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     1.4 +Welcome fellow Sakura/Tomoyo fans, or non fans if you're reading this for
     1.5 +the hell of it.  Thanks for coming to read my story, but first, yep, I've
     1.6 +got notes.  Here we go.  All characters copyright CLAMP, Kodansha,
     1.7 +TOKYOPOP, Mad House, Nelvana and Pioneer.  Did I miss any?  Other than
     1.8 +that, the only thing that I think really needs to be mentioned, is that
     1.9 +there are two terms at the beginning that you probably never heard of.
    1.10 +Both refer to carnival games that you may have seen in certain anime.  The
    1.11 +first is kingyo-sukui, which is basically the goldfish catching game.  The
    1.12 +second is shateki.  In this game, people use a pop gun filled with little
    1.13 +corks and fire it at a couple of shelves with different prizes on them.  If
    1.14 +the person firing knocks down a prize, it's theirs.  Alright, enough of the
    1.15 +notes, it's time for the story.  I hope you enjoy it.
    1.16 +>
    1.17 +>
    1.18 +>Discovering Beauty
    1.19 +>
    1.20 +>By: James Brown
    1.21 +mebrown@dubuque.net
    1.22 +
    1.23 +>	The sun had just begun to set over Tomoeda's horizon as music filled the
    1.24 +air and the ears of the festival crowd.  One of the city's shrine festivals
    1.25 +was fully underway as the people began enjoying the activities of the late
    1.26 +afternoon: talking in a friendly conversation, playig a game at one of the
    1.27 +festival booths, or, as Sakura Kinomoto was doing, taking a casual stroll.
    1.28 +Sakura was walking by herself as she observed the sights around her.  She
    1.29 +decided to stop at a kingyo-sukui booth to see if anyone had caught any
    1.30 +gold fish.  The brown haired girl was at the booth earlier, but she had
    1.31 +come up empty handed in her attempts to catch anything.  Right now, she was
    1.32 +more content with seeing if anyone else had better luck.  Once she finished
    1.33 +watching, Sakura decided to walk a little more, but it wasn't long until
    1.34 +she noticed her best friend Tomoyo coming towards her.
    1.35 +>	"Hey Tomoyo!" Sakura called out.
    1.36 +>	"Oh, hello Sakura," Tomoyo said once Sakura ran up to her.  "I didn't
    1.37 +know you were here as well.  Are you here by yourself?"
    1.38 +>	"No.  Actually, I was with my brother and my dad earlier, but we decided
    1.39 +to separate for now."  It wasn't until this moment that Sakura noticed
    1.40 +Tomoyo holding an orange stuffed elephant in front of her.  As soon as she
    1.41 +saw it, the topic of conversation quickly changed.  "Hey Tomoyo, where did
    1.42 +you get that cute little elephant?"
    1.43 +>	"Do-o you like it?" Tomoyo asked as she began to blush.
    1.44 +>	"I think it's adorable."
    1.45 +>	"I won it a couple of minutes ago at the shateki booth."
    1.46 +>	"Wow, really? Isn't that kind of hard?"
    1.47 +>	"Not really. All a person really needs is some patience and a little
    1.48 +concentration.  To tell you the truth, I'm going to give this to someone as
    1.49 +a gift."
    1.50 +>	"Are you giving it to someone I know?"
    1.51 +>	"Well, yes.  I think you've meet this person."
    1.52 +>	"Say, I hope whoever you give it to likes it," Sakura commented with a
    1.53 +bright smile.
    1.54 +>	"I'm sure of it.  Hey, you want to go get something to eat?"
    1.55 +>	"Sure."  As the two girls went in search for food, Sakura couldn't help
    1.56 +but think about Tomoyo and who she would give the gift to.  "Tomoyo sure is
    1.57 +happy about all this, but, I wonder who is making her smile so much?"
    1.58 +>
    1.59 +>	That evening, after Tomoyo returned home from the festival, the girl
    1.60 +entered her room while she held the stuffed elephant close to her.  The
    1.61 +dark haired girl laid down on her bed, holding the elephant up in front of
    1.62 +her as a small laugh emitted from her closed mouth.  "Hmm. Once Sakura
    1.63 +realizes that this elephant is really for her, she's going to be so
    1.64 +thrilled.  I just know it, I just know it."  The elephant was more that
    1.65 +just a simple gift between best friends, to Tomoyo, it represented a
    1.66 +confession, a confession of love.  Tomoyo held the stuffed animal close to
    1.67 +her chest as she began to think about presenting it to Sakura.  Her smile
    1.68 +began to enlarge as the thoughts flooded her mind.  But suddenly, a thought
    1.69 +of a different kind came into her mind.  "Wait a minute, what if she
    1.70 +doesn't understand?  What if she doesn't get it right away?"  Tomoyo began
    1.71 +to think about what she could include with the elephant in order to get her
    1.72 +message across.  Once the idea came to her, Tomoyo went through the house
    1.73 +to get paper, a pencil and an envelope.  When the needed supplies were
    1.74 +gathered, the young girl returned to her room.  She sat down on her bed and
    1.75 +began to write a letter.  In it, she began to inscribe her true feelings.
    1.76 +All of the emotions in her heart were being put on to paper.  Tomoyo's
    1.77 +hopes and dreams counted on what she wrote in the letter.  Her true hope
    1.78 +was that Sakura understood how much she meant to her, and her greatest
    1.79 +dream was that somehow, Sakura felt the exact same way about her.  As soon
    1.80 +as the letter was finished, Tomoyo placed it inside the envelope and took
    1.81 +it along with the elephant to her book bag.  After she packed the items
    1.82 +inside, she went back to her room with a cheerful smile on her face.
    1.83 +>
    1.84 +>	The following Friday morning, school began at Tomoeda Elementary and
    1.85 +Tomoyo had all the necessary items to make her gift to Sakura complete.
    1.86 +Tomoyo decided to wait until all the day's classes were done until she
    1.87 +presented the gift.  After school had ended and the afternoon finally
    1.88 +arrived, Sakura and Tomoyo walked home together.  The entire time they
    1.89 +walked, Tomoyo kept thinking about when would be the perfect moment to
    1.90 +unveil her surprise.  Once the two were a block away from Sakura's home,
    1.91 +Tomoyo decided to speak up.
    1.92 +>	"Hey Sakura.  Can we stop for a moment?"
    1.93 +>	"Why?  Is something the matter?"
    1.94 +>	"No, I'm okay.  I just have something that I want to show you."  As
    1.95 +Tomoyo took her book bag off, Sakura became extremely curious as to what
    1.96 +she was going to see. As Tomoyo opened her bag, Sakura's eyes began to
    1.97 +widen once she saw a familiar orange color.  As soon as she recognized the
    1.98 +elephant's shape, her entire face lit up.
    1.99 +>	"Hey, isn't...isn't that the elephant from last night?"
   1.100 +>	"Yes."
   1.101 +>	"But you still have it with you.  I thought...wait.  Do you mean that the
   1.102 +friend you're giving it to is me?"
   1.103 +>	"That's right Sakura.  This gift belongs to you."
   1.104 +>	"Oh thank you Tomoyo!  Thank you so much!"
   1.105 +>	"I decided to wait until today to give it to you so I could surprise you."
   1.106 +>	"I understand, and thanks again."  As Sakura accepted the gift and held
   1.107 +it close to her, Tomoyo smiled as she watched her friend spin in a
   1.108 +delightful mood.  The moment was uplifting to her, and she knew now, as
   1.109 +Sakura began to ask her a question, it was time for her to present the
   1.110 +letter.  "But, why are you giving this to me?  Is it because I did
   1.111 +something recently?"
   1.112 +>	"Well, I think this well help to answer your question."  Sakura was
   1.113 +puzzled as Tomoyo reached into her bag a second time and pulled out the
   1.114 +letter.  When the letter was handed to her, she put down the elephant and
   1.115 +examined the envelope.  After finding nothing to read on the envelope
   1.116 +itself, Sakura opened it and began to read the letter out loud.
   1.117 +>	"Sakura, we have been good friends for a long time now, and as friends,
   1.118 +we have been through a lot of incredible situations together.  And through
   1.119 +the time we've known each other, I consider you to be my greatest friend.
   1.120 +Whenever I see your smile, it makes me feel happy even if I am already in a
   1.121 +good mood.  When I am with you, I know I can tell you any of my secrets
   1.122 +without the fear of having anyone else knowing.  But the secret I want to
   1.123 +tell you now is much different than any I've told and it concerns you as
   1.124 +well."  At this point, Sakura's interest in what she was reading grew in a
   1.125 +vast amount.  "My secret is one that I have carried with me for a while
   1.126 +now.  I hope that you understand how I feel and that perhaps, you feel the
   1.127 +same way as well.  What I want to tell you is that I..." Sakura continued
   1.128 +reading the letter, but found the news to be a total shock for her.  So
   1.129 +much so that she was unable to find a voice to read the letter out loud.
   1.130 +When Sakura had finished reading the letter, she looked up to Tomoyo with
   1.131 +an expression on her face, to which Tomoyo acted surprised and concerned.
   1.132 +Sakura's expression was almost one of fear and confusion.  She then
   1.133 +realized she didn't finish reading the letter out loud.  As she continued
   1.134 +reading where she left off, her tone of voice changed.  From anticipation,
   1.135 +to a tone that was more dreary.  "I love you.  In all honesty and with all
   1.136 +of my heart, I love you.  My feelings are more than just what common
   1.137 +friends share.  They are very much in the romantic sense.  You mean
   1.138 +everything to me and I hope you will stay with me for a long time."  Sakura
   1.139 +didn't feel any different after reading Tomoyo's confession.  She didn't
   1.140 +know what to say.  She didn't know what to think.  She didn't know what to
   1.141 +do.  Tomoyo finally decided to break the silence with her voice.
   1.142 +>	"Sakura, w-what's the matter?"
   1.143 +>	Sakura tried to say something right away, but found it difficult with all
   1.144 +the thoughts in her head.  "I...I...I..."  Everything about this situation
   1.145 +was just making her nervous.  "I...have to go."  Sakura ran toward her
   1.146 +house and didn't look back.  The letter slowly drifted out of her hands and
   1.147 +landed in front of Tomoyo.  Tomoyo was shaken by what had happened.  She
   1.148 +never considered this as the result of her actions.
   1.149 +>	"Sakura?  Wait!  Why are you running?"  She reached out to the distant
   1.150 +girl but found it to be of little help.  Alone and heartbrokne, the girl
   1.151 +stood there as bitter sadness flooded her senses.  Everything she hoped for
   1.152 +collapsed in front of her.  Tomoyo looked at the items that represented her
   1.153 +gift as her eyes began to tear up.  "But...but why?"
   1.154 +
   1.155 + 
   1.156 +
   1.157 +      
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