glances shiftily around and sneaks around to shamefully slip in her latest chapter… after many years. Thanks to all the fans who relentlessly reviewed to keep me going. I swear, I want this story arc finished too.

"Uh-huh," Sakura nodded again, listlessly stirring the butternut squash cream in the gold-rimmed soup bowl as Jin reminded her for the umpteenth time how exclusive the grandiose restaurant was, citing how even he had trouble getting reservations.

Sakura didn't blame him. A mere glance around the ornate dining hall made her feel as though she should have paid an additional admission fee, being surrounded by several Tiffany stained-glass windows framed in high arches and extravagant Waterford crystal chandeliers. Still, Sakura couldn't help but feel smothered under the capacious dome of the restaurant, and it wasn't only because of all the lush velvet and elegant patrons gaudily bedecked in jewels that flashed all too realistically as they ate. Jin's genuine sincerity to be a model gentleman was too baffling to Sakura to eat properly. Not only was the clean-shaven Jin violently clashing with the strong image in her mind of the scruffy playboy who often smelled faintly of rum and expensive cologne, but his table manners were impeccable. Sakura couldn't tell whether he was sincere in asking her what she wanted to order, or if it was another lead-in for a rude come-on.

"I can't breathe…" Sakura mumbled to herself, scribbling on the napkin in her lap discreetly, but failing miserably once more at kick-starting her muse, barely able to digest any more of Jin's egotistical prattle.

"Pardon?" Jin broke into her thoughts as he took another sip of his Chablis, a surprised tone in his voice after what must have been her first few words of the evening.

"Oh," Sakura blinked rapidly into reality, and reached for her glass, wanting to stall for time to think of an excuse, but her fingers tipped the stem and the chardonnay spilled over the white linen and splashed slightly on the pink satin of her sheath dress.

"Damn it!" she swore under her breath and instinctively stood up, dabbing hurriedly at the damp spot with her napkin.

Jin made a move to assist her, but she raised her hand, waving him off.

"It's fine. Please excuse me for a bit," she said dismissively as she headed toward the restrooms.

Under the yellowed glow of the lights over the bathroom sink, Sakura tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she gazed at her reflection, dimly remembering the conversation she had with Tomoyo the day before, telling him of her plans to date Jin…

--

"I thought you said you liked Syaoran," Tomoyo pouted slightly in confusion.

"I never did, and I don't!" Sakura hollered from the bathroom, spraying a mouthful of toothpaste all over the mirror in her exasperation.

"I thought you hated Jin, even more than Meilin or I did," Tomoyo continued from her comfortable perch against the doorway, watching Sakura angrily gargle and spit hurriedly.

"I thought you swore to never date anyone, you damn hypocritical nun," Sakura muttered through her towel as she dried her face.

Tomoyo narrowed her eyes, scowling despite the automatic blush that came to her cheeks whenever her mystery boyfriend was mentioned. "Love is unpredictable."

"Yeah, well same here," Sakura grinned emphatically. It was so rare to hold a trump card over Tomoyo that she couldn't resist abusing it for as long as it was valid.

"B-but why him?" Tomoyo prodded, desperate to keep the focus on the matter at hand. "We've known he was an asshole since he stepped foot in Twilight Den."

Sakura paused, genuinely calculating her reasons. "Well… you remember what it was like before we met each other, right?"

Tomoyo stiffened a bit, so Sakura took that to mean "yes."

"We were so naive, Tomoyo. We were like islands, broken off from the rest of the world. The sad part is that not only did we know it, but we didn't care to know about the rest of the world. I thought I only needed myself, but then… If you guys hadn't reached out to me…" Sakura spoke gently, not wanting to hurt Tomoyo, but her own voice was breaking. "Now… I'm just glad to have been given that chance to reconnect again, Tomoyo. And I want to give Jin that chance to reconnect."

After a long moment, Tomoyo nodded, hiding her face under the shade of her long bangs. "I hope you're making the right decision, Sakura…"

--

"I hope I'm making the right decision too," Sakura whispered to her reflection before heading back to the table. "Sorry, did you wait long?" she smiled with renewed resolve as she saw Jin, but slowed her steps as she saw another familiar face approaching behind him.

"Fancy meeting you here," Syaoran grinned sardonically, striding briskly to their table.

"Syaoran!" Jin seemed a bit more alarmed than usual around his life-long friend and stood up immediately. "Uh, have a seat," he said awkwardly, gesturing toward Sakura's chair.

Syaoran glanced over at the half eaten dinner and shook his head. "I should have known it was you. I didn't mean to interrupt your date; I was only concerned when I received a call from the restaurant to confirm reservations under my name. Was the name Jin Zhang not enough for this place?"

Jin's blush from the alcohol deepened as Syaoran smirked, confirming his suspicions, and tilted his head with interest at Sakura's napkin, wearing the drivel she managed to scrawl.

"I do hope you're not planning on turning those lyrics in to me tomorrow," he chuckled softly, and left both parties fuming red as he turned on his heel, and coolly made his exit without another word.

-v-V-v-

"New outfits!" Tomoyo sang out cheerfully early the next morning, her arms laden with her latest creations for the group.

"So many?" Sakura raised an eyebrow as Tomoyo triumphantly dumped the load onto the couch and ransacked through the pile for Sakura's costumes.

"So little?" Meilin corrected, lifting a stretchy black and red band she assumed was for herself.

"Creative streak," Tomoyo grinned satisfactorily at Sakura. "Oh for Chrissakes, Meilin, it's a miniskirt!" she snapped annoyed as Meilin modeled it as an elastic headband.

"Eh?!" Meilin dropped the band in surprise and glanced at it in horror. "That's not creative, that's sexually-depraved! Tomoyo that's a bit too racy for even me to wear."

"Virgin," Tomoyo sneered at Meilin, who was stunned into silence, not knowing how to deal with this new side of Tomoyo. Tomoyo then grinned at Sakura and lay across her lap the rest of the ensemble, replete with fishnet stockings, a tattered leather vest with a pink silk chemise underneath, and numerous silver accessories. "I spent all night making these, and have to get in touch with a jeweler to make this," she continued excitedly, producing a sketchbook full of more industrial looking silver jewelry.

"Tomoyo," Sakura breathed, partially in relief that Tomoyo's clothing concept had several layers that wouldn't be too skanky, but mostly in awe at all the handmade designs. "This is great!"

"Isn't it?" Tomoyo beamed. "Of course, the improved sexy rock-star image is going to have to be okayed by Syaoran, but I think we have similar tastes," she rattled on, seemingly more energized despite her all-nighter.

"Oh, I only hope I can have a song by tomorrow to do your clothes justice," Sakura nodded wistfully as she raked through the pile, marveling at each innovative design. "Where'd you get your inspiration from, Tomoyo?"

"Eh?"

Tomoyo's instantly scarlet face told Sakura and Meilin more than they needed to know, and the next few hours were spent in hysterical laughter as Tomoyo chased them down throughout the mansion, threatening to beat them into a bloody pulp for even bringing up the subject. It was finally Yamazaki's uncharacteristic chilling scream to shut up so he could catch up on a few more hours of sleep that forced a truce on both parties, leaving the three girls in a gasping pile of giggles.

"Still," Sakura breathed soberly, "Jin isn't at all the inspiration I thought I needed. All my songs are just about getting the hell away from him before I lose my breath."

"You could title it 'Dirge of a Loser'," Meilin offered helpfully. "He might back off then."

"Or stop wasting your time with him," Tomoyo rolled her eyes. "Honestly, didn't I tell you it wasn't going to work?"

"It's not because he's an asshole," Sakura grumbled defensively. "He was a perfect gentleman… but I think that's precisely what is killing my lyrics."

Meilin raised a mischievous eyebrow. "Does that mean that the precious flower of Fallen Angels is not as innocent as she seems?"

"Or is Syaoran the only sex symbol that can elicit the steamiest songs from you?" Tomoyo prodded playfully.

"Yeah, right, if that were the case, then our entire career would depend on Sakura whoring herself out for the world's most famous playboy and then get us all involved in a huge scandal," Meilin cracked up, dissolved into laughter with Tomoyo.

The giggles suddenly died as the conclusion dawned on Meilin and Tomoyo, who stared at an equally horrified Sakura, frozen in her seat.

"Oh hell no," Meilin breathed, which galvanized Sakura to grab the phone and start dialing madly.

"Who are you calling now?" Tomoyo frowned. "Surely not Syaoran?"

"No way, not possible. There's no way I'm in love with Syaoran. I just need to give Jin a second chance," Sakura muttered feverishly, almost trying to reassure herself. "Hello, Jin?" she said quickly when the line connected. "What are you doing tonight?"

Tomoyo and Meilin were left with concerned looks as Sakura struggled to mend their crumbling dream.

-v-V-v-

Sakura sighed inwardly as she glanced over at Jin, and mentally kicked herself for attempting to hook up with Jin once more, agreeing to the Nutcracker of all things. She tapped her fingers with slight frustration on the edge of their box seat overlooking the stage, half-heartedly hiding a yawn with the back of her other hand as the sugar plum fairies pranced onstage, leading toward the end of the ballet.

"Long nights?" Jin whispered over to her.

Her eyes flashed dangerously as she thought he was referring to something lewd and whirled in her seat to look at him, but he was still unwittingly fixated on the ballet. "I heard from Syaoran that you're having difficulty writing the next song. He seemed to be worried."

Sakura's heart swelled a bit at the mention of Syaoran, a little happy that he would worry over her, until Jin continued casually, "You know, because if you spend too long making the next song, it could hurt your popularity." Her ego promptly deflated and she resigned herself to sit back in her seat, sighing softly and clapping her hands as the ballet ended, the patrons brought back to the reality of the world instead of in the world of Clara's nutcracker, with Sakura's reality being a little harsher than most as she realized what she had to do.

They were still in the car of the parking lot, when Sakura decided to confess the truth to Jin.

"I don't think it's working out," Sakura blurted out suddenly.

"Your song, you mean?" Jin asked lightly, starting up the car, but he knew what she meant.

"No, this. Us," she motioned with her hands, apologetic to spell it out for him. "I'm sorry, but to be truthful, I was never looking for love or a relationship, but I'm attempting to put my heart out there on the market for the sake of my songs. I need experiences that will make my heart skip beats or my body tremble when I see the one I'm in love with, to be with someone who can make me go through all the rainbows of emotion of being passionately in love with someone…" Sakura faltered for a moment, pausing to collect her thoughts as she tried to backtrack, to take back her words that would commit her to what she was most afraid of.

"You mean…" Jin continued for her softly, "you need experiences with Syaoran, and not me."

Sakura glanced up, the deep green of her eyes glassy as they filled with tears and dripped down her long lashes. "No…" she protested weakly, but he shook his head, aware of the connection between Sakura and Syaoran long before she was.

"I should have expected it, you know, since he claimed you his own after the party," Jin laughed dryly, glancing over at Sakura's suddenly perplexed look. "Oh, didn't you know? No, I didn't have a chance to set the record straight," he smiled cruelly, the corners of the hard line of his mouth almost frightening as Jin regressed into his hardened personality. "Yes, he said that you were his property, right after he punched me," he grinned, turning his face to show the healing cut on the corner of his lip where Syaoran had marred his handsome face.

"He… he punched you?" Sakura stammered, leaning back into her seat as Jin edged closer. "W-why?"

His smirk had been growing steadily, and now he was almost on top of her. "You know, Sakura-chan, it was extremely unfortunate that he stopped me that night after the party, but I think tonight, it will be all worth it."

"Stopped you? From what?" Sakura's heart hammered in her heart as she anticipated his answer, but didn't want to hear it.

"Why, from this…" he smiled as he stroked her hair, leaning his lips closer to hers.

"No!" Sakura cried out finally, unstuck from her mortified daze, but his hands had already wrapped around hers, preventing her from struggling as he nonchalantly shushed her against her ear, chuckling dryly as he enjoyed her thrashing futilely. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, tears rising to the corners of her lashes, and fearing for the worst…

Suddenly, the car door swung open on her side and Jin was whisked off of her and dragged further down the parking lot. Sakura sat stunned in her car seat for a moment until Yamazaki pulled her out of the car, shouting something her reeling mind couldn't process as he ushered her down to his car parked behind them. She glanced back and saw Jin fighting with two figures in the parking lot, swinging wildly at them in the shadows as he tried to get Sakura back. The two lean and tall figures blurred with speed as they quickly dodged Jin's attacks, deflecting them smoothly with skilled ease. Jin swore loudly as he chased after them in the darker areas of the lot. Sakura shuddered, and kept walking briskly toward the brilliant headlights of Yamazaki's midnight blue BMW, finally having the sense to ask, "What? What's going on? How did you find me?"

Yamazaki pushed her into the seat and slid in the car after her, slamming the car door before the car roared away from the lot, not answering her as he called someone on his cell phone. "Hi, it's me. Yeah, I got her. I'm dropping her off to a safer location before I meet you. Ok. Bye." Sakura waited a moment as Yamazaki hung up, and drew a full breath before launching into a full tirade against her. "Do you realize how much trouble you're in? Dealing with Jin like that even after knowing full well what kind of personality he was. I swear, you try your best to manage an idol, with all the sweat, blood, and tears, and they show NO respect or gratefulness, chalking it up to their own skills that keep them afloat, and you all just think you're SO invincible and do crazier and crazier things that make us all want to pull out our hair and go—"

"Yamazaki, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Stop, please," Sakura cut in, pleading softly as her eyes threatened to well up with tears again. "Please," she whispered again, glancing down at her hands. "I know it could have turned out worse if you weren't there."

Yamazaki finally took the moment to breathe and glanced over at her, suddenly remorseful of his rant, and turned back to the road, driving at top speed through Tokyo's traffic. "Meilin and Tomoyo told Syaoran that you were trying to date Jin to get some ideas for your song, and were concerned because they still didn't trust him. Of course, Syaoran didn't trust him either, having known him for longer than your friends."

"They were right," Sakura growled softly, suddenly angry that she had been taken advantage of. "God, I was so stupid," she muttered.

"And thank God that Syaoran's instincts were right. He had assigned two bodyguards on you, and we've been tailing you on your date with Jin," Yamazaki sniffed, loathsome of the word he used to describe the unfortunate event that Sakura was on. "Needless to say, Syaoran had informed me that if Jin tried anything on your dates that effective immediately, Jin would be terminated from Guilty Pleasures," he added as an afterthought, reassuring Sakura that she wouldn't have to deal with him again.

"Where are we going now?" Sakura sighed, not recognizing the area that Yamazaki was driving through.

"Syaoran asked me to specifically move you to a different location, in case Jin tries to track you down at your house. We're going to his apartment near Shibuya."

The realization that Jin could hunt her down at her house struck a chord of horror in her. Sakura made a mental note to thank Syaoran for having such foresight as Yamazaki's car streaked through the highway in a blur of midnight blue.

-v-V-v-

Ding dong

Katrina Kawashima smiled as she opened her apartment door, leaning against the post casually as she glanced over at the disheveled figure in front of her and crossed her bare arms across her chest. "Jin Zhang," she greeted with a smirk, which he returned with a small push as he moved past her into the room, heading straight for the ice tub at the bar, packing a few cubes into a handkerchief and pressing it against his new bruises.

"Five years ago, I saw you try to take on 4 brawny guys twice your size at the same time. It seems that you haven't changed a bit," she grinned at her old friend as she stepped over to his side and dropped a few ice cubes into a glass. They clinked lightly as she poured the scotch over it and handed it to him in offering. He took it with little grace, grimacing as the alcohol burned his open wounds near his lips. He refilled his glass and sank back into her black leather couch, Katrina settling at his side.

"Five years ago, you were fucking me to try to get to Syaoran," Jin smirked cruelly at her, but she barely flinched.

"So? Are you going to tell me what happened?" she smiled to navigate the topic to more interesting waters, toying with the buttons on his torn shirt, her fingers lightly tracing the drops of blood spattered on it.

"And now, I'll be willing to bet that you still don't have a handle on Syaoran," Jin continued, his harsh grin growing as her poker face collapsed, pissed because of the one thing she couldn't maintain in her life.

"What's your point?" she snapped, suddenly impatient with him.

"More like, what can I offer you to make sure Syaoran can stay with you?" he replied smoothly.

"Hah, you offered that five years ago, and fucking you still won't get me Syaoran," Katrina spat derisively.

"Now, now, that kind of attitude won't get you very far in my plan to make Syaoran completely dependent on you," Jin chuckled.

Katrina paused with her glass of scotch halfway to her lips. "What are you talking about?"

"The stakes are simple. You want Syaoran. I want his current fling, Sakura. I think we can formulate something between the two of us to make sure that we each get what we want," Jin smiled, sliding his hand across her thigh, pushing his pinky under the hem of her miniskirt. Being violent and now unwinding with some alcohol running through his veins made him more painfully aware of how much he was craving a woman's touch tonight.

Katrina grinned and leaned across his lap, gently kissing his lips. "Sounds like we can continue to negotiate this in the bedroom," she whispered against his ear as she led him to another room, remembering their past together.

"I have a feeling all you'll be saying to my plans is 'yes, yes, more, and yes'," Jin chuckled as he shut the bedroom door behind him and wrapped her in a passionate kiss.

Dun Dun Dun… more trouble for Sakura and Syaoran looms. Hopefully will have another chapter out soon.