This work was for an English essay a year or two ago, but I just recently found it stored away on my laptop. Since it had to be kid friendly for my teacher and also had to make some allusions to events that have happened in history. So, for this AU, both Sherry and Hat Guy (called Kaze in this story) lost their parents to 9/11. They are also in the normal world, which means that dueling and such aren't major things, and since it wasn't a traumatic murder for Sherry, she isn't necessarily as violent as she is in the cannon world.

The air in the airport was something that very few enjoyed, but to Sherry LeBlanc, it was a tragic reminder of the loss of her parents. September 11, the anniversary of their deaths, was on of the worst days for Sherry to get on the machine identical to the one that caused her to become alone in the world. Blond hair flew into the air as the tall woman briskly made her way towards the waiting line, which was constructed for those who were boarding the plane to Japan. Emerald eyes scanned over all of the men and women, most of which who were holding hands, before growing moist, in which Sherry's petite hand wiped away the newly forming tears. She had thought she had grown enough to not break down at the sight, but the twenty-one year old blond couldn't cover the scars of losing her parents and being left to fend for herself. As Sherry knew, old wounds never healed.

It was then that emerald eyes, moist and sorrow filled, met sapphire. Sherry forced her eyes to pull away from the sapphire orbs in order to see who they belonged to. A young cordial man who stood about two inches taller than Sherry was gazing curiously back at her. Upon noticing that the blond woman was grieving over something, he made his way over to her, abandoning his spot several places ahead of her, and asked, "Are you alright," in which the man's clear Japanese accent came through in his attempt to speak the native tongue of French. A smile tugged at Sherry's lips and she gave him a small nod. She knew she was strong enough to not require assistance from this well-dressed gentleman, but when the metal contraption similar to that which killed her parents was involved, maybe, she thought, it wouldn't hurt to get a little bit of comfort. Even if it meant condescending herself to holding the man's hand, which he had lent to her.

The young man revealed himself to be Kaze Kokoro, and after learning that his parents were lost as well, and in the same incident, an invisible bond formed between the two Japan bound adults. This bond only increased as the two learned they had even more in common. Not only were both stripped of their parents, but they were both single, and haven't been dating for quite some time. At the time, it hadn't really meant much to the woman boarding the plane, and it didn't mean much to the man beside her either. As the two bonded even more, though, this fact came back and comforted Sherry, even if she didn't realize it at the time. The two had managed to point out several other things that they could link between their families and selves, although most were minor and could have been the same between any two strangers. Both of their parents were business workers and were rather successful at their jobs. Sherry had a blond mother and a black haired father. Kaze's mother used to be blond before her hair changed brown and his father was a black haired man.

Their mothers, it seemed, both had the same ominous feeling on the night of September 10, so before they took their leave they had left a memento behind for their children. Sherry had received a medium sized teddy bear with a red velvet bow tied around its neck. It just so happened that the aforementioned stuffed animal was resting in Sherry's suitcase, so no one could see it. Kaze proudly wore his memento though, letting everyone see it. He had received a piece of thread with three gold pendants on it. Although Kaze had not mentioned it, his new friend could tell he has been confronted by several people who wanted the golden pieces of jewelry. She decided it was best to not press on the subject though, as the Japanese man's hand subconsciously clenched the necklace as he spoke of it. Without a prompting from either side, the two didn't say anything after that to give a silent requiem for the lost.

As thunder roared from outside the aircraft, Kaze pulled up his armrest and allowed the feverishly worrying blond beside him to lay her head against his lap before wrapping one arm around her shoulder. "For a man, you sure have skinny arms," Sherry teased, causing a splash of pink to appear on the Japanese man's cheeks.

"Well... Maybe you're just a strong lady," Kaze protested, in which Sherry just giggled before closing her eyes and allowing her weary body to drift to sleep, one thought drifting through her head. Perhaps being alone wasn't such a scar after all, if being along brought her to such a gentleman, who went by the name Kaze Kokoro. Perhaps scars weren't so bad after all either, as the moment Sherry LeBlanc learned her scar was shared, she felt even better than before, and she would feel even better yet, as on the strike of noon on September 11, Sherry LeBlanc had done something she swore she would never do.

She fell head first into love.