AN: This story... well it was fun to write. I guess you could say it was refreshing. I'm thinking I'm starting to like the one-shot format too. As soon as you publish it, it's done. I could get used to that. Of course, I've always loved multi-chaptered stories too.
This is actually my first one-shot, so please give me any advice you may have. I didn't used to really like one-shots, but now I'm finding them appealing. And yes, I did write this two different ways. The second version far exceeded the first one. Be happy I went through all the trouble...
Summary: Syaoran hasn't contacted Sakura in a year, and Sakura just wants him to write her a letter. This causes Tomoyo's usual reassurances, an awkward Touya comforting moment, and maybe a visit from Syao himself. SxS One-shot
Disclaimer: Once again, CLAMP goes away with all the credit. I do own the idea though. Well, I haven't seen anything else like this at least.
- - - Write Me A Letter - - -
---
Kesshou Uryou
A lesson was well underway in a certain classroom. Near the window, an occupant of a particular desk looked completely out of it. Her emerald eyes were securely closed, and she let out a small sigh.
"Sakura-chan?"
"Hai?" Sakura snapped out of her former trance, glancing at her best friend. Tomoyo gave her a weird glance. Sakura shot her a reassuring glance back.
"Are you okay?" Tomoyo asked with a worried tone.
"Of course I am," Sakura replied quietly, eying the teacher who had his back to them. Tomoyo received an uneasy smile in return of her question.
"You don't seem it," Tomoyo said, twirling a strand of hair around her pointer finger. Leaning in, she examined Sakura's face closely.
"There's definitely something wrong with this picture," Tomoyo concluded, nodding to her important discovery.
"Tomoyo, there's nothing wrong with me," she stubbornly ended, a little louder than she intended. The teacher turned around and scanned the entire classroom for the offender. Fortunately, Sakura and Tomoyo had shut up quickly, and he turned around soon enough.
"Sakura-chan, you're not fooling me," Tomoyo suddenly stated after a few moments as she stared ahead at the new notes that were scrawled out on the board.
"I don't know what you're talking about Tomoyo. I never understand you..." Sakura trailed off. It took a lot to discourage Tomoyo once she had made up her mind. In Sakura's present case, that was bad. She had made the right deduction. There was something wrong.
"Sa-ku-ra-chan," Tomoyo accented each syllable while shaking a finger and shaking her head. "I can see right through you. You really are hopeless."
"I am not hopeless. You're just persistent. May I suggest there is something wrong with you?" Sakura was starting to get slightly irritated. Why couldn't Tomoyo just give up?
"Don't throw the spotlight onto me. We both know there's nothing wrong with me. Well, my hobbies may be eccentric, but that makes them all the better," Tomoyo added as a second thought. Sakura gave a quiet giggle as Tomoyo became lost in her own thoughts. Tomoyo's head snapped up though, looking back at Sakura with new determination.
"Hey, that's not the point; you are. What's going on with you?" Tomoyo's face still had a playful look planted on it, but genuine concern was starting to overpower it.
"I'll tell you once more. Please listen this time. There is nothing happening to me. I'm absolutely fine. Just except that you made the wrong conclusion," Sakura hissed at Tomoyo.
Tomoyo gave an overly dramatic indignant huff, crossing her arms. Picking up her pencil, she hit Sakura on the head with it. Hard.
"Did that knock any sense into you?" Tomoyo asked with a hopeful tone.
"No! I think you may have given me a concussion though," Sakura's hands shot up to her head as she winced.
"Come on, it was a pencil. How much could that hurt?" Tomoyo rolled her eyes, twirling the pencil between her fingers.
"Obviously you have never gotten hit on the head with one with that amount of force," Sakura complained, fingering the sore spot with great care.
"You're right, I haven't. What's the big deal though? I was only trying to snap you out of it."
"Snap me out of what?" Sakura asked, ducking from another swing of Tomoyo's pencil. Tomoyo pouted as she missed her target.
"I can't believe you. Do you think I'm that dense? I'm sorry, but that is your department. Well, actually it is Syaoran's and yours. That's what makes you two so kawaii together," Tomoyo would have ranted further if she hadn't seen the subtle change in Sakura's face at her words.
"Oh god, it's him. Isn't it?" Tomoyo questioned with wide-eyes. Sakura simply shrugged awkwardly, pretending to take notes. It was hard even to pretend though. The intensity of Tomoyo's staring was that strong.
Luckily, the teacher happened to turn around to face the class at that exact moment. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tomoyo angrily close her mouth. Obviously she had been about to say something. As soon as Tomoyo got the chance, Sakura would never be able to hear the end of this.
"Alright class, hopefully you were paying attention and taking notes. I'm handing out a pop quiz now. You can use your notes though,"
Only a few groaned by the time he was done, but Tomoyo and Sakura were included. Their sheets were identically almost blank.
Sakura had been trying to inconspicuously run out of the school without Tomoyo detecting her. Luckily, the last time she had seen her was when she had ran out of the last class they had together at the end of the day. Now if only she could stay out of her line of sight for just a little longer...
It worked or at least it seemed to work. She had almost walked out of the school gates when someone had firmly grasped her wrist. She swung around to find Tomoyo was there, glaring as if there was no tomorrow.
"It won't be that easy to get rid of me," she reproached. Sakura slowed down her pace in resignation, and she walked in step with me.
Sakura's house was only a few blocks away from the school, and they were making quick progress. Soon her house would be rising from the horizon. A few moments passed until Tomoyo finally spoke up again.
"Sakura-chan, are you going to tell me or not? What's going on?" Sakura looked down at her feet, not wanting to meet her friend's worrisome gaze.
"I'd rather not," Sakura kicked a pebble with her foot, watching it tumble ahead of her. Tomoyo's attention remained on Sakura.
"You sure?" Tomoyo asked quietly. Sakura wasn't exactly in a cooperative mood apparently. She only verified this when she nodded. A minute away from Sakura's house, however, Sakura suddenly burst.
"Hehasn'tcontactedmeinanentireyear!" she gushed out quickly. Tomoyo furrowed her brows, trying to make sense of her words.
"Could you repeat that?" Tomoyo asked as she gave up in deciphering Sakura's attempt to speak.
"I said, he hasn't contacted me in an entire year," Sakura clarified slowly with a resentful expression gracing her features.
"What? Syaoran hasn't written or anything in a year? I was thinking that maybe you had forgot to tell me all the details of what he had written to you. I also thought you didn't mention anything about it because it had been too personal or something for you to share. I would never think he hadn't written at all," Tomoyo pondered aloud.
"You're not helping the situation," Sakura said, running a hand through her hair, which resulted in a rather messy look.
"Sorry... Well, we pretty much know that there is some weird reason behind all of this," Tomoyo supplied in an attempt at comforting Sakura. It was too bad it wasn't working.
"Yeah, he will, of course, have an excuse for all of this the next time we see each other," Sakura replied sarcastically.
"You'd be right then. There's no other possible explanation," Tomoyo agreed, totally missing the sarcasm in Sakura's voice.
"That is," Sakura continued, ignoring Tomoyo, "if we ever see each other again."
"What?" Tomoyo asked intelligently, surprised at the previous statement.
"I can't very well just wait around for that to happen, if it ever does. It's clear; I've got to move on," Sakura declared with steely determination. Tomoyo looked downright outraged.
"You're joking right?" Tomoyo asked, hoping for a positive answer. She didn't get one.
"No," the negative response rang out clearly, as Tomoyo let the latest development sink into her mind.
"You are not moving on," Tomoyo ordered, making Sakura look at her slightly angered.
"Why are you defending him? He should have the decency to contact me in some way! Anyway, you have no right to tell me what to do with my love life. I respect your judgment, but you don't control me."
They had already reached the front of Sakura's house, just standing there. Tomoyo looked in deep thought, and Sakura simply leaned her back against the front door. Her thoughts lead her to the unwanted subject again: Syaoran.
"So it is today then... It was a year ago," Tomoyo spoke up, glancing at Sakura.
"Yeah, it was," Sakura quietly confirmed. It had been three hundred and sixty-five days since she had last seen Syaoran.
"Well, if you really do respect my judgment, then you won't move on yet," Tomoyo advised.
"Why not?" Sakura asked as she unlooked the door, letting them both inside.
"I just know what to do. I can't explain it. You and Syaoran are a match made in heaven. You shouldn't just give up on it. At least talk to him before you do," Tomoyo answered as she removed her shoes along with Sakura.
"You know, that actually does sound logically. Tomoyo, you're too good at things like this," Sakura complimented after mulling over Tomoyo's suggestion.
"I'm just trying to stop you from throwing away a great relationship," Tomoyo shrugged off the flattery.
"We never had much of a relationship though," Sakura pointed out. "He did, after all, leave after we had established one."
"It's still there, and there is a great future possibility for it. You're not throwing it out just like that," Tomoyo declared, leaving Sakura to nod in agreement. Sometimes Tomoyo just got too carried away...
"You know, if it'll make you feel any better, let's devise some ways he could have been sidetracked or something..." Tomoyo decided with a grin. "I'll start then... He could have been glomped by his sisters daily." Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the picture of it. She hadn't actually met his sisters, but she had heard a fair share about them from Syaoran.
"Okay, my turn. He may have been ordered to slave away at something ridiculous like hopscotch on his impossible task of becoming clan leader."
"Yeah, I can see him now doing the insane biddings and whims of a bunch of smelly, wrinkly, and decrepit old guys," Tomoyo agreed with an overdone wince.
"I can imagine them now, thanks Tomoyo," Sakura laughed.
"You're welcome, but let's not forget all of his relatives. Maybe he's performing a one-man play for all his nieces and nephews as we speak to entertain them. God knows how much he has to baby-sit them all. He may be performing something like Cinderella. I'd pay to see him pull that whole thing off by himself."
Sakura smiled at the thought. She'd pay too. Imagining him, doing all the roles, especially the part of Cinderella, was laughable.
"Those were funny, but I think I have the most realistic one yet," Sakura chided after a moment to gather her thoughts.
"What would that be?" Tomoyo asked curiously.
"I was just thinking that maybe he was having some computer troubles," Sakura explained with a smile.
"Computer troubles..." Tomoyo repeated as if she was thinking it over. "How so?"
"You know one of those the-damn-stupid-and-evil-internet-service-is-down-again-so-god-please-kill-me-right-now-before-I-do problems. The one that everyone has if they've ever tried to write anything on the computer."
"I've had those," Tomoyo shuddered involuntarily, "I can't count high enough to tell how many times it has happened to me. Just imagine it though; Syaoran getting out a hammer and slamming away at the tower, hoping that will fix it." That got another laugh out of her as well.
"You were right, that did lift my spirits," Sakura admitted with a grin.
"What are friends for?" Tomoyo winked. "Unfortunately this friend has got to get home now. Just remember what I said. If you doubt my advice, here's a tip. Try to compare any guy to Syaoran. See who would win."
In a matter of seconds, Tomoyo was out the door, already on her way home. Sakura sat there blinking for about a minute before she headed upstairs. She would check her computer one last time...
Tomoyo's words were encouraging, but the fact still remained that he hadn't contacted her. She didn't care if it was by e-mail or if it was a postcard. For all she knew, he could have been dead by then. Tomoyo's advice seemed to take better hold when she was there to keep her mind busy. Sadly, no one was around to distract her now, or that's at least what she had thought.
Touya choose that moment to stick his head into her room as soon as she had plunked herself down on her bed. She looked up startled, surprised that anyone else had been home. More importantly though, had he been listening to her conversation with Tomoyo?
"Why are you home?" Sakura asked as she lied on her back and stared at the ceiling.
"Work let me off. It was about a rat problem or something," he shrugged. "I just came in here to tell you to not blast your music. I'm studying," he turned around to walk away, but Sakura stopped him short.
"Were you listening?" she asked, glaring with all her ability.
"No," she sighed in relief at the response, only to be cut short. "I only heard you talking about the Chinese gaki."
"Don't start this again, okay?" Sakura sighed, and she added an after thought to her order. "Don't call him that either." Touya leaned against the doorframe.
"Why not? He obviously made you upset," he spoke with a smirk present on his face.
"How d-did you know that?" Sakura stuttered. Was he actually eavesdropping on her? He didn't have to deny it then. An annoyed looked crossed her face at his enjoyment of the situation.
"Hey, it's not my fault you two talk so loud," he waved his arms around as if it would calm her down. It made no change in her features though.
"I'm going to go back to studying then. Before I go though, I'd have to agree with Tomoyo." Sakura's jaw practically dropped down to the floor. Who the hell was this?
"Don't look so surprised," he rolled his eyes at her reaction. "It's obvious you shouldn't just move on for now. He's affecting you too much for that. You obviously still care about him a lot."
With that, he sauntered back down the hall, leaving her to simply sit there in silence. Okay, who had replaced Touya with an actually understanding brother? Who the hell was this imposter?
So maybe it wasn't an imposter. He'd have to be drunk. No wonder he had skipped work. There was probably no runaway rat or whatever he had claimed. She had to wish that that guy was her real brother and he was somber though. Then life would be good.
Finally getting up, she walked over to her computer. She plopped down on the swivel chair. She sadly realized that her few normal spins were not lifting her spirits at the moment. Despite Tomoyo's helpful concern and Touya's abnormal advice and acceptance, she still wanted to know how he was doing. She wanted to know if he even remembered her at this point.
That was it, she wasn't just feeling neglected. She was worried. She was despaired over whether he had simply forgotten her. Clearing her mind, she turned on the computer. As soon as it had completely started up, the first thing she saw was a picture of the two of them posing for a camera.
This wasn't what she needed at the moment.
She rushed to check her e-mail, only to find it still cluttered up with all sorts of junk mail. Somehow, she didn't think any of it would be from him. Of course, checking on the internet for any letters was pointless.
After all, he had told her he didn't even have an e-mail address. How that was even possible, she wasn't sure. How could anyone survive in this day and age without one? Just to be safe though, she had sent him off with hers. Where was it now? Was it rotting under a pile of junk? It may be forgotten, just like her.
She took Tomoyo's advice and tried to think of someone else that could match up to Syaoran. Tomoyo must have known that not one of them could. No guy had the perfect amber eyes or had a flawless shade of hair like he had. She had to stop herself from rambling too far about him.
Still, what use was this if he didn't even care for her? She needed to think. Time went by slowly, but finally she decided to go to sleep. Maybe in the morning she'd be able to figure out what to do.
For Sakura, the following day past in a vague blur. Tomoyo seemed to know she was still thinking everything over. Thank god, she decided to stay out of it for once.
It wasn't as if Sakura didn't appreciate her efforts, but sometimes she needed to just sort out her feelings and thoughts. That meant without interruptions and biased opinions. So, Tomoyo keeping out of her head for once was actually a good thing.
She was still feeling particularly shunned, same as from the day before. Apparently waking up had made no difference in anything. It did, however, result in her grumbling as she had fallen on to the floor upon her brother's rude awakening.
Thus, when she had arrived home after a rather boring day of schooling, she hadn't expected anything to happen in her favor. Lately, things seemed to be completely against her in any possible way. Today, though, turned out to be different.
"Mail for you," Touya declared as soon as she had entered into the kitchen. He flung the said letter in her face, causing her to glare at him. She followed this up by also giving him a curious look as to the reason behind his presence there.
"The rat thing, you know? I told you about it yesterday," he explained as if she was still a small child.
"I know that. I just figured it would have been fixed by now," Sakura retorted, slightly angry with him for more than just one reason.
"Whatever, I'm going out now," he said then was out the door a moment later. Sakura didn't actually care where he was going or when he'd get back.
Things were more peaceful for her when he wasn't around. That wasn't mentioning it was less... awkward. Yesterday had been, well, weird.
Not even bothering to eye the sender, she tore open the envelope. Inside was a single sheet of paper, fresh and crisp. A small note was the only content that had been typed. Reading over it quickly, she couldn't contain her excitement. Syaoran had finally written!
The excitement only lasted another few seconds though as she read through it again. Since when did Syaoran ever refer to her as Sakura-chan? Furthermore, when did he get so mushy and romantic? It also was mysteriously themed throughout the entire note. This was not Syaoran.
It screamed someone else's name instead. That someone else's name just happened to be Tomoyo.
Sakura turned right around and grabbed her cell phone. After dialing in Tomoyo's number, she brought the phone to her ear. She'd let Tomoyo know that she had figured it out right away, and her attempt was not appreciated in the least.
"Moshi, moshi," Tomoyo's cheerful voice rang out. Sakura decided to act as if she hadn't noticed Tomoyo had written the letter for the moment.
"I'm so excited. Guess what? I just got a letter from Syaoran," Sakura gushed, in a super excited tone.
"That's great!" Tomoyo cheered on the other line.
"There's only one thing."
"Huh? Oh, what's that?" Tomoyo asked. Sakura didn't hear her voice had a slightly nervous edge to it now. Tomoyo played off things pretty well; she had to admit.
"Well," she said, flipping the envelope over. Just like she thought, it wasn't there. "There's no postal stamp, for starters."
"Ah, that's weird," Tomoyo managed to utter, sounding completely in the dark.
"Also the things he said, they didn't exactly sound like him."
"Maybe he changed. I mean, it has been a year, and he's in Hong Kong now," Tomoyo reasoned as she kept her cool. She was surprised Tomoyo was pulling everything off this well.
"I guess you're right. There's one other thing though. The address on the envelope is written in a purple pen that sort of reminds me of yours. So, tell me. Did you really expect me to believe this? I figured it out the second time I read it through," Sakura spoke as she dropped her fake happiness.
"I'm really sorry Sakura-chan. It's just that you were so depressed and everything yesterday. Today you didn't look all that well either," Tomoyo apologized in a heartbeat.
"That's okay Tomoyo. I understand why you did it. Just promise me you don't do it ever again," Sakura sighed.
"Promise. By the way, I was going to try to take that letter back to make things less complicated. It turns out that I was a step behind for once. I knew you would figure out it was me. You would have soon found out Syaoran didn't write it anyway. Before I go, good luck," Tomoyo voice echoed through the phone, leaving Sakura baffled. She was about to ask what she had exactly meant by all that, but the doorbell shattered that objective.
"Someone's at the door. I have to go, but you're going to tell me what that was all about later. Bye," the words rushed out of her mouth as she moved towards the door and hung up. The doorbell chimed again, and Sakura let an annoyed look settle on her face.
"I'm coming! Hold on," Sakura shouted, letting the other person hear her. Finally, she reached the door, and yanked it open. Her eyes widened at the sight before her, losing her displeased features.
"Syaoran," she exclaimed as soon as she snapped out of her staring trance. She flung herself at him, glad to find that he hugged her back.
"Why did you come back all of a sudden?" Sakura asked as she continued to embrace him.
"I was allowed to come back for a visit," he explained. "Tomoyo convinced me to come to see you even though you never wrote. I wasn't sure how you'd react."
"What?" Sakura almost shrieked out as her eyes went huge. "I wrote at least twenty letters! I was sure I did it right too."
"Did you have the correct address?" Syaoran asked as he broke away from her. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, handing it over.
"It looks the same... I don't know Chinese characters though. Ah, wait! I totally messed up the second line," Sakura pointed out sheepishly. "No wonder you never wrote me. You never got my letters."
Sakura looked up and met his gaze, and she smiled back at him. "I can't believe I got so depressed that you hadn't sent me a letter. I bet Tomoyo already told you that though."
"Yeah," he grinned as he suddenly caught her in his arms and pulled her close to him. It took her by surprise, causing her to blush as red as a tomato. She just stood there, listening to his heartbeat. She knew this was where she belonged. It was just right. In her current state, however, she vaguely managed to think of more than a couple of things.
One was that Tomoyo wouldn't need to explain anything after all. Number two was that Touya had thankfully gone out at the perfect time. She didn't want him to suddenly find them in this position. The last one, however, seemed to be the most relevant to everything that had happened in the past two days.
When it came right down to it, maybe letters weren't that important. Maybe.
-Fin-
AN: Ah! I loved that. Well, I sort of did. I couldn't resist the whole computer problem thing. Come on, it's happened to us all. It's happened countless times to me. I hope your fate was less cruel. Oh, and the pencil, that's my specialty. I'm always doing that to my best friends. I don't knock sense into them, but I rather do it when they annoy me. Heh, it really does hurt. Atleast that's whatthey tell me.
I'm so glad I took the time and did this. It took me forever to motivate myself to edit it though. I think I need a beta-reader... Be on the look out for more one-shots from me too. However, I really need to update Then and Now. I haven't even started the next chapter. So maybe after that, I guess...
I'll leave you with one word then:
Review!
Kesshou Uryou