Author's Notes: Once again, my beta reader has stopped returning my private messages, so I have given up on beta readers for the moment. I apologize if the quality has a slight drop, but hopefully, I'll be good enough that you won't notice. Hopefully I'll be able to update much quicker as well.

Chapter 19: Revulsion

"Sakura, what were you thinking? In front of the whole school!" Meiling had stood in the hallway of the school, just waiting for Sakura and Syaoran to return from their trip through the return. Her arms were crossed and her face set in a dark scowl.

"I'm sorry..." Sakura said, "I wasn't intending to do anything like that."

"It wasn't her fault. If anyone is at fault, it's me," Syaoran defended Sakura from Meiling's harsh words.

"There's plenty of blame for you too. I wasn't angry about the tournament incident, that was all Akila's fault, but," she turned towards Sakura, "You used magic in front of the general population without even hiding your identity. You practically shouted to the world 'Hey the Li family's controlling the planet with magic!'"

"You don't know all the circumstances. There were..." Syaoran tried to explain but was interrupted by Meiling.

"I don't know all the circumstances?!"

"I'll leave you two to talk." Sakura hurried away, looking determinedly at the floor.

"Sakura!" Syaoran called out, but she ignored him.

"What was that about? Meiling asked.

"How would I know... Sister..."

Meiling gasped, "The card showed you that!"

"At the tournament, she was messed up bad. Her personality was split into two. One is almost like the Sakura we know, loving and trusting, and full of spirit. The other... It was killed, but when Sakura merged, it became an alter ego that surfaces when she gets angry."

"You mean the Sakura who beat Akila?"

"No... That Sakura only had half of Sakura's power. This one has all of it. She's strong, and vengeful. If you see Sakura like that, you have to run."

"Why should I, Sakura wouldn't–"

"Look at me!" Syaoran tore his shirt open, revealing bruises across his torso. Dark ones in the shapes of fingers covered the scar from his injury. "She did this to me. Even though she loves me, she did this. She wanted to kill me. She was going to kill me, then we saw that scene with you and mother..." Syaoran sighed, "I'm afraid of her. I never wanted to upset her, but if I do now, I... might not survive it."

"And what's that have to do with me?"

"She was ready to kill you for punching me at the tournament. What do you think she'll do now that she's seen it. She watched ˗ made me watch ˗ the whole thing. I never wanted to remember that. It never should have happened. What do you think she'll do? You got what she knows should have rightfully belonged to her."

"You think she's really capable of that don't you?"

"I won't be able to stop her," Syaoran replied, "It's all my fault."

"You had better do something about it then."

Eriol sped away from the school. Tomoyo had followed obediently this time. She had wanted to protest, but she knew that, despite her malice, Eriol was the only chance she had of avoiding the Li agents this time.

"They will come after you this time. They will go after everyone who had their last class on that floor, and maybe even everyone in the school," Eriol explained, not even slowing down as he passed by Tomoyo's house.

"Wait, where are we going."

"I'm the only one that isn't really registered at the school. You'll have to stay with me for now. Even that might not be enough."

"You think they can find you there?"

"No, I think they can find you. Only Sakura really knows that I exist. No one knows who I really am. If they found out... I could easily take one or two of them, but the entire Li clan would be too much power. The only reason they're not looking for me now is because they don't know that I exist." The gates of his property opened automatically and he sped into the drive.

"How would they find me?"

"All they need is something that belongs to you. Location spells are pathetically easy for them if they have that much. With all the clothes and things you gave to Sakura last year... They could just sneak in and take something from your house or locker anyway."

"You must be able to do something. You're stronger than her aren't you?"

"It's not her I am worried about. If she found you, you'd probably be safe as long as you were with her. You are her cousin, and you were once her best friend."

"What should I do then? It's not like I can just stop going out."

"That's a good idea actually. I should have enough power to hide you from their tracking spells.:

"But, my mother will worry."

"Yes. We'll have to do something about that. The Li agents will certainly watch your house and offer all assistance in finding you." Eriol mulled over his thoughts for a while.

Tomoyo stepped out of the car and walked towards the gates.

"Where are you going?" Eriol asked, taking hold of her wrist and stopping her.

"I am going home. You said Sakura wouldn't let them do anything to me, right? So, there's no reason to stay with you."

Eriol jerked her onto the lawn, covering her mouth. They were now hidden behind the gate post. "They're here," he whispered. He allowed her to peek out for only a moment. It was long enough to see the street filling with black cars. "We have to get inside. They have already tagged you as a threat."

Tomoyo got ready to run but Eriol pulled her back, covering her mouth once again.

"Not yet. I could escape using magic, but then they'd begin investigating me, and they would watch this house as well." Eriol pulled her down to the ground, making her sit between his legs. In this position, there was no chance that they would be seen as long as the Li's stayed around Tomoyo's house.

Syaoran ran home, hoping to catch up to Sakura along the way. He noticed Li agents hiding near Tomoyo's house. He walked up to one of them and took the communicator from the man's ear.

"Tomoyo is no threat. She has known for over a year and has kept silent. I don't care what happens to her, but she is Sakura's cousin and Sakura will be angry if anything happens to her. If you anger Sakura, I can't guarantee your survival at the moment. Leave someone to watch her if you need to, but no one is to lay a finger on her unless she betrays us."

Syaoran was getting seriously irritated. He threw the communicator on the ground and walked off without waiting for a response. The leader of the group caught up with him a few moments later.

"Sir, regulations are clear. She knows too much."

"She doesn't know anything she didn't know before, except maybe that I did something stupid and Sakura can get angry."

"We'll have to wipe her memory," the agent insisted.

"I have a major headache and I am injured, but I am of sound mind. I gave you a direct order. You and your men will follow that order. If I find out that Daidouji Tomoyo has been harmed, erased, or interfered with in any way, you will be facing a council hearing for betraying the interests of the clan and insubordination."

"Sir, the Daidouji girl is missing. She is not at home, at school, or anywhere in between, despite having been present during her last class."

"And it takes a full squad to watch for a single, defenseless girl?" Syaoran asked sarcastically.

"But,"

"How many kidnapping attempts have been made against her?"

"I don't remember exactly..." The agent was getting flustered. "There have been a few, but most of those were years ago."

"What would her bodyguard think if he saw a group of unfamiliar men lurking around her house? Do you think that he would bring her home?"

"He would have surely called,"

"Who would he have called? The police? They would have done nothing because this is one of our operations."

"We have the Daidouji phones tapped. There has been no attempt made to contact - "

"Do you know where her bodyguard lives?"

"According to all the records, Tomoyo has not had any bodyguard assigned to her since the incident."

Syaoran stopped arguing with the agent for a moment, "Her bodyguard's name is Eriol Hiiragizawa. He was in the student exchange program last year and stayed with Sakura's family. Get the records and find out what you can." He rubbed his shoulder. With everything that had been going on, the mysterious bodyguard and his fight at the dance had slipped his mind.

"We already tried that. There are no records of him. He does not exist."

"He either has magic powerful enough to fool my mother, or powerful enough to break into our records and modify them. He is a threat. Leave Daidouji alone, but capture him."

Syaoran stalked off towards home. All the stress was only making the headache from his hangover worse. He hoped that it would go away fast this time, but knowing what he did about the first drugs that he had been tricked into ingesting, it would be a long and painful process to get clean. At these thoughts, Syaoran felt a sudden sharp pain in his shoulder and cursed.

"I am going to let go of your mouth now," Eriol said, "Don't make a sound. Sakura would never let them hurt you, but she isn't here. Li agents are notorious for getting jobs done, whether or not they have orders to stop. Anything can be contrived as justification for their actions and there are always extenuating circumstances." Eriol released Tomoyo's mouth.

"So you're saying that my only chance is to make up with Sakura before they find me." Tomoyo trembled. She wanted to do it, but knew she couldn't. Every time she thought of Sakura, her mind immediately brought up the scene of Laishi's death, the droplets of red blood slowly staining the snow as she died because Sakura had not protected her. No! It wasn't Sakura's fault. She was practically sitting on the perpetrator right now, but he hadn't been there and Sakura had.

"Tell me my dear Tomoyo, if it was Sakura's fault, then what did you do to save her?" His words were harsh and biting.

Tomoyo felt anger, pain, fear, and helplessness well up inside her until it was ready to burst out. Eriol's hand clamped over her mouth and nose, stifling a scream. Tomoyo struggled, but Eriol was deceptively strong.

"Shh..." Eriol held her fast so that she could not move a muscle. She then heard it, the slapping of hard leather soles smacking the concrete in clipped steps. Tomoyo froze, pushing her body back against Eriol's for fear that her legs might be seen jutting out.

"This is it, isn't it?"

"She said it was the western-style house at the end of the street."

Two Li agents were talking. Tomoyo's heart was beating so loud that she was sure that they would be noticed any second.

"We should have taken her out immediately."

"She's related to Sakura-sama. We need her alive if possible."

"She's been around and aware of our magic for far too long. We would need to do a complete wipe, so she might as well be dead."

Their casual tones freaked Tomoyo out. She wondered how any person could contemplate such things seriously and remain calm. She shivered in revulsion. Eriol squeezed her arm to reassure her, careful not to rustle any fabric. It was then that Nakuru showed up. She pounced on the agent, enjoying ruffling his feathers. With this momentary distraction, Eriol picked Tomoyo up and sprinted to the side of the house where they could not be seen from the gate.

"What are we going to do?" Tomoyo asked.

"We are going to hide for tonight, then go to school tomorrow. The safest place right now is with Sakura."

"But she-"

"Did nothing compared to what you have set in motion. Every dirty little disaster that you could imagine for her will befall her. She'll need her best friend back. Besides, even though you no longer spend time with her, you have dozens of outfits she has yet to wear."

"And I suppose you will be there the whole time."

"I am your bodyguard," Eriol replied grimly, his eyes shiftily glancing around.

"And I apparently will never have any control over my own life. I'll always be at the mercy of the whims of you people with magical powers."

Eriol shook his head, "You can do anything you choose to do, but it's the consequences you don't like. You are already involved in this world as deeply as Sakura or Syaoran, and maybe even a little more thanks to me."

Syaoran felt so alone. He had not seen Sakura when he had come home. He had not seen her at dinner time. Now she was not even laying beside him. He knew she was somewhere in the depths of the house, but she was suppressing her aura so he could not pinpoint her. He got up, restless. He opened the window and stood, half naked, in the breeze. He stared sullenly at the moon. It started. He didn't know why, but his bones began to twist and fur began to coat his body.

Two painful minutes later, he was in the form of a wolf. On the bright side, this form did not seem so affected by the withdrawal symptoms. He felt the urge to roam, explore his territory. It had been too long since he had. He leapt, pushing off the windowsill and flying towards the fence that surrounded the property.

Syaoran raced through the shadows, relearning the scents that pervaded the neighborhood. He froze when he sensed powerful magic. He ran towards the source, wondering if Sakura would show up as well.

"Lightning!" Someone had cast Li Clan magic at him. He dodged, his fur puffing from the residual static.

"Don't even think about it," Syaoran growled, glaring menacingly at the person hiding in the shadows of a wall.

The man whipped out a whole handful of ofudas. "Fire and Lightning!" The man brought down a sword to strike and activate the magic.

"Negate, the contract demands it. Come to my aid!" Syaoran countered. His opponent dropped his sword as his ofudas exploded.

"How did you..." The man clutched his hand which was numb from having the sword ripped from it. It would not have been so bad had he not been using more than one. "You are..."

"Rather pissed off that your commander is ignoring my orders. Withdraw. Signal your team to do the same."

"As you command Syaoran-sama." The agent stiffened and saluted.

Eriol and Tomoyo huddled in a dark closet. The Li force had begun their infiltration at midnight and were now scouring the house. It was only a matter of time before they were found. Eriol still refused to use any magic to save them, and now Tomoyo was beginning to see that magic was not necessarily bad in and of itself, after all, if it was only used, then they would be safe.

Eriol would not be swayed. The immediate future was fuzzy, but he could still see what was important. The key players would come out of this altercation alive and relatively unharmed. There was no reason to let the clan know about him yet. If word got back to the elders, all other operations would stop and he'd become the number one target.

Something shattered in the next room. He wondered if it was a mirror or a window. He hoped it was a window, he hadn't enchanted any of those. The door to the room they were in slammed open. Preemptively, he put his hand over Tomoyo's mouth for fear that she would scream and give away their location prematurely. She sat still, frozen in fear. It was like her nightmare, the dream's premonition for her when she had first fought with Sakura.

The closet door slammed open. The leader of the agents stood there with a smirk on his face. "If you come out now," he put his sword against Tomoyo's throat, "I will not have to do things the fun way."

"You are FIRE! 'd." A torrent of flames engulfed the man. The sickening smell of burning human flesh exploded throughout the room in a thick cloud of black, oily smoke. "The Li clan does not endure traitors," Li growled angrily.

Eriol smiled, releasing Tomoyo and relaxing. He had been wondering which of the future forks Syaoran would take. This was a good one. "Thank you for saving us." Eriol's apology was so sincere that it sounded insincere. He was seemingly not noticing Syaoran's transformed appearance.

"You, I told them they could have. She can't shield you forever," Syaoran replied.

"Hopefully, by the time it matters, Sakura will have become my friend."

"Or maybe, I will slit your throat as you sleep."

"We do get grumpy without Sakura by our side, don't we," Eriol mocked, "Why, it is so unfair that I am the one with a beautiful girl in my lap while you-"

Tomoyo elbowed him in the gut and pulled away from him, "Don't let me get between you two."

"I guess we're both going to be alone now." Syaoran grinned, it looked more like he was bearing his fangs hungrily.

"Well, you could always go to your Egyptian princess, she'd surely welcome you. I wonder if Sakura wonders where you went at this time of night, especially after what happened this afternoon." Eriol's remark bit Syaoran hard. There was no reason for Sakura to trust him. He'd proven himself unworthy of her too many times already. With a final growl, he raced back towards the mansion.

Syaoran was still very tired when he woke up. His late night excursion had kept him up well past his usual bedtime. Once he had returned, he had found that Sakura had not returned from whatever bowels of the mansion she had wandered off to. He had tossed and turned all night. He had even tried sleeping in Sakura's bed, but she was not there and hadn't used it since it had last been cleaned, depriving him of her lingering scent which he could smell so strongly in his wolf form.

He went to the morning lessons when he woke up as himself. There, they waited for a good deal of time before the elders finally sent Syaoran to go look for Sakura. At least now he had a good excuse to go and get her. He wasn't sure how she would have reacted to him tracking her down when she was obviously hiding from him. She might be happy, or she might get angry.

He descended into the sub-levels of the mansion, tracing her aura to her location. He was disappointed to find that it led to a room that was empty except for a glowing crystal orb that was mounted on the top of a staff which was embedded in the floor. It was a decoy, designed to hide someone or some thing's location in the building. There was only one orb, but it was connected to dozens of rooms that were shielded. There was no way to tell where she actually was without searching them all one by one.

Then, her aura vanished and reappeared in another section of the mansion. Syaoran knew the location. All the shielded rooms connected to the nexus. They could be accessed in other ways, but the subterranean sections had been expanded for centuries. They went for miles. Using the nexus would bring a person to and from just under the main house almost instantly.

He followed her to his room, finding the bathroom door locked and the shower running when he arrived. He waited for her until it was time to leave for school. He didn't even have time to ask any questions.

"Let's go." Sakura grabbed him. She hadn't even had time to dry her hair. They were going to be late for school if they dallied. She looked very tired. Except for the one phrase she had uttered to him, she didn't say anything else. She concentrated on running instead.

Outside the building, Wei was waiting to drive them to the school. When Sakura sat down in the car, she fell asleep before Syaoran had even entered.

Jade woke up early and met with Alex in his room to work on the research. It was amazing how often two things were mentioned: the pharaoh and the Li's. Apparently, at one time, both groups had vied for the Emperor's favor, though the Li's were the only ones whom were referred to as making demands rather than requests. None of it went into any detail though. One glyph, however, intrigued Jade. It was displayed artistically on the Emperor's most ornate pottery, most likely that of his personal use. It was the same glyph from the seal she had stolen. Alex did not recognize the glyph and she feigned ignorance. Even if she mentioned its significance, there really wasn't enough information to work from without official records.

"Anything interesting on your end?" Jade asked, finally finished scanning and translating as much of the Chinese as she could. It was difficult since it was all in Mandarin and she had learned mostly Cantonese as a child, and even that was a little rusty.

"It's a dead language. How do you think I'm doing?" He had pages and pages of notes, but very little of anything conclusive. "Some of these symbols are completely new to me. I haven't seen anything like them before."

Jade looked over his shoulder at the symbol he was looking at. "That is because that one is in Chinese... I think. It is kind of like a mixture."

"Any idea what it means?"

"I grew up in America. I am lucky I can translate the pure Chinese, let alone some bastardized version."

"Unless it was a symbol created to express something that did not exist in either language."

"As if the language did not have enough symbols already!" Jade sighed. English was so much easier, only twenty-six characters to remember. There have been about forty-seven thousand Chinese han.

"I know. Egyptian has like seven hundred hieroglyphics."

"You got the easy one," Jade replied, "Uncle has an entire shelf dedicated to the different han."

"So? There are entire libraries on Egyptian."

"I'm just talking about the lexicon. There are like seventy times as many characters in Chinese, and you're still using a book to reference your measly seven hundred."

"And you don't use references?"

"Maman." Jade said with a smirk, sticking out her tongue.

"Hey! I know what that means," he said, "You're lucky that I haven't gone through your books to look up insults."

"And that just proves my point." She patted him on the head like a dog. "Now, I'm going to get something to drink." She got up and stretched, careful not to step on anything. "While I'm gone, why don't you try to catch up to the seven thousand characters that I've memorized.

Jade wove her way through the huddled groups of people who were doing various forms of research in the lab. She could tell that working in Alex's room had been a good idea. Every space and piece of equipment was covered in papers, books and relics with people moving between them.

In the kitchen, she found Professor Kinomoto making up a pot of coffee.

"Did you just get in?" She asked.

"Yes. Things are moving along quite well. The earlier I start, the more I get done." His tone was not as light as his words. He had been rather disappointed that Sakura had not shown up at dinner or breakfast. Those were pretty much the only times he got to see her since he was at work and she was at school all day. Touya had assured him that she was around somewhere, but it was nice to spend time with his family when he could.