[FFML] [fic][CCS] The One True Thing

Aishuu Offers:
The One True Thing
~in response to the �shades of scarlet� challenge~
A Card Captor Sakura Fic
Disclaimer: CCS is property of CLAMP.
Author�s Note: Inspired by a scene in Kouri Arashi�s
original story �Borderline.� Takes place after the
Second movie, so this has spoilers for that. Credit
to Mehgth for the beta! This is TxY� nothing overt,
but those subtle hints that frustrate the hell out of
all the fangirls- of which I am not one. Honest.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There was something oddly sad about Yukito�s home.

Touya had always felt that aura of sadness about the
place, and now he knew the reason why. Yukito�s
place was much like Yukito himself- warm and friendly
on the outside, but a fa�ade for the hidden truth- the
secret of Yue. Yukito�s grandparents, who supposedly
went away on vacation after vacation, didn�t exist.

They never had.

It saddened Touya every time he went over there, for
the place was too neat, and too new. He would pass
the carefully tended flowers, noticing their bright
colors. Yukito tended to wear pale colors to keep
from appearing washed out, but he surrounded himself
with bright colors with a vengeance, almost as though
he could make up for it. Brilliant blues, bright
yellows, grass greens� even pinks like Sakura adored.
Especially when he knew that she was coming over.

As much as Yukito teased Touya about having a sister
complex, sometimes Touya wondered if it wasn�t Yukito
who had the complex for Sakura. After all, he had,
in a way, been created for her. At least, that was
the understanding he had gotten after the whole Clow
Card incident was over.

Perhaps�

Touya studied the flowers thoughtfully for a second,
suddenly noticing a remarkable thing. He used to rely
on his special abilities to read his surroundings, but
even without those skills, he was still remarkably
perceptive. Few things in the world were able to
surprise him, but he knew there was significance to
most things. Life held many subtle meanings.

He pushed the thought to the back of his mind, vowing
to contemplate the matter later. Unlike most people,
he actually would return to the thought.

Touya went to the door, and raised a hand to knock on
it. Before his fist made contact with the wood,
though, the door swung open, and Yuki appeared before
him, smiling sweetly. If he had been his sister, he
would have stammered himself into an embarrassing
situation, but Kinomoto Touya was always in control of
himself. So instead, he chose to smile slightly.
�What�s up, Yuki?�

Yuki�s eyes flickered for a second, and the pleasant
amber seemed to become shadowed momentarily. "I can
spend time with my best friend without a reason, can�t
I?� he teased playfully back.

�True, true,� Touya said. He peeked around the
corner, surprised that there were no lights on in the
house. �Trying to save on electricity?�

Yukito turned to the house, which was cast in
shadows. �I�m sorry,� he said quietly. �Lately��
Then he broke off and flicked on the switch, casting
pools of strangely cold light into the house that
seemed strangely lacking. There were none of the
personal effects that families gathered over the
years. Yukito had had only three years to collect
them, and his paltry collection of mementos wasn�t
enough to cover up the emptiness of his home.

Touya smiled as he saw the bear that Sakura had made
for Yuki seated next to the rabbit Syaoran had won for
him. His eyes narrowed as he noticed another
mysterious absence� for some reason, the bear was
missing its naming ribbon.

Yukito, as usual, was oblivious to Touya�s concern.
�Do you want to do dinner? Or we can study for the
math test that we�re going to have?�

Touya allowed himself to be distracted; deciding that
this was another piece of the puzzle for later.
�Yuki, that test is in two weeks. And today is a
Friday. Fridays are traditionally for goofing off.�

Yuki smiled. �I had to offer. Well, how about we go
to Kazusa-san�s party?� he suggested in an innocent
voice.

Touya glared.

�She likes you, To-ya.�

�I have no interest in getting drunk in front of a
ton of people I don�t know,� Touya complained, kicking
off his shoes and slipping on the pair of slippers
Yuki had bought for him, making it clear he had no
interested in going anywhere.

Yuki�s eternal smile turned mischievous. �Then how
about getting drunk in front of someone you do know?�
he suggested.

Touya looked at Yuki like he had just sprouted a
third head. �Yuki? What are you thinking of?� he
demanded.

�I want to play a game!� he said. He darted into the
kitchen and returned carrying a huge tray of food, and
two chilled sake bottles, along with two very large
mugs that made Touya�s eyes spin. Sake packed a
punch, and Yuki surely didn�t mean for them to drink
all that sake� Touya wasn�t blessed with the
hypermetabolism of his friend.

�Yuki�� he began, but his sweet friend cut him off.

�If you play right, you won�t have to drink that
much,� Yuki promised, leading him up to his room,
instead of the dining room.

Touya followed, wondering why Yuki had chosen sake.
Neither of them were big drinkers, but when they did,
they usually preferred a good red Cabernet. It had the
slight taste of cherries and plum, and while it tended
to be a little expensive, Yukito never seemed to lack
for funds. It was probably the one good thing Clow
had ever done for him, Touya thought sometimes.

Yuki�s bedroom was a place Touya had been uncountable
times before. Since Yue had been revealed, the room
had chanced to include an amazing number of photos.
While Yukito had assured everyone he had recovered
from his near disappearance, Touya wondered. The
blackouts had scared his friend, and discovering his
memories weren�t real had been a bitter blow. Yuki
seemed to be surrounding himself with his real
memories with a vengeance.

Most of the pictures were taken by the camera-happy
Tomoyo. Many contained Sakura, with her red hair
blowing in the breeze, or smiling happily into the
camera with Yuki standing beside her. A few were
ones Yuki had taken himself, and they had a more
candid quality to them. Sakura racing Li in the field
day matches, or tossing the baton, or more recently,
dancing on stage as a princess, again with the Chinese
brat.

Touya was more camera shy, and it showed. There
were fewer pictures of him, but it wasn�t for lack of
Yukito trying. There was one of him and Youko from
the school play (which Yuki claimed to be keeping for
blackmail), another of him from one of his numerous
part-time jobs, and finally one Touya didn�t remember
being taken, of him and Yuki in high school, sitting
in their tree. He had been staring at Yuki with a
contemplative expression, and Yuki was smiling back at
him, touching him on the wrist gently. It was another
of Tomoyo�s works, and she and Sakura had given it
copies to both of them, framed in garish red and pink
frames splattered with sparkles.

Touya�s eyes narrowed when he noticed that the frame
was gone. �Yuki? Where�s the frame that goes with
that picture?� he asked, pointing to it.

Yuki set the tray down on the floor before turning to
look at it. �Ah, I managed to break it when I tried
to hang it up. Don�t tell Sakura, please?�

Touya huffed. �Like I�d tell Sakura that. She
thinks you walk on water.�

�More like the fires of hell,� Yuki murmured to
himself, but Touya�s quick ears caught it. �I think
you should eat, if we�re going to be drinking!� Yukito
said, once again the cheerful friend Touya was used
to.
�What�s this game you wanted to play?� Touya asked,
kneeling on the floor across from where Yuki was
cheerfully piling a plate for himself.

�A friend told me about it. It�s called �The One
True Thing.�� Yuki looked up from the onigiri he was
selecting for a second. �Basically, we go back and
forth and chose a topic and say one true thing about
it, what we think. It�s kind of a getting-to-know you
game, but to make things more interesting, we each
have to take a sip of sake after each round.�

Touya blinked, wondering what Yuki was thinking.
�Yuki, we�ve been best friends for almost four years.�

Yuki gave him the blinding smile that on anyone else
would be called false, but Touya recognized as being
just Yuki. Yukito�s smiles were irresistible.
�There�s still a lot about each other we don�t know
about each other� and I want to know everything about
you, To-ya.�

�That�s impossible� no one can never know another
person completely.�

�But that doesn�t mean I should stop trying. Will
you play?� Yuki pulled out his secret weapon: his
puppy eyes.

Touya sighed. �Sure.� He took the cup of sake and
sighed. �Do I say any true thing, or just the
truest?�

�With strangers, it can be any true thing. But
since we�re best friends, I think it should be the
truest.� Yuki popped a piece of sushi in his mouth
with chopsticks and swallowed it. �Can I start?� he
asked eagerly.

�Your game,� Touya said, nibbling on some cheese.
He wasn�t fond of the rice-y taste of sake, so he
wasn�t all that thrilled about playing. Most people
would assume that Yukito�s smaller build would mean
he�d be at a serious disadvantage when it came to
imbibing, but his hypermetabolism worked on alcohol as
well as food. Touya had seen him cheerfully drink
seasoned Greeks under the table.

�We�ll start with something easy. The one true
thing about school,� Yukito said.

�I have to answer that?� Touya asked.

Yukito nodded. �You answer, take a sip, then I
answer.�

�The one true thing about school� it�s too easy. No
challenge.� Touya picked up his sake and took a
moderate sized sip.

Yuki smiled at him. �Not that bad. The one true
thing about school is that it makes me feel normal,�
he said, before taking three sips of his own drink.

Touya blinked. �Yuki?� he asked, knowing his friend
would know what he meant.

�It�s more fair this way- we want things to be even,
after all. Your turn.�

Touya sighed, knowing that it was pointless to argue.
Yuki could be remarkably stubborn about what he
considered �fair play.� Still, this game did have
some possibilities�. �The one true thing about
Syaoran.�

�You sure you want to ask that?�

�Yep.� The little Chinese brat had been driving him
nuts with first his crush on Yuki, and now his romance
with Sakura. He really wanted to know what Yuki
thought of him.

�The one true thing about Syaoran is that he has a
pure heart and strong beliefs.� Yuki took his sip,
then stared at Touya.

Touya sighed, knowing he had trapped himself. He
considered lying, but he could never lie to Yuki.
"The one true thing about Syaoran is that I�m afraid
he�ll take Sakura away.� This time he took a larger,
sip, needing the alcohol.

�That would never happen,� Yuki said confidently.
�Sakura wouldn�t let it. You are one of the most
important people in her life.�

Touya looked troubled. �I wonder, sometimes.�

Yuki pressed Touya�s hand. �Sakura has a huge
heart. The one true thing about Sakura is that she
knows how to love.� He sipped his sake, making it
clear that was his turn.

�The one true thing about Sakura is that she�s too
precious to me,� Touya returned, before thinking of
his next question. �The one true thing about me is
that I never can say what I feel,� Touya said.

Yuki smiled. �The one true thing about Touya is that
his eyes speak for him,� he said, brushing gentle
fingers across his friend�s face. Touya blushed.
�The one true thing about Nakuru is that she annoys
the hell out of me,� Yuki said, his eyes sparkling.

Touya laughed. �I thought you�d never admit it. The
one true thing about Nakuru is that I completely agree
with you. The one true thing about the color pink is
that Sakura wears too much of it,� he said, changing
the subject quickly, before moving onto some fruit.

�The one true thing about pink is that Tomoyo likes
dressing Sakura up in weird costumes made of it!� Yuki
countered. He was thoughtful. �The one true thing
about this game is that I learned it from a shrink,�
he said, apparently getting a little tipsy.

Touya�s eyes widened. He noticed that Yuki had
opened the second bottle of sake, and was well into
it, and Touya still hadn�t started on a second glass.
Even Yuki�s incredible body couldn�t take all that
alcohol without suffering the consequences. �A
shrink? I didn�t know you were seeing a counselor.�

�I said that?� Yuki said, and he seemed to shift in
his seat.

�Yuki�.� Touya said. �The one true thing about the
this game is that I�ll stop playing if you don�t
answer me.� He looked at his glass, surprised that the
sake was exactly the color of Yukito�s eyes, golden
amber. He wondered why he hadn�t noticed. He
decided he liked sake after all, since it was so
pretty� he could drink it every day-

He decided he was well on his way to getting drunk,
too. And from so little alcohol- it was embarrassing.

Yuki sighed a little, running his hands through his
hair. �I- I�ve been confused lately. It�s not easy
to be the false form of a Guardian of the Clow. I
told her I was MPD, so she treats Yue like an alter.�
He rose and wobbled a little unsteadily to his desk,
fumbled through a drawer before producing a file. He
came back and handed it to Touya, almost landing in
his lap as he stumbled slightly.

He opened the file to be met by an official looking
letterhead, printed in maroon ink. He peered at it
for a second, trying to decipher the medical jargon.
�Um, Yuki? I�m slightly not with it right now� mind
giving me a summary?�

Yuki sighed and folded himself up, wrapping his arms
around his knees. �Basically, it states that I�m the
current core personality- that means that I have
control most of the time, and Yue is my main alter.
When I stated that reintegration �that�s getting both
personalities to become one- wasn�t possible, she
decided to help me and Yue learn to coexist a little
more easily. He�s started to write me notes when he
takes control and leaves me places now. It�s a little
better, I guess.�

�Yuki� couldn�t you have just talked to me?�

�Sometimes you need to talk to an impartial person,
or a professional. I don�t have any real memories of
my life before tenth grade- what can you do?� Yuki
whispered.

�I can care.�

�I know you do.� He studied Yuki for a moment. �The
one true thing about the color red is that I�ve
noticed that it�s missing around you. You seem to
remove it whenever you can, or avoid it.�

Yuki looked up, stung. �The one true thing about red
is that it makes me feel unreal.�

�Why?�

�This isn�t suppose to be twenty questions, Touya.�

Touya gave him a half smile. �You wanted to play
this game. You knew that we�d stumble onto these
topics, in some way, shape, or form. That means you
wanted to talk. So talk.�

�Red, it�s always been a strong color. It�s the
color of life- it�s so vibrant. It�s not associated
with the moon or night, and I am. Every time I see
it, it reminds me that I�m just the false form of Yue.
The psychologist has it wrong- Yue is the core, I�m
the alter.� He was quiet for a second before turning
eyes that lack all good humor and contained something
Touya had never seen there.

�The one true thing about Yue is I hate him.�

Touya�s eyes widened. �What?� he asked, stunned. He
had never believed Yuki capable of hatred, but his
sun-gold eyes blazed with passion and Touya knew that
this was the truest thing Yuki had said all evening.

�It�s his fault I�m the way I am! He filled me with
these false memories. I hate him! He took my
grandparents away! I hate always smiling- sometimes
I�d like to have a good sulk, or swear, or scream,
just like other people do! I�d like to have bad days,
but Yue designed me to always be cheerful, because he
never does! And then whenever he feels like it, he
swoops in, takes over my life, and leaves me with
these blank spaces in my memory!

�I could take that, if he only hurt me! But he hurt
you, too! He took your power to save himself! Your
power was one of the cores of you, Touya, and every
time I see you now, I feel guilty! And because he
exists, Sakura and Syaoran couldn�t get close to me
without being attracted! How can I know if they ever
like me for who I am, rather than the moon power they
feel from me? Sometimes I wish I had never been
created!� he said, finishing his tirade. The words
had come out quickly, some of them he had been holding
in ever since he had discovered Yue�s existence.

�Do you want the one true thing?� Touya growled. His
hand snagged out for the sharp knife on the tray that
Yukito had brought on.

Yukito�s eyes widened, his instincts warning him that
his friend had been pushed too far. �What?� he asked,
almost breathless with anticipation. Something hung
in the balance at that moment; a moment where a life
changing decision was about to be made.

Touya shut his eyes, and mentally hoped Yuki would
understand what he was about to do. He opened them
after a deep breath, knowing Yuki was watching him
with fascination. Instead of taking the knife to his
friend, like Yuki was expecting, he raised his left
hand and took his this thumb and made a deep,
horizontal cut across the pad, blood springing forth
almost immediately. �Ouch,� he hissed.

�To-ya!� Yuki said, forgetting everything else except
his friend�s pain. �What are you doing?� He moved
closer, obviously intent on bandaging Touya�s injury.

Touya had been anticipating that. He quickly snagged
Yuki�s own hand, ignoring his friend�s startled gasp
as he proceeded to make a similar incision on Yuki�s
own left thumb. Yuki yelped in pain and betrayal,
turning his amber eyes onto Touya. �Why?� he said.
�Have you gone mad?�

Touya�s blue eyes burned as he threw the knife across
the room, sending it skittering across the floor.
�This is the one true thing, Yuki. Look at your
blood- it�s just as red as mine. You�re as human as I
am.�

Yukito stared at the blood running down their hands
for a moment before taking Touya�s bleeding hand in
his own. Their blood mixed and mingled, dripping
together onto the floor. It was strangely
hypnotizing, and they sat together in silence for over
before he sighed. �I wish I could believe you,
To-ya.�

�It doesn�t matter where you came from; it doesn�t
matter about Yue. You are Tsukishiro Yukito, and
that�s all you need to know. You�re free to hate Yue-
it�s your feeling, and you�re entitled to it. You are
not Yue- you never would have performed the Final
Judgement on Sakura- you and Yue just happen to be
sharing the same body.

�If I were you, I wouldn�t be too fond of Yue, either.
He comes out of nowhere, gives you blackouts, gets
you into a hell of a lot of trouble, and� well, angst.
Yue is the poster child for angst. He has his good
points, but no one can mope like he can. I think he�s
been mourning Clow�s death for over a century, and
there�s no sign of him coming out of it.�

Yuki cracked a smile. �I wish I knew more about him�
I don�t even know what he looks like. Sakura
describes him as an angel, and� it�s intimidating.�
Yuki stared down at their hands, wondering when the
blood would start to clot. Maybe they should go get
stitches, but that would lead to some uncomfortable
questions. �I�m nothing like that.�

�You�re much more of an angel then he�ll ever be. He
may have the look of one, but you�re much nicer.�
Touya looked thoughtful. �I think Tomoyo has an
amazing number of videos of Sakura with her Guardians.
We can borrow some videos from her tomorrow.�

Yuki smiled, feeling a little light-headed. �Thanks,
To-ya. I�d like that.�

Touya raised Yuki�s thumb, and kissed it lightly,
ignoring the blood. �I�m sorry I cut you,� he
whispered.

�Sometimes it takes something like that to make a
point with me. I can be rather thick,� Yuki said.

Touya smiled back at his friend. �Thick? Never.
Oblivious, sometimes, but never thick.� He put
Yuki�s hand down and rose to his feet. �I�ll go get
the first aid kit.�

Yuki�s cheeks were slightly flushed from all the
alcohol he had consumed. �To-ya, will you spend the
night with me tonight?� he asked.

�Yuki, I�ll stay as long as you need me.�

�Then you�ll never leave,� Yuki said with contentment.

THE END

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Closing notes:

Not sure if this piece worked or not. The challenge
was:

Shades of Scarlet is a challenge in where we would
like you to write a fic (that hopefully make sense)
mentioning as many red things as possible. Meaning,
for everything that is at least a shade of scarlet,
points will be given to that certain fic. Of course
slapping down just "cherry, heart, mars, fire" won't
just cut it, it must be a complete story that's
creative, has a plot, and is in a nice quality.

So, of course, my goal became to be as contrary as
possible and try to show the lack of red, for a while,
at least. Cause Yukito is a weird cookie.

Contrary to popular opinion, sake is NOT always served
warm. In fact, it shouldn�t be hot. Warm sake should
be around body temperature.

Stuff on MPD/DID:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/mpd_did.htm- despite
its host, it�s pretty balanced.

Red things (or lack thereof) in order: flowers, bear�s
ribbon, red wine, cherries, Sakura�s hair, picture
frame, fires of hell, Yuki�s blush, letterhead, blood,
Yuki�s cheeks.

=====
Heroes rise, heroes fall Rise again, win it all In your heart, can't you feel the glory? 
<A href="http://www.midnightrevolution.org/gundam">http://www.midnightrevolution.org/gundam</A>
<A href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quicksilver/">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quicksilver/</A>

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