Author's note 3: Shima and Misae are one of my favorite pairings in all of anime. Maybe my favorite. :) I just love them together so much and it's one of the reasons I love Clannad as much as I do. I was never really satisfied with how their story ended in the anime. They're both such amazing characters, I wish they had been explored more in the anime. Shima only gets a couple of episodes in the whole show. That makes me sad. And it makes me sad that their love story was kind of unresolved. I wanted a chance to finish their story, to find closure. So I wrote this. I don't know how many chapters its going to be. I'm thinking 4 or 5. I hope you guys love it! And I hope I find some fans who love ShimaxMisae as much as I do~

I'm sorry if chapter one is a little confusing. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I know that their storyline, even in the anime, is kind of hard to follow. So if you don't understand exactly what's going on at any point, please ask in your review and I'll be happy to clarify if necessary. ;)

Chapter 1

A Chance to Redo a False Wish

Misae had known for a very long time that she was going to grow up alone. She would never find the man she would marry, she would never say her vows, she would never have a family—at least, not the conventional family, held together by the bond between a husband and wife. Marriage just wasn't for her. Love wasn't for her.

But she was happy that way. It wasn't a sad story, she told herself. She was content living out her simple little life, running the dormitory, looking out for stupid teenagers like Sunohara. When she needed company, when everybody else was busy with their husbands, their families, their friends…she had her cat, the orange tabby that had seemed to have been by her side for an eternity at this point.

It was such a strange little cat. She'd wake up and it was just on her, curled up with its head on her chest, purring away. Other times, when she was sad, when she didn't feel like smiling, didn't feel like living in contentment any longer, she'd walk into the living room of her apartment to find the cat sitting impatiently in front of her open front door. It would shake its head, as if to say, "How could you?" and then scamper off into the street.

Sometimes she spent all day chasing that cat. He exhausted her, and he drove her crazy, but she didn't want the poor thing getting hit by some car, or getting picked up by a stranger who, for all she knew, didn't know how to treat animals…

By the time she finally found it, sleeping on some park bench or sitting in an alley, she wasn't sad anymore. Just relieved. Relieved to have him back. And maybe a little happy, too.

Misae had never formally adopted the cat, so it wasn't like she was even its owner. It had just come to be hers. As naturally as her shadow was hers. And that was what the cat was. Her shadow. Always by her side, forever.

This nameless cat which seemed to love her so much.

Shima was a boy trapped in a cat's body…or was he a cat who had strutted for a time on two legs, but who was now restless, back to his original state? He didn't know anymore.

He just knew that there was only one state in which he belonged. And that was by Misae's side. Human or cat, as long as he could be by her, he was happy.

But there was always a part of him that was sad. He saw the way Misae lived. She didn't think she could love. She didn't believe she was capable of it, perhaps. Although she didn't know it, Shima knew that it was because of him that she lived this life. She still loved him, and he loved her…but he was a cat. He had ears and a tail, and four shiny canines. She could never love him the way she could love a boyfriend, a husband, though she wanted to. Her heart desired to.

Couldn't she see that he just wanted her to be happy? He didn't care if she found another love. He would always be her cat, and she his owner. And that was enough for him. Didn't she see that she didn't have to reserve herself for him? Reserving herself for him was like reserving herself for a lover that would never come. He would never be a human. Not ever again.

And sometimes he found himself dragging himself to her bedroom, curling up with his tail over his paws, just for the comfort of knowing he hadn't lost her yet.

If cats could cry, tears would have streamed down his face, seeing her live her life alone for a person that could never be hers.

It was a calm fall afternoon when Misae was driving down to the supermarket to pick up some supplies for around the house. Wind rustled through the trees. She was looking forward to a quiet day at home.

Back in her living room, Shima slept on the sofa, his tail swishing back and forth and flapping on the sofa back as he dreamt of chasing mice. He had a small cat's smile on his face, his nose twitching as he imagined catching the rodent's scent.

He still acted like a playful child, after all these years. Though the fur around his nose was dusted in gray, a sure sign of old age, his golden eyes still shone like that of a kitten.

Misae pulled onto a narrow road, her car's engine rumbling. She stopped at an intersection. In the distance, she could hear a louder engine approaching from another direction.

In his sleep, Shima twitched and made small growling noises, as cats generally did when in the throws of an action packed chase. But he suddenly threw his head up, scrambling to his feet and falling off the sofa in the process. He hit the floor, running.

He could feel it in his very bones. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

Misae didn't see the other car coming. Her eyes were focused on the traffic light, her ears preoccupied by the soft music reverberating from her radio speakers. She had no idea that in less than a minute, a black Honda would race down the road, out of line and out of place.

Shima ran down the path in his master's direction. He didn't know how, but somehow he sensed it. He could feel the danger. He had to find Misae. He felt like the world was ending.

No…it's not fair. I didn't know it would be this soon. He thought. There was a pain in his chest. He ran faster. I was supposed to be by her side forever.

Misae put her foot on the gas as the light turned green. She hummed happily to her music. There was the sound of an engine revving. She noticed it, vaguely, and turned to her right out of instinct rather than conscious curiosity. Her eyes went wide and her face went pale when she saw the car coming straight for hers.

It weaved left and right down the road. Something had happened to the driver, and now Misae was right in the middle of the road and this car was on a dead set course, destined to ram straight into her. She wasn't sure whether to hit the gas or the breaks, but it wasn't like it mattered now. It was all over. She was going to die.

A scream rang through the air as orange paws padded into the intersection.

Metal on metal screeched horribly, like the sound of a thousand knives clashing at once. The black Honda collided with Misae's car, sending it barreling on its side. Glass flew. A horn sounded. The scream was silenced. Rubber skidded on the road. Her car rolled, each time getting compacted, the metal twisting and groaning, until it sat there, wheels in the air, the windshield crushed into a million pieces, the steering wheel bent. The black Honda was totaled, but still on its wheels. Its driver, too, was silent.

And then there was chaos. People rushed to each car, yelling. Others whipped out their phones, calling the police, or hospitals nearby. Still others seemed to be searching for a doctor in the crowd. And if you had stopped and stood and cupped your hand to your ears, maybe, just maybe, you could have heard the repetitive sad meows of a tabby cat ringing through the air, over the voices of dozens of bystanders.

Shima ran between the two cars, dodging broken glass and pieces of bumper, a door handle, the stuffing of what used to be a leather car seat. He ran to the window, which was now smashed and broken. He put his paw up to it, straining to see inside, his tail down between his legs. He yelped and lifted his paw away when the broken glass sliced through his skin. He backed away a step or two, and then leaped, landing on all fours inside the wreckage of his master's car.

Misae! Misae, where are you? It's me, Shima, I'm here…so you don't have to worry about anything anymore…his words came out of his mouth in the form of sad meows.

Then he found her. She sat in the mangled front seat, her body pressed up against the ceiling of the car, which was now its floor. There, she lay limply. Her eyes were closed, her hair hung in her eyes. Blood was everywhere.

He limped to her side, shards of glass now digging into all four of his paws. Misae…oh, Misae…don't you worry. I'm by your side. Just like I promised, remember?

He put his nose up against her face, licking away the dirt and dust on her cheek. Her eyelids fluttered open. Her eyes were glazed over, dulling their usual yellow tint. She blinked confusedly, as though she wasn't fully aware of what was going on. "Y-You?"

It isn't fair…I was supposed to be by your side forever. He lay into her chest, putting his head up against her neck, feeling her warmth. That was the promise. That I stay with you forever.

The life was fading away from her. He could feel it. From her mouth came a sigh and then a soft laugh. There was something wrong with her voice. It was quiet, listless. She was dying. "I…I should have known…should have known you'd come here…you're such a strange cat…"

This isn't right. I can't break my promise. Forever…forever hasn't ended yet!

He lifted his head and meowed loudly, over and over. It sounded almost like a child crying. In fact, anyone who had heard and not seen the cat would have thought Misae had not been the only person in the car.

Shima looked up. He looked with sad eyes at Misae, who just rested her head and closed her eyes, the smile fading from her face. "I finally remembered…what I wanted to name you…" She whispered.

No, no, no! He thought of his master, the one he had had so long ago. His master who had died all those years ago, turning him into a cat as his dying wish, sending him after Misae, to grant hers. in exchange for her cheering his master up in the hospital…Katsuki, my master, you told me to grant Misae her wish, anything she wanted, anything at all. But…how can you just stand by and let it go undone? I tried! I tried so very hard! I was supposed to stay by Misae's side forever and ever. How can I do that when she is dead?

He felt something stirring inside of him.

I have to keep my promise! If nothing else, I have to stay by her side. I cannot let her die like this. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not fair…not fair, not fair, I tell you!

"I finally…remembered…"

His ears twitched.

What?

"…you curious little kitten…"

What's going on, master? What are you doing?

There are so many paths life can take. This is merely one of them. Some are good, some bad. But rarely do we get a chance to do them over.

What are you saying? A re-do?

Misae made her wish, but it wasn't the wish she truly desired. Because of that, she can never be truly happy. Not in this life. Alive or not.

How do I fix this, master?

Just how I said, my cat. So tell me, do you desire it? The chance to correct your mistakes? To do things right? Surely you feel like you have erred here.

Yes! Yes, please! Oh please, but how?

Listen.

Misae was still talking. She coughed up blood, her eyes narrowing, dull. But still she spoke. "I remembered…what I wanted to name you…" She smiled brightly. "…Shima."

For a terrible split second, Shima didn't understand what was going on. Misae…to him, she looked dead. She closed her eyes, didn't move. His body felt like it might just go next. The voice of his old master was gone. He was completely and utterly alone in the world.

And then things started to turn back.

It took him a moment to realize it, but time was going backwards. He saw the car crash, he saw Misae driving down the road, he saw himself running, searching for her. Then time went back faster. He saw all the years he had spent with her since becoming a cat once again. He saw all her years as his master. Their life in the dorm, the happy Sunday afternoons playing with yarn and cat toys, nights in her bed. He saw everything. And it was all going by so fast, like a TV stuck on rewind. What was going on?

He saw her laugh. He saw her cry. He saw her smile and frown. He saw them playing, he saw her searching for him, running after him. He saw himself leap into her arms.

The life they had lived…he saw it all erased.

And now he was in a void between reality and fantasy, in a sea of black and white, of stills, images of what he and Misae used to be…what was now gone, a file in the computer of time, deleted.

At first he was horrified. "HEY! MASTER! That's not what I was asking for! I didn't mean I wished I'd never met Misae...I…I love her! I just want to be with her!" He said this, realizing it, realizing for the first time how much he meant these words.

A laugh sounded in his ears, as if that was the one thing his master had been waiting to hear from him all this time. "Wish granted."

His eyes went wide. "W-What?"

"Now, let's see if you can get it right this time, my cat…"

He felt heat come to his face. Could it be? Was his master serious? He was actually getting a do-over? After all this time, he was actually getting a chance to do things right?

"Crying again?" His master said, chuckling. "Never fear, my little one. This is good news. This is what you wanted. Now, get ready…you know how important first impressions can be…"

Crying? What did his master mean? Shima didn't cry. Even when he felt like crying, even when he cried inside…he was a cat, and cats didn't cry. They couldn't cry.

He put his hands to his eyes, and gasped. Tears were streaming down his face.

Wait…hands?

He looked down and saw ten fingers. They were shaking. He lifted them again to his eyes, and felt all the features of a human face. And he sobbed. Shima sobbed uncontrollably.

It was at that moment that he remembered the words of his master. You know how important first impressions are.

He figured out at the last second what his master meant by that. A do-over…a second chance…another "first impression".

Shima looked down and realized he was falling.