Disclaimer: All characters mentioned and alluded to belong to CLAMP. Any similarities between this and other fan-fictions are unintentional.
Missing Peace
Yuuko considers the contents of her mind: the usual memories plus a newly acquired one, which is really an old one that was lost long ago.
She obtained this memory as payment for services rendered. It hurt the customer much, but he paid the price willingly, and she, also willingly, accepted. Her childhood friend would not have approved of this exchange, this acquisition of happiness at the expense of others; but then, she could never understand her friend's views on happiness.
She sits hunched on her chaise lounge, curled protectively over this memory that has taken the form of a feather. The quill scratches a tickle on her palm; the barbs rest softly against her skin, like a kiss. The feather gleams white; its black markings the only shadow on the surface, but not the only shadow in the room.
The memory in her hand calls forth the memories in her mind. She remembers her life before she came into her power and was separated from all the worlds; before she became master of space and time, and not subject to it. A time when her hair was reddish brown and not dyed black by magic. When her eyes were still green and not stained red by the light between worlds.
She sifts through her memories: the places she has visited, the schools she has attended, the holidays she has celebrated. Faces flicker through her mind: her classmates, her friends, her family. She remembers the trials she went through and challenges she faced to become what she is now,
She has revisited these thoughts many times before; always each memory would contain a blind spot, a blank space that her mind's eye would slide over, refuse to focus on. It was like watching a play where one part hadn't been cast, but the show had carried on regardless.
She brings the feather closer and that part is now cast. A boy, with a messy fringe, perpetual scowl and tendency to blush, steps onto the stage of her memory. Through the drama of her life, the boy watches over her, fights by her side, comforts her, accepts a bear she has given him and calls it Sakura. He has returned to her mind, reclaimed his place in her heart, and it is like he has never left.
"Syaoran," Yuuko whispers, "I've missed you so."