[AQ] Letters to Another [Felicity/Yasuko.K]

[Yasuko Kobayashi]

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{AQ Description}
Pen Pals!

+ Description: The student council has set up an exchange of anonymous letters with another student on your thoughts about dreams and passion, intended to get students to cheer each other on and help each other out! Write one yourself, or recruit some friends to write along with you.

+ Write about dreams and passion: +1 Guardians, +1 Faberge, -1 Roost

+ Write about finding your own path: +2 Roost, -1 Guardians

+ Write that it’s pointless to dream: -1 Guardians, -1 Roost, -2 Faberge

+ Requirements: None

+ Submitted by Hatta

---

They're still going?

Staring up at the notice board, Yasuko was surprised to see that the pen pal exchange thing was still going on. She thought that by now most students would have started wrapping it all up or completed them by now, so the Student Council wouldn't have anymore letters to send. The 'pen-pals' might even have met each other in person already. Not that she did with hers though. 

She had already tried her hand at the whole pen pals thing once. It...had started rocky at best, because her assigned writer was less than eloquent with their words (and who signs letters with ME in capital letters anyway? Yasuko thought. She still wasn't able to wrap her head around that), but for some reason they had managed to warm up to each other by the end. She even bought patterned stationary just for her anonymous pen-pal and gifted her with a bread keychain from the Student Store. She still wasn't quite sure why she did it. Perhaps there was something about the other people that reminded her of dreams. Of wanting to pursue them and going for them, no matter how people hindered them.

Lightly touching the box where all the letters go to, she pondered. Should she try this again? The last one went unexpectedly well; more so than she thought. Maybe she might meet someone nice again. Or not she scowled, as she thought about all the probable jerks and assholes who probably wrote in these things simply to poke fun at people. Well, if she got one of those, she could chuck it into the bin and never write back.

As soon as school ended, she quickly headed to the library, taking out her notepad. She had thought about sending the letter on the patterned paper she bought for the previous pen-pal, but she had decided against it. What if the person who received it wasn't serious about it? She wouldn't really want to waste a piece of paper for a possible jerk. Pencil met paper and she quickly drafted a letter.

Hello, 

Well it was a start.

Hello, to whom this letter may end up to,

How are you doing? I'm doing fine right now. How are classes? It's still early in the school year, so I guess classes for me are still okay. 

This was starting to sound like a half-assed letter for a school assignment, not for an anonymous pen-pal. Sighing, Yasuko laid her head on the table as she tried to think. Well, it was some kind of start anyway, so she might as well go for it. 

That was a rather lackluster introduction huh? I admit I'm not great with introductions to letters like these. Not sure what your reasons are for writing, but the whole idea was to write about dreams and passion huh?

I'll like to be a writer one day. What about you? Do you have any dreams or goals?

There, that sounded more casual. 

She rewrote the contents on plain lined notepad paper, using black ink. Pausing, she stared at the empty space underneath the words. She should be using a pseudonym here right? But she wasn't brilliant when it came to names like these. There was a pause as she folded her arms and stared again at the letter.

Should she use Writer again...?

Her last pen-pal had laughed at it - and Yasuko hadn't been happy with that (although she forgave it, now that the two of them ended up liking each other at the end) - but it wasn't a wrong kind of name to use. She did want to become a writer, so it wasn't lying or anything. But still...was it a silly name to use? A not quite so creative name to use? Sighing, she tilted her head as she pondered. 

Oh why the heck not, she thought, as she took up her pen. She signed it off, sealed it into a simple white envelope, before dropping it at the Student Council. Going home, she released a sigh that she didn't know she was holding. That...was a bit more nerve-wrecking than she thought it would be. It wasn't like a crushing anxiety, but she didn't think she would actually be nervous about sending a letter like that. Who would her letter meet this time...?

[Felicity]

I will make friends.


So many times she'd repeated this mantra to herself, going over and over every syllable in her mind. It seemed so easy for some people, like they didn't have to even make an effort to draw people toward them with their magnetism. But for Felicity it seemed like an impossibility. Too awkward for conversation, too nervous for social events. She couldn't even be directly generous when it came down to it; she simply left her offering of baked goods in the kitchen anonymously and hoped no one figured it out. The idea of being thanked was nice, but it made her anxious just thinking about it. 

What a loser.

Felicity sighed as she hitched her satchel further onto her shoulder for a more comfortable position, fingering the hem of the strap as she thought it over. 

At least this way no one will know it's me.

An anonymous letter system had been set up and it seemed to scream at her 'I'm perfect for you nerdo'. As caught up in her own thoughts as she was, she hadn't noticed that she was getting a rather bored look from the student council member waiting to give her the letter she would respond to. With a quick apology and a slight nod of her head she took the letter gently within her fingers, as if it would break should she handle it too roughly, and quickly slid it into her bag. A thank you and a smile and the blond was off to greet her first pen-pal.

---

When finally she arrived back at her dorm room, Felicity carefully pried open the sealed envelope, plucking the paper from it's containment and unfolding it. Excitement bubbled away in the pit of her stomach as she gathered up the courage to read what was written. What kind of person would her pen-pal be? Would they be nice? Would they be her friend?

"Hello,"

Best friends for life! Giddy, she dropped her bag by the end of the bed and sat down at her desk, quickly reading over every single last word that had been transcribed with such delicate handwriting--

Oh gosh what if my handwriting is atrocious?

Sitting back, she let the realisation of all the things that could possibly go wrong flood and overwhelm her previous excitement. What if they didn't like her, or didn't even bother to respond? What if her handwriting was so bad they couldn't even read it? Leaning forward she smoothed the letter onto the cool surface of the desk before her, swallow back the thick lump that had formed in her throat.

No, I promised myself I would try. I will make friends!

Retrieving a slip of paper and a pen from the drawer to her right, Felicity prepared herself to write the most spectacular letter of the century.

Hello new friend!

That might have been coming on too strong. She couldn't even tell if this person would like her or not, how could she consider calling them a friend just yet?

Hello new friend!

Hello to whomever is on the other end of this letter!

I don't think I can describe how excited I am to be doing this, but just know that I'm very thankful for the opportunity. And for the record, your introduction was great!

There. That was better. Or, at least, a little less crazy right? Maybe too formal, but she'd find out sooner or later. They had asked how she was, how classes were-- and about her ambitions for the future. That was a tough one. What was it she wanted to do again?

I'm quite well, thank you very much for asking! Classes are little different here than my last school, but I'm certainly enjoying them so far. What kinds of subjects are you interested in? How are your teachers?

A writer huh? That's so cool! You'll be able to write anything and everything, that must be exciting to know exactly what you want to be. I guess I don't have a dream specifically. I just mostly want to be happy. Sounds silly huh? I've never really thought about my future outside of what my parents want.

Did that sound too whiny? Felicity hesitated, the nib of the pen resting just millimeters above the paper. Letting out a held breath she dropped the pen against the surface of the desk, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. This was silly. To get so worked up over an anonymous letter that she'd probably never get a response to. Or to be anxious about how a stranger will think of her after reading it. As long as she didn't sign it with her name, they'd never know right? Opening her violet eyes to stare at the ceiling, the blond hummed slightly to herself, contemplating what it was she'd right next. She'd already ruined the piece of paper at the beginning-- she'd have to cut that off or something. She didn't really have paper to expend on such silly mistakes.

Sitting forward again, she decided it was possibly best to simply end the letter there and sign off. What did she sign off as though? Anonymous? Dreamless? Tapping the pen against the desk she thought long and hard, possibly a little too much on the subject, before it finally came to her.

I look forward to hearing back from you!

Sincerely, Dreamer.

It felt kind of ridiculous, using a word like that to sign off a letter. Especially when she had no real dreams of her own. But she felt it fit. Felt it really suited the situation. Writer and Dreamer. It seemed somewhat poetic when she thought about it, mulling it over in her mind.

Grabbing the scissors from her desk holder, she quickly snipped off the mistake she'd made and plucked an envelope from the desk drawer, folding the letter up and sliding it inside before sealing it. The trip to the post box was short, but felt like the longest time. Who was on the other end? Who was it that she was sending this to? She'd addressed it to Writer, and made sure to copy any markings that the council had used as an identifier for the letter. At this point her biggest fear was that it wouldn't reach the right person.

Taking a deep breath, Felicity dropped the letter into the box, giving it one last long stare before turning on her heel and walking back to the dormitories.

Who was on the other end?


If anything, she'd soon find out. And hopefully, she'd make a friend.

[Yasuko Kobayashi]

When am I getting a reply?

Yasuko hadn’t realised that being the one to send off the first letter was something that could make her feel rather nervous. She wasn’t the type to get overly concerned about things like these, but she hadn’t ever been the one to start a letter and then having to wait the next day for a reply. And she didn’t even know who it’ll even go to! Would her letter end up in the lap of a jerk? Or a completely boring person?

Or a nice person?

She sighed as the bell rang for the last class of the day, picking up her bag ready to go back to the dormitories. As she walked out of class, a Student Council member had rushed up - and the first thing she thought was that it wasn’t the same one that handed her the letters last time. Panting, the boy had to catch his breath for a moment before he handed the letter over with a tired but apologetic smile. She took it with a raised eyebrow. This boy didn’t seem entirely reliable.

She glanced at the envelope. There it was, addressed to the pseudonym that she had used for herself. Writer. The fact that it was certainly a letter addressed to her gave her a sense of anticipation. Perhaps a slight excitement even. This was the reply wasn’t it?

Quickly, she walked to the library, plopping her bag on the seat beside her before she drew up the chair. Laying the envelope onto the table, she slowly peeled it open, not wanting to accidentally tear up the paper inside. Lightly pulling the letter from the envelope, she unfolded it and smoothed it neatly onto the table.

And she began to read.

Hello to whomever is on the other end of this letter!

Oh gosh, the person sounded rather nice. But this was still early, so she shouldn’t get her hopes up yet. Grabbing her notepad and her pencil box from her bag, she took out a pencil and poised it above the lined paper, intending to make a draft alongside reading the sender’s letter.

The longer she read the letter, the more relaxed she became. It looks like she had some luck left and her first letter had ended up in the hands of a friendly polite person. Which was honestly a really good thing. Yasuko didn’t know what she would write if it was a jerk.

…Well actually on second thought, she would probably write back telling them off, but she would prefer to write a response back to someone that would read it, rather than a barbarian who was using the whole pen-pal thing as a joke.

Hello Dreamer,

Dreamer huh? Yasuko had thought as she written it down. It was…incredibly cheesy and cliche and had a somewhat romantic quality to it, but somehow it sounded fitting. Writer and Dreamer. Like a pair. It made her smile a little.

That’s a relief to hear. I was afraid my introduction sound a tad…disinterested, if you get what I mean. I’m glad to hear that you want to write in something like this though! I admit I was a little anxious that I might potentially meet someone that…wasn’t quite into the whole letter exchange as I am, so it’s a load off my shoulders to know that my letter ended up in your lap!

It’s good to hear that you’re enjoying classes. I think you probably might have guessed, but I do quite like creative writing classes, especially when the teacher assigns a free topic as an assignment. I also personally like History! It’s fascinating to learn about what other people did in the past, and how those actions have shaped the world we know today. It’s almost like an inspiration for me to make a world of my own like that; to create a history for it that lead it to the world of the present. If that makes sense haha!

My teachers had all been good so far. I do like my Arts teacher, though I’m not an artsy person myself! Drawing and painting is not one of my skills I’m afraid. Though I’m not entirely keen on the one teaching us Science; she has a habit of mixing terms up, but I suppose beggars can’t be choosers.

…She was talking too much about herself now she knew it. This whole exchange thing was about dreams and passions right? She shouldn’t delve into a tangent, but she was the kind of person that was the opposite of one with few words. It was difficult to make things short.

But enough about me, what about you? What are your favourite classes? And what about your teachers?

She beamed at the sender’s compliment about her being a writer. What a nice person! But she stopped at the student’s words about not having a dream specifically. How old was this student, she wondered? Though honestly, that would probably be rude to ask; she had asked once in her last pen-pal exchange and they had politely agreed to shift away from talking about anything personal, so that they could both remain anonymous. It probably wouldn’t be nice to try to guess the sender’s age.

Oh thank you! I really hope I’ll get to write books of my own soon; I’ve been dreaming about holding a physical of my own book in my hands!

I’m…not sure if it sounds silly to just want to be happy. I think everyone wants to be happy when they are all adults, and achieving something along the way. It’s definitely better than hearing people constantly complain about wanting to get somewhere, but not wanting to think about a goal or a dream to work towards, and whine that they are ‘too lazy’ to think. It’s irritating to listen to them.

Was she coming on rather strong here? This person didn’t seem like a bad guy and she honestly was just going on a tiny rant about one of her pet peeves, but she didn’t want them to think that she was telling them off. Quickly, she scratched off a part and scribbled on something. Thank god she did drafts.

I’m…not sure if it sounds silly to just want to be happy. I think everyone wants to be happy when they are all adults, and achieving something along the way. It’s definitely better than hearing people constantly complain about wanting to get somewhere, but not wanting to think about a goal or a dream to work towards and whine that they are ‘too lazy’ to think. It’s irritating to listen to them.

That doesn’t mean it’s you of course! I only mean the people who are rather hypocritical about these sorts of things and acting like the world owes them something. It doesn’t sound like you do that.

Is there anything that you’ll like to do in the future at least? What makes you happy?

Sincerely,
Writer.

Rewriting the whole letter again in black ink (and making sure she didn't accidentally copy over the striked sentences into the actual letter), she folded up the notepad paper and sealed it into a white envelope, writing the word “Dreamer” on the front, just like the sender had written hers. She dropped it into the box at the Student Council before going home.

As she reached her room, she realised that she hadn’t used the pretty patterned paper she had bought for the last pen-pal. She sighed; she’ll use it the next time Dreamer send her the next reply.

[Felicity]

It had now been too long, right? The letter had sat on her desk for weeks, untouched, unopened. She hadn't read the contents, too nervous to know what the person had responded, too distracted to sit down and face her anxieties. It was true she'd spent the majority, if not all, of these past few weeks cooped up in her room, she'd been too busy to really focus on anything other than school work-- not to mention trying to deal with the infuriating presence that was Noh.

Staring at the letter from across the room, the blond hesitated; did she have time now? Probably not. 

"What are you waiting for? Just do it." That little voice she'd wished was only in her head spoke up from the comforts of her bed, reclining back on the pillow as if she owned it. "Pick up the stupid pen and write your stupid letter. You've been agonizing over it for weeks, it's getting annoying." 

Felicity furrowed her brow at the little... Guardian. What kind of Guardian was she, anyway. She didn't help, she didn't guide her-- all she did was tell her what to do and refuse to do anything in return.

"Fine. I have a few spare minutes anyway." Felicity responded quietly, crossing the room from the door to the desk and taking her seat. Collecting the envelope in her fingertips, she stared at it for what felt like an eternity. What did it say? Where they going to ridicule her? Was there anything for them to ridicule? Now she couldn't remember what it was she had said.

Chewing the inside of her bottom lip she slid a finger under the flap and broke the glue seal, pulling the paper out and flattening it on the desk in front of her.

Dear Dreamer...

That was a good start, at least. Relaxing a little into reading the letter, Felicity ran through every word over and over as she thought what it was she could write in return. They wanted to know about her, but what did she say? There wasn't much to know, and she didn't want to seem even more boring than she already did. Letting out a held sigh, she picked up a pen and paper and began to write.

Dear Writer,


I'm sorry for the delay in response.

Was that too formal? She was sorry, it had been far too long-- maybe they'd given up on ever receiving anything?

Unfortunately this letter is going to be short. I've been quite the busy bee, and have only now found the time to really sit down and write to you.

My favourite class has to be home economics, it's really fun making something others can eat or use with your own hands.

The blond paused in her writing. What was she saying? Her eyes drifted back to the letter; right, something about classes and then-- people.. and. She shook her head. It was hard to concentrate knowing that Noh was in the room, probably staring at her. She glanced at the Guardian from the corner of her eye. Ugh.

I guess what makes me happy are my friends, but I don't have very many of those. Maybe one day I'll be able to throw them all a party. That would make me happy.

I hate that this letter is so short, after such effort put in on your part. I hope that, if there is a next, I can make it up to you.


Sincerely, 
Dreamer

She shook the distraction as much as she could, folding and sealing the letter in an envelope and addressing it to Writer.
The next day, Felicity would drop it with the Council, and hope it found it's way.

[Yasuko Kobayashi]

Yasuko had been a little apprehensive when she hadn't received a reply the next day. Having only been in one pen-pal exchange before, she had been somewhat expecting a reply within a week or so. What if I said something wrong? was her immediate thought, though she had quickly dismissed it soon enough, having been fairly sure that she hadn't said anything too...brash. And she hadn't exactly done anything that would made her rather nervous about the other person's reply, unlike the other pen-pal exchange, in which she had. Gift-giving was simply not something she did often. But still, she kept wondering, wondering what would cause a late reply. Maybe the original sender's busy, was her later thought - one which sounded far more plausible to her. Still, it didn't stop her from wondering what could have happened. And wondering if the original sender decided not to reply at all...

But soon, as the weeks passed by, the thought of the pen-pal exchange faded away and she soon was caught up in a lot of different happenings around the school that occupied her thoughts more often than she would like to admit. Things like X-eggs and X-characters and everything related to eggs and Guardian Characters - so much going on that she didn't expect would happen at a high school. 

So she was surprised when someone from the Student Council ran up to her; and in his hand was a letter. 

At first she had stared at it in puzzlement, before reading the neatly written name on the envelope. Writer. So that meant...! 

Hastily she took hold of the letter, bidding goodbye to the Student Council member - was he the same one that gave her the letter last time? She couldn't remember, but then again she was far less concerned about the matter - before quickly walking over to the library. Dropping her bag onto the seat next to her, she slowly opened the envelope and carefully pulled out the folded letter, smoothing it open onto the table. She stared at the paper for a while, her eyes staying fixated onto the first word. With so much happening around the school lately, the arrival of Dreamer's letter had caught her off-guard, but yet there was something normal about it, like it was something that she could expect from a high school. Just a simply letter written to an anonymous pen-pal. That was it. Nothing too crazy about it. Something pleasantly normal. Something that hopefully wouldn't be the source of despair like everything else that was happening around Seiyo lately.

And yet a part of her was apprehensive. It seemed normal, but what if Dreamer's letter wasn't...pleasant at all? She wasn't sure what she could do in such a scenario. Too many terrible things had happened already, and she wasn't sure if she had enough of an energy to deal with it all. 

But she wouldn't know until she read it, would she? After all maybe...maybe it would be pleasant after all.

Releasing a breath, she finally pulled her eyes away from the first word, starting to read. 

"I'm sorry for the delay in response."

That single sentence gave her a sense of relief. Although she didn't blame Dreamer at all for being busy, the fact that it started out like that gave her a feeling of hope - that perhaps it wasn't going to be a letter that would make her feel terrible. In fact, it made her feel like she needed to respond; to tell Dreamer that they didn't need to apologise for something like that. Pulling out her notepad and pencil, she began to draft a letter back.

Hello Dreamer,

It's quite alright! You don't need to apologise for being busy. I do not know what year you are in, but certainly the older one gets, the more work they ended up with! Things had been rather busy on my end too, so I understand what you mean. 

She stopped there, unsure if she should say more. There were...less-than-savoury happenings around school lately, but she really shouldn't scare her anonymous pen-pal like that. And besides, her problems were hers alone; she shouldn't be dragging anyone into it. Especially if Dreamer was a person that didn't have a Guardian Character.

...Wait, what if that were the case? 

The terrible going-ons had affected her badly - and had affected the other holders of Guardian Characters too - but at the same time, at least they knew more of what was going on. A student who didn't have a Guardian Egg wouldn't and would be far more at risk of being corrupted by these things. They wouldn't have the ability to fight back, like a lot of the others do. Maybe Dreamer was someone with a Guardian Egg but...what if they weren't?

Staring back at the unfolded letter beside her, she decided to answer the rest first.

Oh wow, home economics huh? I admit it's not something I dabble in (I'm afraid I'm not a great cook myself), but it's certainly interesting to watch people make edible foods out of seemingly uninteresting ingredients! Especially baking, considering they mostly use flour and eggs.

It's interesting to note though that you too find home economics enjoyable! A previous pen-pal had expressed an interest in cooking as well; perhaps the two of you are acquaintances in some way? Are you perhaps a member of the cooking club as well? 

Yasuko's cooking and baking experience was close to nil, so her image of such things were rather limited. That, and the fact that home economics were one of her worst subjects; she had hardly a taste palate and was someone that was completely fine with anything so long as it was edible. Though she wondered if asking about the other's club activity was too personal. But there were a number of members in the cooking club right? She wouldn't be able to know which one it was.

But she blinked, surprised at her pen-pal's dream. Wanting to throw them all a party huh? She couldn't help but laugh at the sincerity; yet there was something rather honest and earnest about it that she found quite adorable. No one would easily admit this in real life - and some may not even do so in a letter even - but having been able to read something as simple as that made her smile a little. Something pleasantly normal.

That's a nice wish. I hope one day you can throw them all a party like you want to!

I do not know you very well, Dreamer, but sometimes having few friends that appreciate you is better than many friends who do not know you as well as you would have hoped. Sometimes, having too many friends forces one into a relationship that is akin to acquaintance, rather than friends. I hope the friends that you have hold you close and hold you dear, just like a real friendship would.

Could she say something about this? About friends? Friends and friendships weren't a topic she was an expert in, but she had her fair share of having people declare them as friends, but their relationships were never really truly close enough to consider that. Eventually they would all move on - either as a result of different interests, or (the most likely) conflicts with herself. But Yasuko wasn't the type to change for anybody, and she would rather have few friends who like her the way she is, rather than a multiple of friends who she couldn't get close to because of differing opinions and life goals. 

Though...did she ever really have a friendship that was close enough to call a good friend? Now that she was writing this, she wondered if she truly had the kind of friendship that she felt supported by? She never had thought about it; she was so concerned about her goal and her academics that she hadn't really given much energy to relationships in general. Yasuko had claimed she wasn't lonely, but considering she spent all of that time just on her goal and education, did she ever had a true reflection on what "friends" meant? 

Yet, it was precisely in this school that had changed her perception of friends. There were people willing to help her, to support her and there were people she had fun with. Did that mean she had...friends? 

And well...if you consider sharing our dreams and passion in a letter as meaningful, then I guess perhaps in some ways, it could mean a start of a friendship. I do not know where this letter exchange might lead, but if we ever want to meet in real life, there is always a chance that we could have a real friendship. I can't honestly guarantee that we will be the best of friends, but at least know that we have an amicable relationship as of the moment. 

She wasn't clear why she wrote that. Perhaps it was because she didn't really want to sound like a dasher of hope with her previous words. And even despite that, she still wrote it rather cautiously. In the past, friends had been more disappointed with her than naught, leading to sometimes to broken friendships or even friends simply allowing their friendship to dissipate. She wasn't keen on disappointing her pen-pal, but she didn't want to pull up her hopes either, in case it didn't work out. 

But still...that didn't mean she shouldn't say something about the recent going-ons, right...?

A word of caution though...I'm not sure if you had heard anything, but there had been some recent...terrible going-ons that had lead to some of the students being sent to the infirmary. If you can help it, try not to go anyplace alone, especially at night or wherever and whenever there might not be anyone around. And if  you feel something's bad going to happen, listen to your gut and run as fast as you can. I can't tell you much about it myself unfortunately, but do be careful.

Sincerely,
Writer

Rewriting everything in black pen, she sealed it and dropped it by the Student Council before she left the school.

It was only when she went home did she realise she had forgotten to write it onto patterned paper like she had promised herself to do so. Again.