Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction / Tokyo Babylon Fan Fiction ❯ The Bet ❯ To Catch a Killer ( Chapter 8 )

The Bet:

Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: Both Card Captor Sakura and Tokyo Babylon belong to CLAMP, and not me. I make no money from this work of fanfiction at all.

Bradley Crawford's eyes opened- and paused.

"Farfarello has bitten off more than he can chew this time," he told the rest of his team. Nagi and Schuldich nodded.

"His brain is even more scrambled than usual," Schuldig said as they started to get ready to go. "You saw him… up against Sakurazukamori. We don't stand a chance against that. Yet he somehow got it into his head that he could finally hurt God…"

"Exactly. He's a member of the team. We don't want to lose him."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yue and Sakura sat, waiting as Mirei said her goodbyes to the body of the woman she called mother.

When they had found the latest victim of the subway killer, Mirei had fainted... and had been out long enough for them to get her back to the police infirmary. They had sat in the room with her, hoping she would be able to cope when she woke up again.

Not that a person could truly recover from something like that. Mirei would have to see not just another murder, but the murder of someone she loved. And not just someone she had loved- but the person who had helped her learn to cope with her abilities. Sakura's heart ached for the gentle woman.

Yue's heart hurt as well. He and Yukito had become close to this person. She was one of the few people he had allowed in.

This meant that when Mirei emerged from the corner's, with a grim, determined expression on her face, they felt something had to be wrong. Yet neither did they question her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The phone kept ringing, and Yukito kept worrying.

"Its possible that she is on a date," Touya said, sipping his coffee. Yukito finally hung up the phone.

"No, probably not," Yukito finally answered, after pacing for a few moments then sitting down. "She said she had someone special in mind and- I," Yukito paused. "Well, she hasn't run into him yet."

Touya raised an eyebrow, but didn't press.

"Are you going to go to the subway to check on her?" Sakura asked. She had been sitting on the couch playing cards with Tomoyo. Their little group had been spending the recent rainy days together. It had been so bad that Sakura had been tempted to use the Storm card to change things- but had decided against it.

Yukito nodded, and went to get his coat. It was odd, to be doing something without Touya or Sakura- but this was something he felt he had to do. Mirei- alone?

No. He was a Guardian, no matter his form.

It was with a heavy heart he walked out into the rain, to find the subways.

Behind him, his friends watched.

"Are we really going to leave him alone to do this?" Tomoyo asked quietly, putting her cards on the table. Kero-chan did the same.

"You bet we ain't," he replied. Touya was already reaching for his umbrella, and Sakura was putting on her boots.

"We just won't let him know we're there yet."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Yukito blinked, feeling urgency tickle the edge of his mind. His breathing picked up, and without realizing it he had transformed into Yue but he could still feel their body as they dashed on to the train. Together, they almost got trapped in the subway doors as they tried to at least make it on the train. Yue hissed, coming to yet another set of connecting doors, and wrenched them open. Thankfully they were unlocked, or they would have been in ruins, as he hurled himself through.

He could see her, as she sat in the same seat as the girl Yukito had watched murdered- with a young human man leaning down at her, his body language speaking confidence and casual menace. Mirei looked like a cornered rabbit.

Forward- another unlocked door.

A man lunged in, from between the cars, before Yue could get there and provided a second's distraction- before his throat was slit and bled out. Yue grimaces, and kept going.

Forward- but this one wouldn't open.

There was a massive, horrific screech as the subway skidded to a hault- a result of the night's horrible weather.

Mirei surprisingly pushed the attacker aside to reach the man, while Yue reared back to form crystals, which tore the door off its hinges to let him through. By the time he got there- Mirei and her attacker were gone.

The detective Yue remembered from earlier was there, staring at the door, and the dead body.

"Idiot," he said softly, tossing his trench coat over the young man's body. "You can't get a promotion when you're dead."

Yue got to his feet, about to follow the head off the train.

"Yue-san, was it?" the detective asked, grabbing his arm. Yue shook it off. "Listen- we have to be careful, work with us, okay?" They exited the train together, looking around.

"Yue-san?" There was a pause as the other detective spoke. "You're friends are looking for you." He waved his cell phone about.

The way before the train was covered in water- there was no way they could have gone that way. Turning was the only way for them to go.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Farfarello hauled Mirei down the subway tunnels, laughing to himself as he carried her. Mirei futilely beat on his clothes, scratched at anything she could reach- but he shrugged it off.

"Why?" She yelled- then he slapped her. Quietly, she kept asking. "Why? Why did you kill those women?"

"To hurt God, the same way God hurt me," the man hissed, before slapping her again. "Then I saw His Messenger- and finally knew that God had wept at my transgressions. You are His servant, even though He cursed you. I will use you to lure out God's Messenger and destroy him."

Yue, she thought, frightened. She was going to be used to lure him in. Squirming, she rolled her face against his clothes, grimacing at the smell of blood so deeply soaked in that no amount of washing could remove it.

She felt death- saw every murder- and screamed.

And screamed.

And screamed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I don't think we can drive any further," Touya said, his usually chipper voice… no less chipper than normal. The road before them was flooded- the only thing that kept the ankle deep water from going further up the streets was the sandbags piled four deep across.

Sakura beat a fist against the dashboard, and Tomoyo reached over to rub her shoulder. The young sorceress took a deep breath, and got out the car.

"We need to find him," She said firmly. She was quickly getting soaked to the skin despite the water resistant garment of Tomoyo's. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Touya was looking distant… and Sakura blinked at him. He was absently smoking, despite the rain.

"We can split up. You girls and Kero-chan go that way," he pointed to the right. "I'll go here, and see what I can find." Touya pointed left, and was already walking, and easily leapt over the nearly stone wall.

That was when the two girls heard the screams- and ran as fast as if Sakura had used the Dash.

They didn't get far.

Tomoyo looked up in time to see a train car fall at the- with a scream she fell to the ground and covered her head. Sakura whipped out the Shield card just in time to deflect it. Beneath its protection, Sakura wrapped her arms around Tomoyo to comfort her- and both stood, staring out from inside the safe bubble.

Two men approached. One, tall and redheaded, smirking; the other, younger than they, dark and expressionless- but with pieces of rusted, warped metal dancing around his head.

"Aren't they pretty?" the redhead said, looking at them in a way that make Sakura squirm, and she could feel Tomoyo's face turn… cold. Sakura shivered.

His companion said nothing- but a few of the metal pieces flung themselves at the Shield, testing its strength and boundaries. Sakura flinched- Shield had to draw more energy from her to keep each blow at bay.

Yet she weathered it-

"This isn't going to get us very far," the redhead remarked, smirking even more broadly… and waved his hand… and a large lion with wings appeared, shaking his head, but still advancing, his muscles tense as he fought each step- but that didn't stop him from opening his mouth- and blasting them with fire.

"KERO-CHAN!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

<____>

Yue heard the scream- and nearly popped out his wings to fly there. He quickly outrun the detective, and arrived in time to see someone fall from a height to land on the blond man, knocking the shell shocked Mirei away. She stared at them, dazed, soaked and confused.

"RUN!"

Yue would have been shocked if he'd had the time- Miyataka had grabbed hold of the man's knife, and was being tossed around like a rag doll as Mirei scrambled up rickety ladder. He was tossed, casually, into a wall.

The blond growled, before ignoring Miyataka completely- his goal was Mirei, and was climbing after her when Yue caught up to Mirei's knight in shining armor.

"Are you all right?" he asked tersely. His friend nodded, pointing urgently towards where Mirei and her attacker had gone. Yue didn't hesitate, throwing himself up the ladder- he heard the detectives and still did not dare add his wings.

~*~*~**~*~*~*~

ß à

Farfarello crawled after the Servant of God, who desperately tried to get away from him, whimpering. He had hurt her, he knew. He felt her use her holy powers on him- and knew that she had harmed for it. He smiled cruelly. When he had seen the Messenger, he any doubts that his teammates had so painstakingly tried to give him, had been swept away. He KNEW he was right, and he could finally… finally…

She had kept barely ahead of him- and he had made sure to stay behind the gibbering woman, savoring her panic and fear.

Now she was edging out on to a narrow ledge over a deep, (now) water filled tunnel. Agilely the assassin stepped after her, pulling one of his knives out, lunging-

"AAAAHHH!"

Farfarello was yanked away, small but powerful hands gripping his clothes. His good eye rolling, he shimmied in his opponent's grip, hissing like a cat to see the Messenger. White- all he saw was white hair, pale skin, silver eyes- beautiful and full of holy rage.

Before the Messenger could stop him, he wiggled, drawing back and slashing frantically at the radiant being who held him. There was a screech of pain- and he was dropped into the shallow water beneath.

Farfarello tread water, seeing the angel falter in the air, and grab hold of the same ledge that the servant still balanced on. The look he received from the Messenger promised death- he wouldn't need the servant anymore to keep his attention. Fighting in water would be to the advantage of neither- he turned to swim away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

ß --à

Yue gritted his teeth in pain, flailing in the air until he snagged the ledge, and made his wings vanish. The shallow cut was transferred to his shoulder blade, which opened and bled into his clothes. He took a deep breath, hanging there.

"Mirei-san," he ground out," you have to go back…" She was staring at him like she had no idea who he was. That was likely- at the moment she had the countenance of a wild animal.

"Go- go back-"

She began to move on shaky legs, trembling with fear and still in shock over what she had seen, eyes dazed. Mirei was barely aware of her surroundings- and screamed, as her foot slipped.

"MIREI!"

Yue couldn't get to her- but-

Her knight in shining armor could.

Bare hands on bare hands met- and-

Yue could sense the magic being transferred from body to body, mind to mind and soul to soul, as the two psychics touched. Mirei gasped, and Miyataka smiled at her tenderly as sanity returned to her eyes.

"I knew… we would meet again."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

ß ---à

Sakura stared grimly at the two men before her.

Shield had held off Kero-chan's attack- but she had to free him, not weather this storm.

"Tomoyo-chan," she whispered under her breath. "We have to save Kero- one of those guys are controlling him. I don't know which one."

"The one who is moving things is more dangerous," Tomoyo said softly, and reached into her purse- and pulled out a can of mace. "You go after the telekinetic- and make enough noise that I can go after the other one."

Sakura's eyes widened- and she nodded. She was proud of her friend. Reaching into her pocket-

"WINDY!"

Both girls ran out of Shield's protection- while Sakura called Arrow and Jump as Windy pushed back Kero-chan. Tomoyo trotted grimly behind her- she wasn't athletic but-

//Now, now little girl,// a voice whispered in her head, as Sakura charged on. Tomoyo froze in terror.

//Do you really think you can surprise me?// The redhead looked directly at her, his smile turning predatory. //I'll know any move you make before even you do.//

//Get out of my mind.// Tomoyo said answered- coldly, masking her fear.

//And how do you propose to do that, beautiful? I kind of like it- ooh, lets look at all of those memories… Does your little friend know how much you love her? Does she-//

Tomoyo could feel this bastard digging around in her head- and she gritted her teeth, and met his eyes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

ß --à

Farfarello ran- he had to find a place to ambush the Messenger. He knew that the blow he had struck would do little good. Turning her a corner, he ran into-

"Crawford?" he skidded to a stop, staring at his 'boss'.

"Farfarello," the American said calmly. "We need to get you out of here. I had a vision."

He refused to listen to anymore- twisting on his toes he sprinted off, panting, to find a place to make his stand… Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of white. Diving, he tossed one of his knives, and rolled, coming up behind yet another car.

Farfarello's lips twisted in excitement. The Messenger of God would die.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

ß ---à

Bradley Crawford watched as the Irishman sprint away, frowning. His vision had been explicit in its meaning-

And there was someone smoking beside him. His head turned despite him, and he took in the tall young man dressed in a suit at least as expensive as his own. His eyes glittered in the faint light, smiling with a hint of amusement. Crawford had seen him before- but only in his visions.

Or his nightmares.

"Sakurazukamori," Crawford tried to keep the trembling out of his voice. After all, he was standing next to the Bogeyman of Assassins.

"Schwarz, I believe."

Crawford nodded, his throat dry. "I apologize for my associate's behavior. I will reign him in immediately."

"Don't worry," Sakurazukamori said, taking a long drag of his cigarette. "I understand you are professionals. Unfortunately, your associate has damaged my property. I can't allow that. You understand, don't you? I wouldn't want to kill all of you. You're so good at your work."

Crawford paled.

"Now, if you will pardon me for not actually being here- but I do want to protect what is mine. I can't let anyone else catch what I caught first."

And the illusion shattered around Crawford- making him realize he'd never been talking to the real thing. He wasn't sure he was grateful or not.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

ß ----à

Yue hissed as a knife barely missed him- and he tried to find cover, when a pair of arms with the strength a bear wrapped around his windpipe in a sleeper grip- and he knew no more.

All he could remember was the sight of a few sakura petals drifting in the wind- and a scream.

The next thing he knew, he was drifting awake, with a horrific headache, in Touya's lap. Sunlight pried his eyes open. The other man was smiling at him gently, and helping him sit up. Yue said no words as he leaned into Touya's shoulder, having his hair stroked. He ached…

Then he noticed something behind them.

The murderer- his eyes were staring up towards heaven, like he had been trying to pray. His face said he had finally met the Devil.

Yue just… stared.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Sakura's concentration on her battle with the telekinetic was shattered when she heard a scream.

That was okay… so was her opponent's.

The redhead had fallen to his knees, convulsing. His partner ran to him, ignoring Sakura- who stared at Tomoyo, who in turn was looking at him in completely bewilderment.

Spittle frothed at the redhead's mouth as he thrashed, biting out his tongue.

"Mastermind, Prodigy," someone called, and Sakura dived between Tomoyo and their attackers, pulling out Sword.

"We're leaving. We're on Sakurazukamori's territory. We get out NOW."

Prodigy- the one still standing- used his powers to float the still flailing man up. There was total silence as they departed- and Sakura reached over to put an arm around Sakura. Vaguely she thought she should do something about the retreating men- but she was too worried and tired.

"Tomoyo- what did you do?" Sakura whispered into her ear.

"I- I don't know."

Sakura opened her mouth to ask more- but they both heard a groan. Kero-chan had reverted to his false form and was huddled pathetically against the asphalt. Sakura dashed to him, to pick him up.

"I didn't do a thing to him," Tomoyo whispered, touching her head, shivering. "Nothing at all."

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Yue stood next to Mirei, as they walked down the street.

"How are you holding up?"

"I've been better- since- since the funeral," Mirei sighed, looking at her still gloved hands. There was an engagement ring winking on one finger. "The engagement though- its kept me so busy that I've not had the time to be sad. It helps."

"I'm happy for you," Yue smiled. "I think you won't be lonely anymore."

"I'm not," the relief in her words was great. "And- Yue… I don't think you have to be lonely anymore either." Her eyes were no longer on him- but looking ahead. He followed her gaze and saw Touya, with Sakura and Tomoyo, waiting for him.

"I don't think I have to be, either."

To be continued.

A/N: I think there will be two more chapters after this one. I have been using the OAV episodes because they are shorter and therefore a lot less troublesome and to the point than writing out the manga…