Disclaimer: I do not own X, or any of the characters associated with it. They are all owned by CLAMP. I worship the ground they walk on, and could never hope to even come close to their wonderfulness. I love you, CLAMP!
A/N: Very short fanfic, started when I was supposed to be doing work in math class and finished on my computer at home when I was supposed to be in bed ^^;; This is IN NO WAY INTENDED TO BE A MARY-SUE OR EVEN AN ORIGINAL CHARACTER FIC. Not really. I personally can't stand Mary-Sues, and not most original character fics (as long s the story centers on an established character, I'm okay). This is a Sorata fanfic! Arashi might come in later, if I decide to continue it. This story is supposed to take place between mangas 13 and 14 (I can't remember where that is in the TV series. After Subaru looses his eye, but before Seishirou dies.) Oh, yeah, and I'll talk about why I wrote this down at the bottom, where it won't ruin anything. Yes, I know the title sucks. If anyone can come up with a better one, I'd be much obliged! Oh, yes, I'm going to be footnoting a good bit of the Japanese I use in this story, so you can skip that if you so choose. Please review!
Tooi Omoide
Distant Memory
Sorata glanced up from the stew he was making for dinner at the sound of a doorbell. He wiped his hands hastily on his apron, and headed for the door. He was only cooking for two, anyway, and he knew it. Kamui was still in the hospital from his latest encounter with his Chi no Ryuu(1) opposite (the boy had nearly died! Sorata himself had carried an unconscious Kamui in his arms to the hospital only five days before.) and Yuzuriha—she was still missing. It would be a solemn night tonight, just himself and the 'Neechan. She was, in fact, out looking for the dog mistress at that very moment, leaving Sorata to make dinner. Not that he minded, really. Truth be told, he was the best cook of the mismatched quartet that lived together on the CLAMP campus.
He set the pot to simmer while he was gone, and ran to answer the door. Just inside the doorframe, Sorata summoned at cheerful smile, and pulled the door open.
"Kon'nichi wa!"
An older woman was looking up at him through thick eyeglasses. She came up to about his chest, even with the high-heeled shoes she was wearing. She smiled back at him, crow's feet forming at the corners of her eyes. Her salt-and-pepper hair was a bit messy, but the casual dress she wore was immaculate. In her right hand was a beige bag that was positively bulging with books and papers. "Konichi wa," she replied, her voice a surprisingly strong alto. "Is this Shirou Kamui-kun's house?"
Something tickled the back of Sorata's mind, some half-forgotten memory tried to surface. He attempted to place it, but it was like trying to catch smoke with his hands. "Kamui? Yes, he lives here. He's in the hospital right now, though. Is there a message I could give him, for you?"
"Yes, actually, there is," she said distractedly, digging in her bag with one hand until she fished out a book that had a few papers stuffed in it. "I'm Shirou-kun's English teacher(2), and I noticed that he had been missing a lot of class, so I made up a study guide for him." Sorata took the proffered textbook, noting with his very limited English skills that it said something along the lines of "Welcome!" (3)
"There are worksheets and notes in there for him to study," she continued. "So he'll be all caught up when he returns to class. Could you give it to him, for me?"
"Of course!" He smiled. He didn't think he had stopped smiling since he'd opened the door. "I'll run it down to him this evening. He's recovering well."
"That's good to hear. Thank you again, ah…"
"Sorata," he supplied helpfully.
Something flickered through her spectacled brown eyes, but was gone before he could identify it. "Sorata. That's a very nice name. I knew someone named Sorata once." She smiled again, though this time it seemed a bit more forced. "Well, thank you, Sorata-kun. And make sure Shirou-kun takes care of his health before he takes care of his schoolwork."
He smiled one of his most winning smiles, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his head. "Right, I will." The woman smiled again, and headed down the walk leading to the small townhouse. Sorata glanced down at the book a moment, before something occurred to him.
"Sensei!" he called, Osaka accent(4) thick on his tongue. "Sensei, who should I tell him this came from?"
She had turned at his call, and she smiled again at the question. "I'm Arisugawa Naoko. Tell him Arisugawa-sensei said to get well soon!"
And Sorata found himself gaping at her until she had walked out of sight.
Random Footnotes:
(1) Chi no Ryuu – lit. "Dragon of Earth" or "Earth's Dragon"
(2) English teacher – Many Japanese schools have an English class as standard curriculum for the students. And Naoko didn't seem like a math or science teacher, anyway.
(3) "Welcome!" textbook – Maw-haw-haw, I couldn't resist. Our Japanese textbook is called "Youkoso!", which means "Welcome!", and we've been saying all year that it's a stupid name for a foreign language textbook.
(4) Sorata speaks Japanese with an accent ('cuz he was raised on Mt. Kouya, which is in Osaka). He always sounds a little slurred.
A/N: Okay, now that it probably won't ruin anything, I'll say why I wrote this fanfic ^^;; That one scene in the manga, where Sorata's talking about leaving his parents to go with the Kouya monks always seemed to scream "Fanfic!" to me. I was debating how to get Sorata to bump into Naoko for quite a while, though. At first she was going to be a random woman on the street, and then she was a nurse in the hospital where Kamui was recovering, and probably a dozen other things until I finally settled on this. I hope you liked it! Please review!