Author's Note: Originally written on LJ for the HiruMamo community there during what was a very hellish finals week. This is the revised version that has a complementary story that goes along with it (Letters Home). Both are stand alones, though you will be more amused if you read both.

Summary: AU Mamori's boyfriend has gone out to war, so she tires to keep in touch by writing letters. This is all fine, but the boyfriend in question is a known bad boy….

Disclaimer: I own nothing, don't sue me.

Rating: T because of what Hiruma writes.

Warnings: Suzuna needs less sugar in her life, really.

Letters to the Field

By: Bar-Ohki

First Correspondence

Mamori had been dusting the tea cups in the cupboard when she heard her mother screech from the kitchen. Since her mother screeched about a lot of things these days, Mamori shook her head and went back to her task at hand. A short while later her father's heavy footsteps walked into the kitchen. There was a short muttering of low voices that Mamori tuned out while she worked.

"Mamori!" Her father called from the kitchen. "You have mail!"

And so Mamori set down her duster and made her way out of the shop and into the house, specifically the kitchen. At the table sat her stunned mother and behind her mother stood her father, looking mildly amused. He handed her a crinkled envelope with mud stains. Mamori took it, a little perplexed, and opened it. The moment her eyes took in the pointy, jagged cursive she gasped. What a pleasant surprise! Youichi had actually written her like he had promised!

My So-Called 'Fucking Woman'-

As par your fucking, fucking, fucking request I am actually writing you a god forsaken letter from this hell-hole they call a 'trench'. Fucking trench. Fucking war.

Happy? You better damn well be.

-Sgt. Y. Hiruma

By the end of the short letter, Mamori was, of course, irritated. She forced a smile to her parents.

"I'm going to go back to the store." Mamori announced. Her parents shared a confused look while Mamori stomped away. She set the letter on the counter, grabbed the broom (that he had given her) and began to sweep up a furry to calm herself.

"Mamo!" A young girl came bounding into the café, having completely disregarded the 'closed' sign on the door. The girl was smiling and waving an abused letter in her hand.

"Sena wrote me!" The girl squealed happily and promptly sat herself down on one of the recently-cleaned stools.

"That's nice Suzuna." Mamori commented with that same forced smile.

"You look like you and elf-bro just had a fight." Suzuna observed, having seen that smile on Mamori's face more than once. Mamori only cleaned furiously with a forced, almost psychotic smile, after she had a fight with Youichi. Despite how long Suzuna had known both Mamori and Youichi, she never really understood what Mamori saw in the man. Youichi was rude, gruff, and liked to partake in shadier, more sinful pastimes. For a complete contrast, Mamori was a kind, well-liked, mothering sort of church-going girl.

"He sent me a letter." Mamori answered and only pointed to the paper that had been left on the counter. Suzuna picked up the paper, having been curious what the devilish man had wrote.

"Looks like he means well…." Suzuna commented as she read the obviously sarcastic comment about this letter making Mamori happy. "Sena didn't really talk about the war either, maybe there isn't much to say?"

Mamori stopped her mad sweeping and set the broom down. That was one of the things she admired in Youichi, how much he really did care about things. He might hide the fact he cared from others, but he really did love and look after everyone, especially Sena….

With a renewed determination, Mamori took her letter back from Suzuna and re-read it. She saw a man who was tired of the fighting and didn't want to needlessly burden his lady back home.

"So what are you going to write him back?" Suzuna asked.

"I think I'll tell him what's happening here," Mamori remarked after a moment's thought, "because I'm sure he'll want to know."

She tried to compose her reply that evening, but the words escaped her. It took her several nights of trying before she finally called her letter done and because she wanted it to be perfect, she wrote multiple drafts (hence why it took so many nights). The final draft came out something like this:

Youichi-

Mother said that you wouldn't write me, she told me you were such a horrible, unhonorable man that couldn't keep a promise. You probably can't imagine the look on her face when she found a letter from you in the mail. Father told me it was rather priceless.

I knew that I could count on you to prove her wrong!

The fact you actually sent me a letter seems to be the only thing that anyone's gossiping about these days. No one wants to talk about the war, or how people might be doing out there. But we always have the radio running, even during the night, to see if there's been any news.

This war has really sucked the life out of this town. Everyone's so quiet and somber. Just goes to show what happens when you take all the young men away.

They started rationing food. It's really rather confusing what they choose to be rationing and not. Gasoline and meat I understand, but I don't really get why they'd ration coffee….

Would you mind telling me how things are going out there? The radio is usually full of politicians telling us about why we are fighting and occasionally there will be some announcement, like the rationing….

I hope you are well and safe out there.

Lots of love,

Mamori A.

And Mamori kissed the end of her letter, sending just an extra touch of love with it.

_=_=_=_=_

What'd you think?