A/N: Sorry for the slight delay in the update but getting flu and a sore throat and a fever to top it all off in the middle of summer is no fun. Trust me on that. So anyhow, here's the next chappie.

Enjoy!

"Oh God…" her breath came out uneven and shaky as she stared at the unmoving figure of the hunter at Tomoyo's feet. "I killed him!"

The medic bent down next to the hunter and placed her fingers at his jugular.

"No, Sakura," Tomoyo shook her head as she hooked her arms under the dark-haired hunter's armpits, "He's not dead." She grunted as she dragged him towards one of the spare rooms next to Sakura's.

"What?" she whispered, not believing what she had heard.

"You didn't kill him." Tomoyo repeated, jabbing the panel with her elbow to open the door. A trail of crimson was left on the floor as she lugged him inside.

"H-how?" Sakura looked down at her hands, which were shaking like dry leaves in the autumn wind.

"You missed his vitals." Was the medic's answer as she slid open a cabinet and extracted a medical kit. The ship tilted to the left and Sakura staggered, hitting Syaoran's door while the unconscious hunter's body rolled off the bunk and hit the floor with a thud.

"Sakura, please stay with Syaoran while I work on him." she asked as she struggled to get the hunter back on the bunk.

"You'll… you'll save him?"

"It would be inhuman to let him bleed to death." She responded, "And besides. Kurogane might have some questions for him."

Without another word, Sakura pressed her palm against the blue panel and slipped inside Syaoran's room as the door opened. Still feeling completely hollow inside, she walked over to the bunk where the teen was sitting quietly. Unlike the last getaway with the pirates, he was more aware of his surroundings, which was probably why he wasn't screaming or crying out in fear.

Could he understand what was going on?

Sakura could not bring herself to think up an answer to that question as she flopped at the edge of his bed, staring blankly ahead. She didn't kill him. She… she missed!

How the heck had that happened?

In over three cycles, she had never once succeeded in missing and now… without even trying she had missed. He was still alive.

That man that the little voice in her head dubbed 'Nii-san' was alive, despite having been hit by her knives.

By her knives… thrown by her hand!

But she would be lying if she said she wasn't trying not to hit him. Because she was. She didn't want to kill him and she… she didn't!

A warm hand caught her own, making her jump as she looked at Syaoran. His eyes were set with determination as he looked at her.

"Things happen…" he said quietly, his soft, yet deep, husky voice stirring something inside her. "But… not your fault."

Sakura's eyes widened as she heard him repeat her own words. Outside the sky changed from clear blue with wispy clouds to pitch black with twinkling stars. Syaoran's other free hand reached out and wiped her right cheek as she felt something wet spread across it.

She looked at the windowpane and was surprised to see the tears staining her cheeks.

When had she started crying?

"Not your fault." He repeated in the same tone as he cleaned her other cheek.

"Oh, Syaoran…" Without even knowing why, she pulled him into a hug, burying her face in his shoulder as she sobbed. He froze for a fraction of a second before she felt him relax.

"You couldn't control it…" he told her gently, not returning her embrace but not letting go of her hand either, "but Nii-san loves you anyway."

"What?" not for the first time that day, her breath caught in her throat as she stared at his face. His eyes burned with earnest conviction.

"He loves you," he repeated simply but before she could ask him to elaborate on how he knew that foreign word, the door slid open and Kurogane emerged.

"I'll take over now," he told her, not unkindly, though he did politely pause and look away as Sakura composed herself.

"I'm gonna… go help Tomoyo." She told the captain as she left the room. But the medic was already stepping out into the hallway.

"He'll live." She smiled kindly at Sakura. Was she acting this way because she thought this was the first time Sakura might have ended up killing someone? What would she do if she ever learnt about all the cold-blooded murders Sakura was responsible for?

"Can I… Can I stay with him?" she asked hesitantly. "I mean, so that I can let you know when he wakes up. Um… if he is not already awake that is because then that would be stupid and-"

"No, you can stay if you want," Tomoyo cut her in, still smiling at her rambling, "I had Kurogane tie him to the bed so you don't have to worry about fighting him off, alright?" this statement confirmed Sakura's belief about the medic thinking she had never killed before.

"Thanks." She answered gratefully as she entered the room.

"Would you like something to eat first?" the medic asked.

"No, I'm not hungry."

"Alright, let me know if you need anything."

"I will." She nodded. "But you rest for a while." Sakura added as she took in the medic's disheveled appearance. "That cut looks like it hurts a lot."

"I'll get some pain meds for it." The lavender-eyed woman laughed as she turned around and headed towards her living quarters. "Thanks for watching over Syaoran."

"It was no problem," Sakura's smile faded from her face as the medic disappeared inside her room and the door to the room currently housing the hunter also slid to a close, leaving her alone with the unconscious man.

-0-

She ducked under the incoming fist and jumped to the side. The dark-haired boy spun around, bringing his leg along for a kick but she managed to get out of the way, a little clumsily.

"Don't think I didn't see that. You're getting fat, Kaijuu," the teen grinned as he continued his attack.

"Nii-san, I'm not a Kaijuu!" she stomped angrily and forgot to block the incoming punch that left her winded when she fell on her butt.

"So says the Kaijuu who can't even fight." The blue-eyed boy laughed, "One of these days, the fat Kaijuu will get caught by some big, bad hunters and it will be up to me to save the day."

"I can too fight!" she said indignantly as she stood up and brushed off her clothes.

"Not like that you can't," he ruffled her hair and she ducked out from under his hand, frowning at him as she hastily tried to arrange her hair.

"Touya, you shouldn't tease her so much," the grey-eyed teen admonished as he walked out from the house with a jug of lemonade and three tumblers made out of rough glass.

"Lemonade!" she squealed in delight as she ran across the dusty ground and grabbed a tumbler.

"Yuki," the boy named Touya almost whined.

"You've been at it since morning." Yuki only smiled in return, "Take a break, alright?"

The scene changed and she was walking around the familiar streets of the Bazaar. She stopped by a stall owned by an old man who sold lobster-apples. The man greeted her with a kind smile and handed her the blue-colored fruit. Thanking him, she skipped along on her way.

She stopped once again, this time near the town square, staring at the beautiful stone castle visible in the distance. Black banners emblazoned with the insignia of a red bat hung from every balcony and terrace. The smile left her face as she stared at it longingly but then, shaking her head, she looked away. The sun was almost kissing the horizon as it lowered behind the buildings of the town and she started walking again.

Feeling a little scared, she hastened her footsteps, eyes staring out at her from every dark corner. Gripping the blue-colored fruit more firmly in her hand, she broke out into a jog, blood pounding in her ears. Something felt awfully wrong.

She slowed down when her house became visible in the distance. She could see Touya in the backyard, sparring with Yuki. She breathed a sigh of relief. She was safe now. She opened her mouth to call out a greeting to the two boys just as a large hand slammed over her mouth, pulling her into the shadows of one the collapsed buildings.

She struggled against her captor when something sharp pricked the skin of her neck and she felt her lids grow heavier. Her limbs felt like they were filled with lead and her head felt like it was shoved underwater.

"Tou-ya…" The lobster-apple slipped from her hand and rolled out into the street as her world grew dark.

Breathing heavily she bolted upright, feeling a little disorientated. In front of her, the hunter was also stirring into wakefulness, however unlike Sakura; his body was bound by ropes rendering him unable to move.

"Whea… wherrre am I?" he asked in a slurred tone. "Yyukito, sss tha you?"

"No," she answered blankly and saw the hunter's eye snap into focus.

"Sakura…" he breathed, "Where did you-"

"More than a hundred hunters…" she cut in, speaking in that same blank voice.

"What?"

"In this cycle alone," her tone grew frosty and casual at the same time as she looked at his face, "I have killed more than a hundred hunters." she watched his expression turn from perplexed, to shocked, to horrified. "I have lost count of how many I killed before that." His eyes narrowed in anger.

"What the hell are you talking about?" the blue-eyed man hissed.

"Shocked to hear it, hunter?" she sneered coldly.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" he asked hotly. "My name is Touya. And you can't talk to me like that."

"I can talk to you in any way I like, hunter." She leaned back a little.

"Don't you know who I am?" he asked the same question as before.

"Like I said earlier," she answered as she crossed her arms across her chest. "No. And I don't care about finding out either."

"Sakura, why-" he started, but just like before, he was interrupted by Sakura.

"You're either extremely lucky," she looked at him with nothing but hate in her eyes. Why had this man not left when she had given him the chance? Now the fool was going to get himself killed for sure. "Or very, very unlucky." She stood up, turning her back to his horrified expression, "It would be best for you if you don't let the info you have on me slip out to the crew of this ship." She slid the door open, "or you will know pain like no other." And then, before he could even respond, she was gone.

A/N: So, what do you think of that? I didn't end up killing Touya after all. But Sakura still doesn't trust him. Will she give him a chance to explain? Will he be able to figure out what's wrong? Or will I be able to prolong this one-sided hostility between Sakura and Touya? Find out in the next chapter. ;)