A/N: I had initially planned on updating on Sunday since I won't be at home on Saturday but then I figured, I could always put up a chapter earlier. So here's my treat to all of you though this chapter is dedicated to all of my reviewers especially Kyroine and talkstoangels77, the latter being the first one to post a response to my 'Blackwidow' challenge. Go and check it out. After you're done reading this of course. ;)
Enjoy!
Dinner that night was a quiet affair. Tension was thick in the air and even Syaoran seemed a little morose, as though aware of everything that was happening around him. But his eyes brightened and his face lit up when Fai produced a bar of chocolate for him.
"A prize for fixing the engine," the blond had said as he had handed him the treat.
Tomoyo had given the pilot a grateful smile as she had gotten up and ladled a bit of food onto a spare plate.
"We can't let him starve." She said quietly as she moved towards the door that led to the hallway.
Without another word, Kurogane climbed to his feet and followed.
"Is something wrong, Sakura?" Fai asked when the two had disappeared.
"No, everything is fine." She shook her head, looking down at her plate to hide her pale face behind her caramel tresses.
Her thoughts were racing. What if the hunter blabbered? If Kurogane and the others found out she was the reason the hunters had attacked their ship, would they turn her over? Maybe they would just drop her off at the next space-port?
"Tomoyo said you went into shock when you thought you killed that hunter." Fai said casually as he twirled his fork and wrapped the noodles around it.
"So?" she responded in an equally careless manner as she looked up. She was pretty sure she had managed to reign in her emotions, so it was safe to let him see her profile.
"Nothing." He shrugged, bringing the fork to his mouth. "I was just wondering why."
"I don't think I need to answer that question." She responded with a smile but her eyes held a dangerous glint.
"True," he returned her smile, though his ochre-eyes were filled with mischievousness. "But it makes one wonder. What could be so special about this hunter that you were left in a dazed state after attacking him?"
"It couldn't be the thought that you had taken someone's life for the first time, as you have let Tomoyo believe." He continued with the same smile when she remained silent. "Since you did kill all those hunters in the Bazaar."
"That is none of your business, Fai." She answered icily, the smile vanishing from her lips as she narrowed her eyes.
"I'm afraid that it is." he seemed unaffected by her change in demeanor. "You see, what happens to Syaoran is my business."
"What does this have to do with Syaoran?" She knew what the blond pilot meant but she decided to play innocent anyways.
"You seem to know that hunter." Fai answered, that smile still in place, "and hunters, as you already know, work for Fei Wong Reed. I think you are smart enough to understand what that means."
"Syaoran won't be the only one who would end up in Fei Wong's hands if that hunter escapes." She answered coolly, leaning back in her seat.
"But if he cares about you, I don't think he would let it slip that you are here as well." Fai responded lightly.
"And what, pray tell, gave you the idea that a hunter cares about me?"
But before the blond could answer, the thumping of footsteps alerted them to the fact that Tomoyo and Kurogane had returned.
"He's not speaking." The captain grunted angrily as he took his seat next to Syaoran.
Sakura breathed a sigh of relief that she quickly managed to turn into one of frustration before the others noticed.
"Why not?" she asked, hoping that she sounded curious.
"Because Tomoyo wouldn't let me hit him," he grumbled, glaring at the medic who only shook her head.
"He's injured as it is, Kurogane," she shook her head, her tone revealed her frustration at his behavior.
"Which is why he would talk with just a little bit of force." The captain answered, stabbing at his plate with a pair of chopsticks. Besides him, Syaoran quietly finished his dinner and held out his plate to Tomoyo. Understanding his gesture, the medic refilled his plate and set it in front of him.
"You are not going to hurt my patient." She told the red-eyed man in a stern tone.
"What?" Kurogane almost yelped, "He's a hunter for fucks sake, Tomoyo."
"Kurogane…" the medic warned and he looked away, grumbling under his breath about how he could make the man talk with just a couple of punches if only she let him.
I don't think he would speak if he doesn't want to. Nii-san can be very stubborn. Sakura let her fork drop in her plate as she hastily stood up. How the hell did she know that?
"I think I'll head to bed now." She announced quietly as she hurried out of the galley. She could feel Syaoran's questioning gaze on her back, but she ignored it as she left.
-0-
He couldn't feel the pain in his body, but his muscles felt stiff. His insides felt numb and oddly hollow.
He had found her. After almost six cycles, he had found her. His baby sister. His little Kaijuu.
His Sakura.
But she did not recognize him. Surely he had not changed much over the cycles.
And even if he had changed, which he hadn't, why did she refuse to recognize his name?
What the hell was going on? What had happened to her in the time she had been missing?
Did she have amnesia or something? Or was she purposefully refusing to admit to knowing who he was? After all, she had threatened to kill him if he let slip who she was.
Oh God!
She had threatened to kill him. And Touya knew she had not been joking. She had really meant what she had said. But she was his sister, damn it!
How could she have…
He gave a frustrated groan, wishing not for the first time that his hands were free so that he could tear some of his hair out.
What the fuck was going on?
His little Kaijuu had killed! She had admitted to killing more than a hundred hunters. No. She must have been lying. She couldn't hurt a fly, let alone kill a trained hunter. True, he and Yukito had taught her how to fight so that she could take care of herself but…
What had happened to her?
Since when had she started using throwing knives?
Oh God! She had attacked him with those knives.
Why… why had she tried to kill her own brother?
The door gave a small beep and the sound of someone's quiet footsteps reached his ears as they approached him. He had been tied to the bed and his wounds had been properly treated. Not just the punctures on his back but all of them.
He was confused by the behavior of his captors. Especially that pretty, lavender-eyed medic.
She was too kind hearted to be a criminal, but he had seen her kill the hunters during their raid. So then, why was she treating him with such kindness?
The person, whoever it was, stopped a couple of feet away from him, but since his face was turned the other way he had no means of knowing who it was. With a soft grunt, he turned his head to look at his visitor.
It was a young amber-eyed man, around eighteen or nineteen cycles old, with messy chocolate brown hair, probably a couple of shades lighter than his own. He was dressed in a pair of loose fitting pajamas pants and a pale green sleeveless shirt. He was staring at Touya with a curious expression on his face.
"What do you want?" he asked in an irritated tone, noticing how raspy his voice sounded. Well, he was thirsty.
The man did not answer, nor did he move his inquisitive gaze from his face. A couple of minutes passed this way. The staring freaked Touya out a little, and just when he was about to yell at the younger male to stop looking at him, the man stepped away from him, walking over to the table where a jug of water and a single steel mug rested with a straw placed in it.
Silently, the brown-eyed man filled the mug with water and walked over to him, bringing the straw near Touya's lips.
"Thirsty." He spoke softly, offering him the drink.
"Why do you care?" Touya responded acidly, refusing to put the proffered straw in his mouth.
"Thirsty." The brown-eyed teen repeated, offering him the water once more.
Touya gave him a suspicious look but his visitor did not look away. Heaving a sigh, he took the straw between his lips and sucked. The liquid cooled his tongue and wet his parched throat.
"Thanks." He said a little gruffly.
Wordlessly, the brunette set the mug on the floor beside him.
"You're a hunter." He spoke in that same, quiet tone as he looked back at Touya.
"So?"
"But… I'm not scared," he confided, looking a little confused. Touya thought something was out of place about the boy but he couldn't quite tell what it was.
"You are hurt." The teen said after a while when Touya did not say anything.
"No shit, Mr. Obvious ," he answered bitterly.
"Not her fault." The amber-eyes suddenly burned with fierce determination, all traces of confusion gone from his expression.
"What?"
"They took it away from her." he told him, his tone soft but carrying a strange sort of intensity.
"Are you on drugs or something?" Touya wondered out loud.
"And she broke." Those three words made Touya freeze. Who was this kid talking about? He couldn't be referring to… could he?
"Sakura?" he ventured, his heart thumping against his ribs.
"She can't help it," The boy's tone grew morose.
"What?" the captured hunter asked urgently, "What did they take away from her?"
"Her past." Those two words were all it took to send his world tumbling.
Her past? So she did have amnesia.
"Who did it?" he growled angrily.
"The-"
"Syaoran?" Sakura's shocked voice cut off the teen before he could answer. "What are you doing in here?" She said, her eyes narrowing when they landed on Touya as she walked inside the room. "You're supposed to be in bed." she asked, turning her gaze towards the amber-eyed male. Touya noticed how her gaze softened and how her eyes shone with a sparkle as she looked at the boy she called Syaoran.
Immediately, he felt his blood boil in anger. Why was his sister looking at him with such burning hate and looking at this… this Gaki, with that kind look?
"Stop glaring at him," she said coldly.
"Or what?" he sneered, "You'll throw a couple more knives at me?"
For a fraction of a second, hurt flashed in her eyes, but it was gone as soon as it came and Touya wondered if he had only imagined it.
"Let's go, Syaoran," she took the boy's hand and pulled him to his feet.
"What's wrong with the Gaki anyways?" he asked as she started leading the boy, Syaoran, towards the door.
She stopped walking, her body frozen for so long that Touya began to worry about her. Just when he opened his mouth to call out to her quiet voice cut him off. "He had an accident."
"Oh, so he went loco." He didn't know why he was being so rude. That boy had after all given him water. And he had this aura of childish innocence about him. So then… was it because of the way Sakura had treated the two of them?
"You're mean," Syaoran spoke up all of a sudden, looking at him through narrowed eyes. But his expression was still somewhat innocent, which annoyed Touya to no end. He wasn't mean. This brat had stolen his sister from him. So he had all the right in the world to act the way he was.
"And you're a Gaki." He retorted simply, meeting his offended glare with one of his own.
"Ignore him, Syaoran." Sakura pulled at the brat's hand, who immediately turned around and began walking with her.
His heart clenched painfully as he watched her receding back.
She was leaving.
"Sakura," He called, but she ignored it.
She was leaving him again.
"Sakura," he called again, "don't leave." And for a second, her step faltered, but then she had her hand pressed against the panel next to the door.
Blood pounded in his ears as cold sweat formed on his brow. She couldn't leave him.
"Sakura, wait," he struggled against the ropes that held him in place hoping to somehow break them, but they were tightly secured and he was weak from exhaustion and blood loss. "Don't go." He pleaded, but the jade-eyed girl paid no attention to his voice as the door slid close behind her, leaving the struggling, injured hunter alone with his thoughts.
She's gone…
A/N: What do you guys think of Sakura's character? And did you like the interaction between Touya and Syaoran? I let Touya find out what's wrong with Sakura. Or part of it at least. ^_^ Wonder how long will it take for the two of them figure things out.