Welcome fellow Sakura/Tomoyo fans, or non fans if you're reading this for

 the hell of it.  Thanks for coming to read my story, but first, yep, I've

 got notes.  Here we go.  All characters copyright CLAMP, Kodansha,

 TOKYOPOP, Mad House, Nelvana and Pioneer.  Did I miss any?  Other than

 that, the only thing that I think really needs to be mentioned, is that

 there are two terms at the beginning that you probably never heard of.

 Both refer to carnival games that you may have seen in certain anime.  The

 first is kingyo-sukui, which is basically the goldfish catching game.  The

 second is shateki.  In this game, people use a pop gun filled with little

 corks and fire it at a couple of shelves with different prizes on them.  If

 the person firing knocks down a prize, it's theirs.  Alright, enough of the

 notes, it's time for the story.  I hope you enjoy it.

 >

 >

 >Discovering Beauty

 >

 >By: James Brown

 mebrown@dubuque.net

 

 >	The sun had just begun to set over Tomoeda's horizon as music filled the

 air and the ears of the festival crowd.  One of the city's shrine festivals

 was fully underway as the people began enjoying the activities of the late

 afternoon: talking in a friendly conversation, playig a game at one of the

 festival booths, or, as Sakura Kinomoto was doing, taking a casual stroll.

 Sakura was walking by herself as she observed the sights around her.  She

 decided to stop at a kingyo-sukui booth to see if anyone had caught any

 gold fish.  The brown haired girl was at the booth earlier, but she had

 come up empty handed in her attempts to catch anything.  Right now, she was

 more content with seeing if anyone else had better luck.  Once she finished

 watching, Sakura decided to walk a little more, but it wasn't long until

 she noticed her best friend Tomoyo coming towards her.

 >	"Hey Tomoyo!" Sakura called out.

 >	"Oh, hello Sakura," Tomoyo said once Sakura ran up to her.  "I didn't

 know you were here as well.  Are you here by yourself?"

 >	"No.  Actually, I was with my brother and my dad earlier, but we decided

 to separate for now."  It wasn't until this moment that Sakura noticed

 Tomoyo holding an orange stuffed elephant in front of her.  As soon as she

 saw it, the topic of conversation quickly changed.  "Hey Tomoyo, where did

 you get that cute little elephant?"

 >	"Do-o you like it?" Tomoyo asked as she began to blush.

 >	"I think it's adorable."

 >	"I won it a couple of minutes ago at the shateki booth."

 >	"Wow, really? Isn't that kind of hard?"

 >	"Not really. All a person really needs is some patience and a little

 concentration.  To tell you the truth, I'm going to give this to someone as

 a gift."

 >	"Are you giving it to someone I know?"

 >	"Well, yes.  I think you've meet this person."

 >	"Say, I hope whoever you give it to likes it," Sakura commented with a

 bright smile.

 >	"I'm sure of it.  Hey, you want to go get something to eat?"

 >	"Sure."  As the two girls went in search for food, Sakura couldn't help

 but think about Tomoyo and who she would give the gift to.  "Tomoyo sure is

 happy about all this, but, I wonder who is making her smile so much?"

 >

 >	That evening, after Tomoyo returned home from the festival, the girl

 entered her room while she held the stuffed elephant close to her.  The

 dark haired girl laid down on her bed, holding the elephant up in front of

 her as a small laugh emitted from her closed mouth.  "Hmm. Once Sakura

 realizes that this elephant is really for her, she's going to be so

 thrilled.  I just know it, I just know it."  The elephant was more that

 just a simple gift between best friends, to Tomoyo, it represented a

 confession, a confession of love.  Tomoyo held the stuffed animal close to

 her chest as she began to think about presenting it to Sakura.  Her smile

 began to enlarge as the thoughts flooded her mind.  But suddenly, a thought

 of a different kind came into her mind.  "Wait a minute, what if she

 doesn't understand?  What if she doesn't get it right away?"  Tomoyo began

 to think about what she could include with the elephant in order to get her

 message across.  Once the idea came to her, Tomoyo went through the house

 to get paper, a pencil and an envelope.  When the needed supplies were

 gathered, the young girl returned to her room.  She sat down on her bed and

 began to write a letter.  In it, she began to inscribe her true feelings.

 All of the emotions in her heart were being put on to paper.  Tomoyo's

 hopes and dreams counted on what she wrote in the letter.  Her true hope

 was that Sakura understood how much she meant to her, and her greatest

 dream was that somehow, Sakura felt the exact same way about her.  As soon

 as the letter was finished, Tomoyo placed it inside the envelope and took

 it along with the elephant to her book bag.  After she packed the items

 inside, she went back to her room with a cheerful smile on her face.

 >

 >	The following Friday morning, school began at Tomoeda Elementary and

 Tomoyo had all the necessary items to make her gift to Sakura complete.

 Tomoyo decided to wait until all the day's classes were done until she

 presented the gift.  After school had ended and the afternoon finally

 arrived, Sakura and Tomoyo walked home together.  The entire time they

 walked, Tomoyo kept thinking about when would be the perfect moment to

 unveil her surprise.  Once the two were a block away from Sakura's home,

 Tomoyo decided to speak up.

 >	"Hey Sakura.  Can we stop for a moment?"

 >	"Why?  Is something the matter?"

 >	"No, I'm okay.  I just have something that I want to show you."  As

 Tomoyo took her book bag off, Sakura became extremely curious as to what

 she was going to see. As Tomoyo opened her bag, Sakura's eyes began to

 widen once she saw a familiar orange color.  As soon as she recognized the

 elephant's shape, her entire face lit up.

 >	"Hey, isn't...isn't that the elephant from last night?"

 >	"Yes."

 >	"But you still have it with you.  I thought...wait.  Do you mean that the

 friend you're giving it to is me?"

 >	"That's right Sakura.  This gift belongs to you."

 >	"Oh thank you Tomoyo!  Thank you so much!"

 >	"I decided to wait until today to give it to you so I could surprise you."

 >	"I understand, and thanks again."  As Sakura accepted the gift and held

 it close to her, Tomoyo smiled as she watched her friend spin in a

 delightful mood.  The moment was uplifting to her, and she knew now, as

 Sakura began to ask her a question, it was time for her to present the

 letter.  "But, why are you giving this to me?  Is it because I did

 something recently?"

 >	"Well, I think this well help to answer your question."  Sakura was

 puzzled as Tomoyo reached into her bag a second time and pulled out the

 letter.  When the letter was handed to her, she put down the elephant and

 examined the envelope.  After finding nothing to read on the envelope

 itself, Sakura opened it and began to read the letter out loud.

 >	"Sakura, we have been good friends for a long time now, and as friends,

 we have been through a lot of incredible situations together.  And through

 the time we've known each other, I consider you to be my greatest friend.

 Whenever I see your smile, it makes me feel happy even if I am already in a

 good mood.  When I am with you, I know I can tell you any of my secrets

 without the fear of having anyone else knowing.  But the secret I want to

 tell you now is much different than any I've told and it concerns you as

 well."  At this point, Sakura's interest in what she was reading grew in a

 vast amount.  "My secret is one that I have carried with me for a while

 now.  I hope that you understand how I feel and that perhaps, you feel the

 same way as well.  What I want to tell you is that I..." Sakura continued

 reading the letter, but found the news to be a total shock for her.  So

 much so that she was unable to find a voice to read the letter out loud.

 When Sakura had finished reading the letter, she looked up to Tomoyo with

 an expression on her face, to which Tomoyo acted surprised and concerned.

 Sakura's expression was almost one of fear and confusion.  She then

 realized she didn't finish reading the letter out loud.  As she continued

 reading where she left off, her tone of voice changed.  From anticipation,

 to a tone that was more dreary.  "I love you.  In all honesty and with all

 of my heart, I love you.  My feelings are more than just what common

 friends share.  They are very much in the romantic sense.  You mean

 everything to me and I hope you will stay with me for a long time."  Sakura

 didn't feel any different after reading Tomoyo's confession.  She didn't

 know what to say.  She didn't know what to think.  She didn't know what to

 do.  Tomoyo finally decided to break the silence with her voice.

 >	"Sakura, w-what's the matter?"

 >	Sakura tried to say something right away, but found it difficult with all

 the thoughts in her head.  "I...I...I..."  Everything about this situation

 was just making her nervous.  "I...have to go."  Sakura ran toward her

 house and didn't look back.  The letter slowly drifted out of her hands and

 landed in front of Tomoyo.  Tomoyo was shaken by what had happened.  She

 never considered this as the result of her actions.

 >	"Sakura?  Wait!  Why are you running?"  She reached out to the distant

 girl but found it to be of little help.  Alone and heartbrokne, the girl

 stood there as bitter sadness flooded her senses.  Everything she hoped for

 collapsed in front of her.  Tomoyo looked at the items that represented her

 gift as her eyes began to tear up.  "But...but why?"