Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Black Wings ❯ Chapter 22 ( Chapter 22 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Black Wings

By: Aisaki Sumi

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Chapter 22

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“Sakura!” Syaoran called out in a desperate attempt to stop the frail figure from disappearing down the darkened hallway. The hand that he reached out as he tried to catch her was left hanging in mid air, paralyzed. She had disappeared out of his the fringes of his sight, just like that.

He failed to make her stay.

Like a butterfly alighting on a leave, no traces of impact were left behind to suggest that she was actually there in the first place. He only managed to catch a single glimpse of her horrified green eyes, and before he could get a sense of reality, she was already gone; vanished without a trace.

Perhaps he was just hallucinating.

But the footsteps were real; the loud thud caused by her falling sketchbook was real.

The sound of her shoes clicking against the cold marble floor resonated in the ghastly silence of the arts hallway, along with the frantic beats of his heart which sounded exceptionally loud in his ears. He didn't mean to blurt it out like that in a moment of heat. He didn't mean to scare her away.

He didn't mean a lot of things.

But life didn't provide him with rooms to regret.

Beside him, Meiling chattered like a broken record - the words washed through him, past him, bled into each other as they faded; around, beneath, and beyond. Syaoran blinked, once and twice. He just stood there, staring at the half-open door blankly.

He licked his dry lips subconsciously, savoring the bitterness of the orange juice's residue left behind on his lower lip - the drink he had for lunch. Meiling's voice barely brushed against his ears in timid waves as he stood still like a statue while his mind dwelled on the fact of: she left.

He felt his head swim when a rapid commotion stirred the air. Word-waves ran high, the shrill current cleansing as Meiling grabbed his hands and compelled him to look at her as if forcing him to acknowledge her existence.

Syaoran.

He blinked to see through the blur, slowly translating the unintelligible mess back into something that resembled speech. Syaoran blinked again. Through the clashing colors of gray and blue and white, he saw something sparklingly bright in her eyes, and something infinitely sad in the depth of scarlet red.

The pressure inside his ears kept the words behind a wall of translucent ice. He wondered if she saw this; her lips moved, but he heard no sound. The red spreads, a smear across white knuckles as Meiling clenched her fists.

Just then, his cell phone rang. The cheerful ring tone shattered the deadly silence between them, and Syaoran vaguely remembered hearing something buzzing annoyingly. Shaking his head slightly, his numbed and stiff fingers fumbled their way to his pocket to pull out a vibrating phone.

One new message, the bolded letters flashed on the colored screen blindingly. Syaoran automatically pressed the read button and his heart skipped a beat as he saw the simple statement that stared back at him almost mockingly.

If you want her, come and claim her.

-- Kaitou

Underneath it was a picture of Sakura tied down to a chair with her mouth taped. Her hair was messed up, with a few strands sticking out here and there, her face had traces of dirt on it and her skin was the palest shade of white, but the defiance in her eyes was as manifest as ever.

But despite her fragile form and the situation she was in, he saw no traces of fear on her face.

P.S.: same place as our last duel, you can only come alone. If you inform the police about this, you will never be able to see her again.

Syaoran's grasp on the phone tightened, his nails digging into the plastic cover of the phone and leaving a few scratches behind. He turned away from the offensive looking cellphone and averted his gaze to the door again, with only one thing set on his mind.

I have to go save her.

Determination surfaced in the pools of endless amber as if the world was just down to him and his strong desire to save the one he loved.

Syaoran…

The harangue from Meiling continued, and he was only able to make out a few more words - don't go. But he must. If something happened to her, he would never be able to forgive himself. I'll protect you, Sakura. His own vow echoed in his mind, so repetitively and tauntingly like a bad song put on repeat.

I have to go.

He shoved Meiling aside and dashed for the door. I'll protect you Sakura, until my last breath. He failed to see the lingering look of despair in her eyes. The eye-stingingly dusts fell from the corner of her eyes, for the first time and the very last time ever.

Syaoran.

……

Don't come. Don't come. Sakura chanted in her head silently with her eyes closed. If you come I'll never speak to you again. She threatened childishly, as if this thought would be passed down to him somehow.

“Don't worry, he'll come alright.”

She titled her head upward and glared at Kaitou's direction upon hearing those words. Furrowing her eyebrows in disgust and loath, she immediately recognized him. He was none of than the leader of Bloods, the opposition school gang at Tomoeda.

She sneered at him scornfully and looked away. But he held tightly onto her chin and forced her vision to align with his. “I don't like that look on your face missy.” He said bitterly, through gritted teeth.

“Don't challenge my tolerant capacity.” He warned, his nails digging into her flesh and leaving bright red marks behind on her porcelain colored skin.

Just then, a loud roar of engine was heard and she turned to the direction of where the sound came from. The roars sounded so familiar to her ears. It was him…it just had to be him…

Her heart was beating with anticipation. Caught in a dilemma, she subconsciously wanted him to come, but at the same time, she didn't want him to come.

Through the blinding rays of the sun, Sakura saw the confident face that took her breath away the first time she saw him, her black winged angel. “Let her go.” He demanded, pronouncing each syllable slowly and clearly.

“And what if I don't?” A smirk tugged on Kaitou's face as he challenged.

“Then I'll make you regret this decision for the rest of your life.” Syaoran menaced, his voice still as smooth and soft as ever, like silk sliding over a blade. But Sakura suddenly felt the atmosphere's temperature had just dropped by a few degrees.

“Li-kun, don't forget that your precious Kinomoto Sakura is still in my hand, and if my hand suddenly slips by accident, you'll never be able to see her again.” Kaitou drawled lazily, completely ignoring the waves of promises of death advancing toward his way.

Sakura's breath itched as she felt something cold and smooth rubbing against the skin of her neck. The movement was gentle and seemed harmless, yet every single part of her body was high alert. She glanced at Syaoran's saw briefly and saw his lips suppressed into a line and his face pale white.

He was worried about her.

“Leave her out of this Kaitou. This is between you and me.” Syaoran couldn't stand the dangerous silence anymore, especially the sight of a knife so close to Sakura's throat. His fists tightened until his knuckles turned white but he tried to keep a straight face.

“True, true. But she interrupted our last fight…” Kaitou trailed off, glance aslant as he scrutinized Sakura. “So she's involved, directly or indirectly, and that means I can't let her go.”

Syaoran's eyes widened for the briefest moment, but he managed to conceal away his thoughts immediately, keeping his collectiveness. “What are you talking about Kaitou? How could she be involved in our last fight?”

“Don't treat me like a fool Li!” Kaitou spat out, eyes narrowed dangerously as he pulled out a sketchbook out of his jacket. “I went back afterwards and found this near the dumpster. Now explain to me how this sketchbook with the name Kinomoto Sakura got there?”

There was an interlude of silence and Syaoran knew there was no point of pretending Sakura wasn't involved. Gnawing at the corner of his lips, Syaoran took a quick glance at Sakura from the corner of his eyes and slowly ambled toward them.

“It's me that you wanted. Let her go and I'll stay here.”

Sakura's eyes widened in shock as she gawked at him in disbelief, but he cleverly avoided her gaze. “How's that?” He pressed on, bright amber eyes boring into the black orbs that were like the bottomless abyss.

The corner of Kaitou's mouth lifted as a satisfied and slightly amused grin formed on his face. “Let's make this a bit more interesting then shall we? If you can take 10 bunches from each member from Bloods, and still be able to stand still, I'll let both of you go.”

“Mmmmff! (NO!)” Sakura cried out, protesting loudly and struggling to break free from ropes that bound her to the chair she was sitting on. The roughness of the rope cut through her delicate skin; the smear of red stained her porcelain colored skin.

But Syaoran ignored her protests. “Deal.”

Horror, despair, impotence and franticness flashed in those depths of green. But there wasn't anything she could do, other than to watch. Syaoran stood in the center, surrounded by smirking members of Bloods. His hands were tied together to prevent him from fighting back.

“Let the fun begin!” Kaitou raised his hands into the air and clapped loudly to signal them to start.

Nooo!! Sakura screamed on the top of her lungs as she watched Syaoran being cornered in the middle by eight guys. One by one, they bunched him as hard as they could. Blood started to trickle down the corner of his lips, and his handsome face was covered by bruises. But he refused to fall on his knees and make a sound.

Tears of anger and frustration swelled up in her eyes, blurring her vision to a point that all she could see were clashing red and black colors. The sight of such bright contrast stung her eyes. He was taking all that because of her. He came here even though he knew he could get hurt. But he came anyway, because of her.

Every single punch he took felt like a stab in her heart. She bit her lower lip so hard that she could taste her own warm blood gushing out of the wound. But the pain was nothing comparing to the pain inside of her chest.

Syaoran… Syaoran… she called out his name repetitively as she writhed in her seat, trying to get the rope off her. The pain on her arms and legs felt numb to her. At that moment, she just wanted to help him.

Syaoran…Syaoran…she chanted his name in her heart for god knows how long. Syaoran…

Suddenly, the bunching sounds died down and Sakura froze on the spot. She slowly looked up and saw Syaoran wobbling slightly. His face was covered in blood and his hands were still bound together by the same rope that was used to tie her down.

“10… bunches…from…e-each…” He whispered weakly, struggling hard to maintain his balance. “Now…let…Sakura…go…” He gazed at Kaitou who was so stunned that it seemed like he had just seen a ghost.

“Un-untie the girl.” Kaitou ordered, stammering a little unblinkingly as he continued to gawk at Syaoran in disbelief. How could he still stand there like that after being beaten so badly?

Once Sakura felt the rope loosen up, she quickly freed herself and ripped the tape of her mouth with little care. Dragging her numbed and limp legs, she rushed toward him and caught him in her arms before he fell to the ground.

Crystal tears sparkled in her large emerald green eyes as she wrapped her left around him, resting his head on her chest. Her other free hand ripped a piece of white cloth off her school shirt and used it to wipe the blood off his cheeks and the areas around his eyes.

“Baka…baka…why did you come…” Her voice was coarse and broken as she questioned him. Her hot tears splashed onto his face, washing away the eye-stinging redness. She just couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks.

“Because…I said… I would always…protect you…no matter what…” He smiled, so-ever-comfortingly, like the spring, before he closed his eyes.

I'll protect you, Sakura.

He kept his promise.

But it was one promise that she didn't want him to keep.

a.n: I am BEYOND sorry about this short chap. I really wanted to get the ending up this weekend, but I couldn't, because I have SOO much things to do before the x-mas holidays that it's driving me nuts! Ugh! Last cramming before x-mas!

GOMEN GOMEN!! This is only part 1 of the ending! I'll post the second part on Thursday night! -runs away before she gets killed off by angry readers-

Really, really, sorry about this.