A/N: I was planning on putting this up after my last final tomorrow morning as a celebration but then I decided to treat to you to double updates instead. So expect another update on this fic tomorrow. ;) ;)
For now, enjoy!
"I'm sorry for endangering your lives," Sakura bowed her head at the glaring Kurogane. Tomoyo placed her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to assuage his anger, but it didn't work well when her own lavender-eyes were filled with so much disappointment as she looked at Sakura. Fai was leaning against a wall a little ways away from everyone, breathing heavily with his eyes closed. He had expended quite a lot of his magic while trying to protect Syaoran from the reinforcements as he was waiting for Sakura's arrival.
Sakura had helped him locate Kurogane, who had wordlessly picked up Syaoran and slung him across his shoulder as they had raced back toward Little Dragon where they found a stirring Tomoyo.
After hearing Tomoyo tell them about how the hunter had taken her by surprise and knocked her out, Kurogane had turned his furious glare on Sakura, demanding to know everything.
Knowing that she owed it to them, Sakura had then proceeded to explain the nature of her job as well as her history with the hunters and other overlords in the galactic underworld. She even told them about her amnesia and her quest to find her memories. She decided not to bring in Syaoran or his seal in her explanation or their connection to her past. She did tell them about Syaoran sneaking away on the ship she had used to get to the acidic planet and then, just to ensure her own life, she had retold an edited version of her mission. One that involved Syaoran staying safely behind at the watchtower while she collected the info and returned to collect him before coming back.
"I know you guys definitely hate me for bringing this all upon you," she continued, not daring to meet Kurogane's eye, "after everything you guys did for me, saving my life on Koryo. I apologize for inconveniencing you and for putting your lives in jeopardy, especially Syaoran's. If you want me to, I'll leave immediately. They want me, so I'll do something to alert the hunters to my presence someplace else. They won't bother you after that."
"No!" Syaoran yelled all of a sudden from his spot behind Kurogane, determinedly walking towards Sakura to stand next to her. Everyone, including Sakura, could only gape at him as he grabbed hold of one of her hands, not looking at her but glaring angrily at his mentor and adoptive brother. "No." he repeated firmly, squeezing her hand once in a comforting manner.
"Tch." Overcoming his initial shock, Kurogane clenched one of his fists as he strode towards the pair.
"Kurogane," Tomoyo warned quietly but he paid her no mind.
Syaoran seemed to shrink back a little but stubbornly kept on holding to Sakura's hand.
"You're right. You lied to us." he growled menacingly, "By not telling us the truth, by letting us assume things about you. You were the reason hunters attacked us in Clow. You led that bastard, Ryanban, to hijack our ship. You're the reason my pilot was shot. You took Syaoran down to that acidic planet. And because of you the hunter we captured knocked out Tomoyo. You're the reason the kid is fuckin' glaring at me and right now I want to do nothing more than stuff you into an airlock and flush you out into deep space."
Sakura lowered her head in resignation as she saw the red-eyed man raise his fisted hand.
Thump!
He boxed her on the head before continuing in a slightly softer tone, though the gruffness was still there, "but you also ensured that we came out alive. You could have left us and ran off when you got off the ship but you came back. You killed that bastard. I really don't care if it was for your personal reasons or not but you did. And through it all, you kept the kid safe. "
"What's more, you made Syaoran glare at Kurogane!" Tomoyo squealed all of a sudden, rushing forward and throwing her arms around the two teens. "Ever since you boarded our ship, Syaoran has been coming out of his shell. Don't think you can ditch us all now." She added sternly as she let go of them and grabbed hold of Sakura's shoulders to look in her eyes, "Especially since I think I might be having a concussion because of that stupid hunter knocking me out. I think I'm going to need lots of bedrest." She pretended to sway on her feet as she took a couple of steps away from her. "We're going to need a new cook."
"Umm… The things I cook are rarely edible," Sakura responded in a small voice.
"Nonsense," Tomoyo waved her off, resuming her previous energetic disposition, "Fai over there can be your cooking instructor."
"You got that right." The blond grinned widely, though the dark circles underneath his golden eyes and the general pallor of his skin sort of ruined the effect. "I am one mean cook."
"Che…" Kurogane scoffed, "the only thing you know how to cook is sugary crap."
"Why, Kurgy, you wound me." Fai said in mock hurt.
Next to Sakura, Syaoran started chuckling softly which slowly turned into full-blown laughter.
Apart from Sakura, who had seen him laughing before, everyone else was gaping at the amber-eyed male as he laughed at the captain's and the pilot's antics. But after a short while the mood lightened and they all joined in.
"Oh, yeah," Fai laughed joyously, "We are definitely not letting you go anywhere anytime soon."
"By the way, Sakura," Tomoyo said once they all quieted down. "We're going to make a detour before going to Infinity."
"We are?" Fai and Kurogane voiced their surprise.
"We are." Tomoyo stated firmly. "We're heading over to Piffle first. I need to shop for supplies."
"And?" Kurogane asked cautiously, obviously used to the lavender-eyed medic's sudden announcements.
"And clothes!" she declared happily, grabbing hold of Sakura's free hand- the other one was still being held by Syaoran. "Ohohoho, we are going to have so much fun shopping for clothes!"
Sakura, feeling indebted to the group for their kindness did not have the heart to tell Tomoyo that she in fact hated shopping for clothes.
What have I gotten myself into? She mentally sighed, listening to the older woman go on and on about the various styles that would look perfect on her, the colors that would bring out her eyes the best and compliment her skin the most.
I wish Chi and Chunhyang were here. Sakura thought trepidation. They would have been so much better for this sort of thing.
-0-
Touya looked at the controls of the ship he had just stolen and used the ship's computer to connect to the gal-net. Giving a verbal command for the computer to dial an intra-galactic call, Touya dug around in his pocket and pulled out a small gray semi-sphere not any larger in size than his fisted hand.
Placing in on top of the control console in front of him- the flat side of the sphere facing downwards, he watched the holo-screen in front of him flicker as the ship's computer tried to connect the call. Waiting for it to work, he fingered the top of the semi-sphere, tracing the pink cherry blossom pattern embossed on its surface.
"It's me, Touya," he said, as soon as the screen stabilized and showed the face of a pale-skinned man with grey eyes hidden behind a pair of spectacles. "I found her." Digging around in his jacket for the other device that he had managed to snag before leaving Little Dragon, Touya continued.
"I'm sending something that'll catch your interest for sure."
-0-
Far away, somewhere in a dark room, footage played on a wide holoscreen, showing a pair of teenagers fighting against a large faction of soldiers from the Reed Enterprise Research Lab. A hand pressed on a control panel and the footage froze on a particular scene, zooming in on one of the teenagers.
"Xiaolang," a deep, gravelly voice chuckled, noticing the cold yet equally intense look on the amber-eyed boy's face. "You can try and run all you want, but you'll never be able to hide."
"Even after all these cycles," a second voice pointed out, "it seems like our precious Cherry Blossom still has her uses."
"Indeed." The first voice replied. "Indeed she does."
"So what are your orders now?"
"Retrieve the experiments," the first voice commanded, "we will pick up everything from where we left off."
"Understood."
"Oh, and if you happen to run into that mage again while you are at it," the first voice added as an afterthought, "tell him to say hello to his twin for me."
A/N: So Tomoyo finally has a chance to dress Sakura in cute clothes. I wonder how that will go. ;) And Sakura managed to wiggle her way out of trouble with the crew on Little Dragon. Lucky her.
Who could this mysterious person be that Touya had contacted? And what exactly did he manage to steal from the ship? Can someone smell trouble in the near future?
Don't forget to leave a review.
-Nims