: Sorry about the wait. My beta dropped off the face of the earth so I got a new one. Thanks to Inazuma Akai for her work.

Chapter 15: The Tournament

"Hurry up! We're going to be late." Sakura urged Syaoran.

"Why do we have to go." Syaoran complained as he emerged in his ceremonial battle outfit. Sakura was already wearing one of the outfits that the Li family had provided for her. "I'd rather just stay home with you."

Syaoran had immensely enjoyed the past few days. Sakura had finally stopped holding back and was allowing him to show his affections in whatever ways he wanted. He had been clean for long enough that he barely felt any urge for drugs and he could easily resist it for her. It was like the whole thing had never happened.

"It's Meiling's first student's big tournament. She needs out support. Maybe you can even give Ryuuten some advice. Besides, she got us in at ringside with her. We can't not go." She grabbed the hand of his good arm and began dragging him out to the hallway.

Wei was waiting for them when they got downstairs and drove the two of them to the arena where the tournament was being held. The stadium was packed with people who had come to watch the fights. Sakura and Syaoran avoided the lines and went to a service entrance where, after seeing their passes, a stadium employee let them in.

Inside, there were actually three rings set up for the initial stages of the tournament. All three would be used during the elimination rounds, but the finals would be held in the center ring. Above them, the stadium seating rose up in two tiers, a lower level and a suspended level with balconies and boxes. The seats were filling up fast. Around the fighting rings, series of low wooden benches were set up for the contestants and their trainers to use between their matches.

After a bit of searching, they found Meiling and Ryuuten sitting on a bench in a corner. Tsumeguchi Kagetora was with them, but other than that, there were no other representatives of the dojo there. Ryuuten was the only one who was competing.

The other benches seemed as if each one was dedicated to a specific school or dojo. Most were packed, as if having many fighters was the sole deciding factor in the fights. Only a few benches contained just one or two people, but each of thesel seemed like they were opponents to be taken seriously.

The girl on the next bench was different from the rest though. She had a slighter build than the majority of contestants, and did not have anyone there to sponsor or support her. She looked like she was probably a foreign competitor.

"Just remember what I taught you." Meiling told Ryuuten, "You can do it." She helped him to put on the light gloves. There were not just the various forms of karate and kick boxing represented, but everything from sumo to aikido. Mixed martial arts meant that no one knew what to expect from their opponents unless their were familiar with the opponent's fighting school.

In due course, the fighting began. In the first round, Ryuuten faced a nine-year-old from one of the larger schools. The boy was good for his age, but nowhere near Ryuuten's level. The fight was over in under a minute and Ryuuten was finished. The girl from the next bench over came back at the same time.

Syaoran looked to the ring she had fought in. The medical personnel were trying to revive a well muscled guy who had been knocked unconscious. Had he not been unconscious, Syaoran would have pegged him to be among the last contestants standing. He resolved to make sure he saw the girl's next match.

Ryuuten's next match came up first. He was against a lanky kid with wiry muscles. He didn't even see the first punch fly before he found himself reeling backwards. The punch did not have as much power as the ones he usually received, but it was fast. Ryuuten raised his arms to protect his face. His opponent stood there watching him, arms lazily at his sides. He was unprotected. Ryuuten drew back his fist, but received a blow to the side of the head before he could throw a punch himself.

"Focus!" Meiling yelled at him.

Ryuuten loosened his stance and planted his leading foot. He prepared to punch again, but instead of punching, he turned his entire torso to the side just in time to see his opponents fist appear next to his face. Ryuuten grabbed the arm with his drawn hand, then used the other arm to deliver a powerful elbow to the ribs. His opponent exhaled sharply and his body slacked. Ryuuten elbowed him three more times in rapid succession before flipping the boy over his hip, sending him down onto the mat hard. He delivered a powerful downward punch to the mat next to his opponents head and waited. The referee called the match in his favor.

"Way to kick his ass!" Meiling cheered. As Ryuuten returned to the bench.

"You should have gotten in close. His style depended on using the length of his arms to deal fast blows at a distance. He would have been defenseless if you had gotten close enough." Syaoran pointed out.

"Assuming he had no other skills," Meiling countered Syaoran's criticism, "He made a good choice."

"Whatever," Syaoran shrugged, "Let's see what she does." The girl on the next bench stood up. Her next fight would be taking place in the same ring that Ryuuten had just finished in.

The girl's opponent was a sumo wrestler. He had a definite size advantage. When the beginning of the fight was signaled, the sumo grinned and offered to let her forfeit. The girl shrugged and took a loose fighting stance. She walked calmly towards her larger opponent. He tried knocking her back with a palm thrust. She ducked under it, performing a spinning heel kick to the top of his ankle. There was a loud crack. The sumo's face blanched and he tumbled to the ground. He clutched his ankle in obvious pain. The girl had won easily and decidedly. The sumo would probably not be able to compete again.

"Watch her," Kagetora said, "She is definitely going to reach the finals. Make sure you study her movements so you'll be ready for her."

"She beat him too easily. She might be a problem," Meiling admitted. She had not expected such stiff competition. The girl's movements, while slightly careless, were completely flawless. She seemed to achieve through natural grace what Meiling had worked for years to perfect.

Ryuuten scowled. She was probably better than him. He waited for her to return to her bench, then approached her. "Nice kick," he said. He didn't want to lose to her, but if he showed her respect, maybe she would not deal him such a crippling blow when it came time for them to fight.

"Thanks." The girl brushed him off. He obviously did not concern her as much as she concerned him.

Ryuuten gritted his teeth. He did not like being looked down on. Even if she was better than him, he was still really good and deserved some respect for that. "It won't work when you fight me in the finals."

"Are you sure you'll even make it to the finals?" The girl grabbed a sport drink out of a duffel bag that was stored under her bench. "Looks like you're up again."

Ryuuten stormed into the ring. The girl's nonchalant manner really pissed him off. His opponent looked like a hulking street brawler. As soon as the match was signaled to start, Ryuuten ran at his opponent. At the last moment, he jumped and delivered a flying knee to his opponent's chin. The fight was over in less than ten seconds.

When he returned to the bench, Meiling was fuming. "Do you have any idea how stupid that was? If you had not landed that, you would be the one out of the tournament. I did not train you to take risks, I trained you to win fights!"

"And I won!" Ryuuten snapped.

"Just calm down," Syaoran said, "She knows you're good, she psyched you out, and unless you get control of yourself, you are not facing anyone in the finals."

"I can still win!" he relied determinedly. He glared at the girl next to them. She just sipped lazily at her drink and ignored him as if he wasn't there.

"Not as you are." Kagetora said, "You have to be focused on your fight, not on showing off. You are a strong fighter, but she is at least as strong as you. You should be proud that she feels threatened by you enough that she has to resort to these kind of tricks."

The words soothed Ryuuten's temper.

"If that is all it took to beat him, he would not have been worth fighting anyway," the girl said, not even looking over.

The fights progressed for another two hours before it was time for the finals. Ryuuten only had minor bruises. He took one of his water bottles, chugged it, then gasped for air for a few seconds. With all the fighters fighting, the arena had become very warm, the stadium lights made it even warmer. Just by standing there, Syaoran was already sweating.

"You look thirsty." The girl tossed him a bottle.

"I'm fine," he said and prepared to toss it back at her.

"Don't worry about it, keep it until you need it, I have tons." As if to prove this, she pulled out four more bottles with different colored drinks inside. Syaoran glanced at his. It was white, some sort of citrus flavor. He put it down on the bench.

Soon, it was the final match. Ryuuten and the girl were the only two left. They entered the center ring.

Syaoran could not take the heat anymore. He took and opened the bottle that had been given to him and drained half of it in a few gulps. It wasn't bad. It was kind of sour and had a bitter aftertaste, but it was refreshing. He felt a lot better.

"Syaoran, are you okay?" Sakura was looking much to worried considering how good he felt.

"I feel great, just thirtsy." He smiled happily and gazed lazily at her. She still didn't look happy. She grabbed his drink from him and took a small sip, then spat it out.

"This isn't what this is supposed to taste like. We have to get you to a hospital, now."

"I feel great. There's nothing wrong with me," he grabbed for the bottle, "let me have some more, I'm still thirsty."

"Never." She said defiantly and backed away, "Meiling, help!" Meiling and Kagetora grabbed Syaoran from behind and restrained him. He struggled. He was thirsty. He wanted the drink. It was good. It made him feel good.

"You finally tried the drink I see," It was the girl who had given it to him, she had already beaten Ryuuten and still did not have a mark on her. "Just remember who gives you what you want," she blew Syaoran a kiss, "My name is Rusaki Akila."

"Why..." Sakura asked. Her voice was quiet, but her eyes were slowly leaking tears and here fists were clenched so tightly that they were drawing blood. She glared hatefully at Rusaki Akila.

Akila smiled deviously, "Syaoran and I were meant for each other, so why should he settle for a bitch like you."

Sakura attacked Akila with everything she had. Akila, as good as she was, was having trouble keeping up with Sakura. Every punch she threw released a wave of malevolent magical energy. Sakura had never felt hatred like this before. "You knew he had this problem. We suffered so much so that he could overcome it. You just had to bring it back. Why can't you just leave us the hell alone?" Then there were two of her. One was still angrily lashing out at Akila, the other just collapsed into a heap, crying her eyes out.

"What the hell is happening?" Kagetora asked.

"I don't know, just keep him pinned." Meiling ordered as she tried to figure out what had gone wrong.

"What did you do this time?" Tomoyo asked irritably as she saw the commotion break out. She could see Meiling and some other man holding Syaoran back while Sakura, by some miracle of magic, seemed to execute some form of mitosis while she attacked one of the competitors.

"Its the same thing, the reason we did nothing for a while. Things have become rather complicated. I wanted to see this with my own eyes," Eriol explained, "there are people interfering who shouldn't be. I should have foreseen this." His eys flicked back and forth across the battle and his finger tapped impatiently as if he was waiting for something that was not coming.

Tomoyo prepared to retort, but then realized that Eriol was truly concerned, "You really didn't do this, did you?" The revelation shocked her. She hadn't even thought to consider that their might be other forces at work than those directly under his control. She didn't think that he would allow anything to hurt her, but if this was beyond his control...

"I never planned for it to happen this way. I never should have waited. So many people are going to die because I waited." He gripped the armrest so tightly that his knuckles turned white and the cheap plastic construct cracked.

"Are you telling me-"

"That if I had done things the way I originally planned them, Laishi Lin would still be alive today, but you never would have met her. You would still be Sakura's best friend, and no one would have interfered with my plans." His tone was cold, stating facts without emotion, but his intensity told a different story than the level of his voice. His whole body was tenser than Tomoyo had ever seen it.

"Then why did you wait? You knew what would happen." Tomoyo felt the old hatred resurfacing and redirecting. She had almost grown accustomed to this boy's presence, and now he said that he could have prevented Laishi Lin's death if he had chosen to. It was a terrible betrayal, he acted as if he cared for her, all the while causing the deepest tortures of he soul.

"Eight years ago, a woman told me once that it was to cruel to inflict what I was going to do upon a cute little eleven year old girl, and that something precious to her would be lost. When I looked, I saw that It was true. So I waited, and I waited, but the future just kept getting worse. The woman and I grew apart, and now here we are. If I had waited any longer something even worse would have occurred." He finally lost the remnants of his composure, his voice containing both the burning throngs of love and the seething pains of loss and hatred. This was not the same persona he usually showed to Tomoyo. The calculating fun-loving guy was replaced with a desperate villain, bent on his own sinister goals. It made it all the easier for Tomoyo to hate him.

"Why do it at all? If you had done nothing, then none of this would have happened." He was like a monster to her. He was immensely powerful, but only used his power to satisfy his own twisted whims, regardless of who got hurt, or could have been saved.

"Don't you have anything that you would sacrifice everything else to protect?" Eriol asked wearily.

Tomoyo's thought of Sakura for a moment, and then she replied sourly, "Not anymore."

They watched in silence as the fight progressed. It seemed that the girl Sakura had been fighting had only been toying with her. She began to beat Sakura back. All eyes in the arena were on them.

"Why not stop it if you didn't plan for this," Tomoyo asked. The crowd was panicking. This was not the type of fighting they had paid to see.

"Everything I've seen tells me that no matter what I do, One of those two is going to die today," he said, "Everything I know tells me that the girl Sakura is fighting never should have existed in the first place, her whole family was killed centuries ago. I can't see anything I could do to fix this."

"Key that hides the power of my star, reveal your true form to me. Under the contract, Sakura commands you, RELEASE!" The wand was different. Instead of its usual pink, it was a foamy sea green and the star was a malevolent red. The wings were black.

"Am I the only one who's keeping their senses?" Meiling gasped, "Hold him!" Meiling released Syaoran and Kagetora took him in a powerful restraining hold.

"What the hell is going on here?" Kagetora asked as he watched what seemed impossible to him.

"Strength!" Sakura swung her staff. A bench went flying over the heads of the crowd and crashed into the far wall of the stadium and shattered.

Meiling took out her phone and dialed the number for the police, impatiently watching as panic mounted in the crowd.

"Connect me to Chief Po Risu," Meiling shouted over the din of the crowd that was now scrabbling towards their nearest exit as Akila began throwing bolts of lightning around, "Tell him its a Li emergency... Yes uncle, I know, Sakura and Syaoran are in trouble. We need containment, now. Call for special forces backup. We need help fast."

It was less than a minute before sirens were heard.

"Isn't this where you whisk me away and tell me that the date is postponed?" Tomoyo asked, fearfully hoping that it was true. The battle between Sakura and Akila was intensifying and things were getting much to dangerous, even if Eriol had erected a barrier around them. What scared her more was that Eriol didn't seem to have any idea of what he should do. He always had something up his sleeve, some ulterior motive with some complex plan to back it up, except for now.

"Who said this was a date?" Eriol asked after a long pause to collect his thoughts. He was watching the battle intensely, almost to the point of ignoring Tomoyo. "I left a ticket, you showed up. I didn't ask you to come with me."

"What kind of stupid excuse is that? You sit here and tell me that you are responsible for everything that has happened to me and this is the best excuse you can come up with? I hate you, I hate Sakura, and I wish everyone with magic would just fall over dead right now!" Tomoyo shouted, hitting Eriol over and over again with her less than considerable might.

"Where do you want to go? The police have already sealed the exits," Eriol snapped as he glanced off into the distance, "The Li forces have us surrounded, and I don't know of any way to escape, at least not without leaving you to fend for yourself."

"If the Li's catch you here,"

"They'll never leave me alone, not once they find out who I am. After all, in a way, I am one of them."

"Why even bother telling me all this?" Tomoyo asked. She didn't want to know. She had never asked to become involved with any of his schemes. She just wanted to be left alone.

"Because, you are one of the forces I can't predict. I can't see you anymore. You're just a haze that obscures the future everywhere that you touch it, like that girl down there and a few others. They've already made their choice, Tomoyo-chan, soon, you are going to have to decide on which path you really want to take. When you do, it could save the lives of your friends or destroy everything, everyone's lives, and everything I've worked so hard to set into motion."

Tomoyo laughed. It was a half-crazed laugh that would have scared anyone who heard it. "You think I care? I don't care about anything or anyone anymore. Why the hell should I. Everything I care about is taken away from me. I'm always alone, so why shouldn't I do what I want." Tomoyo grabbed Eriol by the collar and glared directly into his eyes, "I don't have magic, or anything that really matters, but I swear, I'll do everything in my power to make sure that neither of you get anything that you want."

Eriol looked unbearably saddened by her response. This startled Tomoyo, dampening her crazed fury.

"What do you want?" Tomoyo asked, she really had no idea. For all she knew, his goals could be the most righteous aspirations in the world, but she doubted it.

"The same thing that everyone else has, the chance to be happy."