So here's another Tsubasa AU story, just cause I'm all about them right now. It won't be as long as A Secret Worth Hiding and A Love Worth Holding On To, but it will be longer than Everything Will Be Alright. Probably like, four or five chapters max. But they will be rather long chapters.

Warnings: There will be MxM and (probably) FxF pairings in here.

Summary: Sakura can see spirits, but the only one (other than her family) who believes her is Syaoran, her best friend. Her feelings for him grow, but one day, he moves away. Many years later, he returns, but something about him has changed.

True Love Never

Chapter 1

At first, Sakura didn't think that there was anything weird about it. This was before she went to school, and spent all her time with her mother, father, and older brother. There weren't many kids on her block, but somehow, she always seemed to have some friends. They were usually her age, but sometimes older. One was a kind old man, who sat on Sakura's bed and talked with her through the night.

They were always gone whenever she tried to introduce them to her family members, who began to assume they were imaginary friends. Still a child, Sakura didn't mind all that much, because she knew they were real, and that was all that mattered. Her friends never stayed long, usually just a couple days, and then she wouldn't see them anymore. It made her sad, but she just hoped they were happy, wherever they had gone.

She thought this was all normal. But then, school began, and she was enrolled into kindergarten. The first day was nothing special, just meeting new classmates and introducing themselves. On the second day though, she was sitting in her desk, chatting with a young girl who had just wandered into the classroom and come over to Sakura, sitting in front of her, and smiling. Sakura had assumed she was a girl that had missed the first day, and eagerly began telling her what she had missed.

The other kids were all too busy to notice her at first, playing house, but then, the teacher, a woman, came over, and asked, "Sakura-chan, who are you talking too?"

"Her!" Sakura said with a smile, pointing to the little girl in front of her. The teacher gave her an odd look, and said, "Sakura-chan, there's nobody there."

Sakura had blinked, confused by her teacher's words, then turned to look at the girl, who was most definitely sitting there in front of her.

"Yes there is, she's right here." Sakura insisted. The classmates were beginning to take some notice of the exchange, including a brown haired boy whose name she hadn't learned yet. He'd been playing the husband in house, Sakura was pretty sure, and the wife Meiling.

"Sakura-chan, it's not good to tell lies." the teacher said sternly, and, being so young, Sakura's bottom lip began to quiver, and she felt herself tearing up.

"I'm...I'm not lying though." she said. The little girl came over and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. Sakura sniffled, and tried to wipe away the tears.

"There's nobody there, Sakura-chan." the teacher said. Sakura shook her head again, and the teacher frowned.

"Class, does anybody see the girl Sakura-chan is talking about?"

All of her classmates shook their heads, except for the brown haired boy, who didn't move at all, and just watched. When none of them could see the girl, and shook their heads, Sakura only began to cry harder.

"Really now, Sakura-chan, is that necessary?" asked the teacher, and that's when the brown haired boy stepped closer, breaking through the gaggle of children.

"You're not being very nice, Sensei." he said, quite politely. The teacher turned to him, and only frowned harder.

"Syaoran-kun, this isn't your concern." she said, and while most children would be intimidated, and back down, he just came closer, now looking a little peeved.

"You're making Sakura-chan cry, Sensei. That's not nice."

Sakura managed to get her crying under control, and looked at him in awe. She thought, looking up at him, that he was very brave, and cute too.

"Well it isn't very nice of Sakura-chan to tell lies either, isn't that true?" the teacher asked, sounding angry. She obviously wasn't happy at the turn this was taking.

"Sakura-chan doesn't think she is lying." Syaoran said, looking at Sakura herself. "Right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. You really...you really can't see her?"

Syaoran looked at the spot that Sakura was staring at, and even though he looked like he was trying very hard, he shook his head. "I can't. But that doesn't mean she isn't there."

"If she is there, Syaoran-kun, why can't we see her?" the teacher asked. The other students were all quiet, watching with interest and some fear.

"Maybe Sakura-chan can see ghosts."

Sakura gasped. Ghosts? It was the first time anybody had said the word, but it explained things. Like why her friends never stayed long, came from nowhere, and were always gone by the time she brought her family to see them.

The teacher rolled her eyes. "Syaoran-kun, ghosts don't exist. You're going to frighten your classmates."

Syaoran looked at the classmates, and so did Sakura. Her classmates didn't look very afraid. More nervous, and that was probably because at some level, they realized their teacher was bullying Sakura.

"You don't know that." Syaoran said, and the teacher looked affronted. Syaoran turned to Sakura, and said, "I think you can see ghosts, Sakura-chan."

Things settled down, thankfully, when the door opened, and another teacher came to discuss things with theirs. The other kids went back to playing house, but Sakura saw that they were looking at her a little differently now. Syaoran though, was still standing next to her, and he smiled when she looked at him, sniffling a little still.

"You believe me, Syaoran-kun?" she asked. "That she's there?"

Syaoran nodded, sitting down next to her. "Yeah. Tell her I said hi."

The girl, who Sakura was beginning to realize was probably a ghost, smiled and waved to Syaoran. From that day on, Syaoran became her closest friend. He was the only one in their class who believed Sakura. Some thought she was lying, and others thought they were just imaginary friends, but regardless, they didn't play with her.

Sakura told her parents, and they both said they had suspected.

Her and Syaoran took turns spending the night at each other's houses. That's how Sakura learned that Meiling was Syaoran's cousin. She was nice, if not a little abrasive, and very possessive of Syaoran. She would say harsh things to Sakura, but the young girl could tell that she didn't mean them.

The three of them played together everyday, and Syaoran always stuck up for her whenever someone made fun of her, calling her a creepy liar.

He comforted her, holding her in his arms as she cried, after her mother died. And when she weeped and told him that she still hadn't seen her mother, as a ghost, he made her feel better by saying, "That means she was at peace, and knows you'll all be okay."

In Kindergarten, he was her best friend, the only one who believed in her ability.

In first grade, he was the boy who protected her from the bullies, getting in trouble on her behalf time and time again, and doing it again, even though the teachers kept scolding him and telling him to stop. The boy who held her in his arms as she cried for her dead mother.

In second grade, he was the boy who snuck over to her house in the middle of the night, looking creeped but excited as he explained that he was pretty sure there was a ghost in his room, and could she please come see? She'd laughed at the look in his eyes, but nodded, sneaking out past her family and running to his house, where she had indeed found the ghost of an older woman, who had followed him home from school, since he reminded her of his son.

When she'd told him this, Syaoran had started to cry, and the ghost woman had gently held him in her arms, crying tears of her own. And then, she had vanished, right then and there, a peaceful look on her face. Sakura started to cry too, which was when Syaoran's father came in to investigate. He'd called her father, who had lightly scolded her for sneaking out so late, but then hugged her tightly as she cried a little longer, thinking of her mother.

In third grade, he was suspended for three days, because he'd injured a boy who had backed Sakura into a corner, and was shoving her. Syaoran, who was being taught martial arts, had kicked the boy, sending him flying and crashing into the ground. Sakura had felt so guilty that even being visited by Yukito, her brother's best friend, who was very kind, didn't cheer her up. Each day without him had seemed painful, and she waited anxiously for him to come back.

When he did, he smiled, like nothing had happened, nothing was wrong, and for the first time, she saw him a little differently than just her best friend.

In fourth grade, she, Syaoran, and Touya and Yukito all went to a festival together. Touya and Syaoran didn't exactly get along all the time, but since Yukito was there too, her big brother's attention wasn't always on him. The two older boys were busy looking over a stall together, when Syaoran suddenly reached over and grabbed Sakura's hand. They'd held hands tons of times growing up, but this time felt different to Sakura. She blushed, looking at Syaoran, who blushed back before explaining, "It's a big crowd. We could get separated."

She nodded silently, but then smiled brightly, in a way that made him smile back.

They held hands through the entire festival, Syaoran bravely ignoring Touya's angry exclamations when he finally looked away from Yukito long enough to notice.

In fifth grade, Meiling asked her how she felt about him, arms crossed and eyes serious. And Sakura thought hard about it, because she knew that Meiling also cared a lot about Syaoran, and didn't want to hurt her with her answer.

But the other girl also wanted her to be truthful, and so, she was.

"I really like him." she whispered, just loudly enough for the black haired girl to hear. And Meiling nodded, and her eyes softened.

"I knew it. Well...I think he really likes you too."

"Really?"

Sakura had looked up at Syaoran, who was sitting quietly at his desk, reading a book. He glanced up, maybe sensing the girls' stares, and waved, prompting them both to wave back.

Sakura spent the rest of fifth grade thinking it all over. How Syaoran was the first one, (and so far, other than her family and Meiling, the only one) to believe her about the spirits. The dozen sleepovers, and the way he had protected her. The held hands and blushing cheeks. The hundreds of days they had spent together.

And finally, just before sixth grade began, she came to her conclusion.

She loved Syaoran.

She was in love with him.

And she decided to tell him on the first day of sixth of grade. The whole night before, and the morning of, her heart had jumped erratically in her chest, never settling on a pace. She breathed in and out, keeping her courage up, all the way to school, the same school she and Syaoran had been going to for their whole lives.

She found him, and smiled brightly.

He saw her, but he did not smile back.

Because he had something to tell her too.

The words sank in, grabbing hold of what she'd wanted to tell him so badly, and dragged them down with them.

We're moving away.

Syaoran was moving away. She considered telling him her feelings anyway, because she knew she'd regret it if she didn't. But then she thought about him. If she told him, right before he left, maybe for good, it would only make it harder, and much worse, for him.

So she kept quiet.

They spent their last week trying to pretend it wasn't happening, acting like everything was normal. Laughing and chatting and walking through town together.

Both pretended not to notice the long sad pauses that would sometimes interrupt their conversations. Or the way their hands would twitch, as if they wanted to reach for the other, only to fall back, firmly against their side.

The day he left came. She hugged Meiling, and cried a little. But then she got to Syaoran, and they hugged much harder, and promised to stay in touch. She cried much worse, and then, so did he.

"I'll miss you Sakura-chan." he whispered, hugging her again as his family waited in their car, ready to begin their new life far away from her.

"I'll miss you too, Syaoran-kun." she whispered back.

"I'll come back." he said. "I promise."

She nodded, wiping away her tears, so that his maybe last memory of her wouldn't be so sad. "Okay. Thank you for everything."

He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but the words stuck in his throat, and instead he turned away, getting into his car. She watched him go, waving, remembering his last words and hoping they were true.

I'll come back. I promise.

So there ya are. Chapter 1. Chapter two is in progress, so there probably won't be much waiting.

I already have an idea for another Tsubasa fanfiction, and I'm dying to write it.

*is drowning in Tsubasa fanfic ideas* Somebody, save me!

*counter productively rejects all hands held out to save her*