Another World: Takahashi Chapter

Chapter 1: On the Hillside Path Where the Cherry Blossoms Flutter

"I hate this town. It's too filled with memories I'd rather forget. I go to school every day, hang out with my friends...and then I go home. There's no place I'd rather not go ever again. I wonder if anything will ever change. Will that day ever come?" Tomoya thought to himself.

It was just another day for for Tomoya Okazaki; just like always, he walked by himself towards school. There weren't many students from his school around at this time. This was the main path to the school, so normally it should be bristling with students. It wasn't that today was a holiday or something like that. Rather, it was because now wasn't the time when students should be arriving to class. At this time, classes had already started. Regardless, Tomoya continued walking at the same speed towards the school. At 200 meters until he reached the school gates, Tomoya stood still for a bit. Taking a deep breath, he looks up at the sky. The school gates were just ahead. Who decided to put the gates all the way up there? Tomoya ponders silently. This road stretches out like a nightmare…

Just then, Tomoya heard a sigh. It was a different breath from his, smaller and gentler. Tomoya turned to look beside him. There is a girl standing there, just as he was. Tomoya could tell she was a third year student by looking at the colour of badge on her uniform. But she wasn't someone that Tomoya knew. Her short hair fluttered in the wind, just above her shoulders. "…" The girl looked like she was about to cry. I don't usually judge people by appearance, but she looks very honest. Tomoya thought. She looked like the kind of girl who would be too timid to enter a classroom alone.

"Okay…Okay…" The girl closes her eyes and nodded repeatedly for a few moments as if she had something to tell herself. Then she opens her eyes, and looks at the school gates with a firm eye. "Do you like this school?"

"Eh…?" Tomoya blurted out. Tomoya paused to think. No, she probably wasn't speaking to me. She's probably talking to someone in her heart. He thought. That brought up an interesting point. How will this man (or perhaps woman) answer her? Tomoya pondered this for a few moments, before the girl started speaking again.

"I have to say that I love it very, very much. But soon, everything changes. Well, at least it does eventually." With great difficulty, she continued to speak. "Fun things, happy things...They'll all...They'll all eventually change someday, you know. But can you still love this place?"

Tomoya decided to speak out here. "You just have to find them, right?"

"Eh?" The girl turned to face him, only just realizing that Tomoya had been standing there. Surprised, she looks at him as if she really believed that she had been alone until now.

Tomoya smiled as he continued. "All you have to do is find other fun and happy things. It's not so hard."

That's right. Tomoya thought to himself. There were times when we were innocent and naïve. It's a phase everyone goes through.

"Come on, let's go!" Tomoya gave the girl a gentle push forward. And so, they both began a long climb upwards towards the school.

Chapter 2: An Old Friend

Unbeknownst to Tomoya and the girl, there was another person who had been standing back and watching from a distance, unwilling to interrupt their conversation. "Okazaki and Furukawa, huh?" He said to himself. This guy, Takahashi Mirao, pressed his hand against his forehead. He knew the girl somewhat, since he visited her family bakery to buy bread every once in a while. "Nagisa Furukawa, right? I think that was her name…" Takahashi frowned as he tried to recall. "Yea, that should be it. And Tomoya was the guy's name…He's in my class, I'm pretty sure. I should probably catch up with him." With that last thought, Takahashi dashed up the slope, but he made sure that he kept a decent distance from Nagisa and Tomoya.

….

When homeroom was in session, and the teacher was taking attendance, Takahashi was able to locate Tomoya right away. However, Takahashi was also searching for another face that he had been hoping to see for some time. "Sunohara?" The teacher called. There was no response. "Huh…Absent as usual." The teacher sighed. Takahashi also sighed. He had hoped to see Youhei Sunohara so they could talk again. They hadn't been in the same class since their junior year.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped…" Takahashi muttered to himself. "I'll wait until tomorrow then." The truth of the matter was Tomoya and Sunohara were reputed to have the worst attendance in the entire school. They could be labelled as delinquents, thinking of it that way. It might also explain why they were given the moniker "The Dirty Pair." But Takahashi didn't care about that. Sunohara and he were good friends back when they used to be on the soccer team together. Takahashi knew more about Sunohara's past, and understood the circumstances that he faced now. But the school didn't. The only thing they saw was the fighting and bad attitude towards academics. The same thing probably held true for Tomoya, but Takahashi knew very little about him. He had only heard things about Tomoya from Sunohara every once in a while, but they had never spoken before. Even as the teacher had begun lessons, Takahashi noticed that Tomoya was staring out the window, not paying attention to a single word the teacher was saying. And so, that's how it went the entire day. Tomoya just stared out the window the entire day. Either the scenery outside must have been fascinating, or the teacher's lesson was boring. Even someone like me finds this lesson hard to sit through…Takahashi thought.

The next day…

Tomoya was late to school again, as per usual. As he approached the school gates, he noticed a familiar figure standing there at the bottom of the slope. She's there again. Tomoya sighed. Nagisa was standing at the bottom of the slope again, eyeing the school gates the way that a Mongolian Gerbil would look at a Mongolian tiger. I better say something…Tomoya decided to call out to her. "You again..?" Tomoya approached Nagisa. "Why aren't you going on ahead?"

"Umm…" Nagisa started hesitantly. "That's…Well, how should I put this…"

Tomoya smiled. "It's alright. You don't need to force yourself to say it. I am a stranger, after all."

"Ah, okay…" Nagisa responded uncertainly.

Tomoya sighed. "But you know…you should be serious about going to school on time."

Nagisa turned to face Tomoya. "You're late as well." She points a finger at Tomoya.

Tomoya was unmoved. He shrugged. "It's okay for me…I…" Tomoya turned his eyes away from Nagisa. To begin with, what am I being so serious about, lecturing a stranger? Mentally reprimanding himself, Tomoya started walking again. "Do whatever you want…" He said, his voice trailing off.

Tomoya left Nagisa and began climbing the hill alone. It's just that…Tomoya knew why he even bothered trying to lecture Nagisa. She doesn't look like a delinquent at all, so I felt like lecturing her. That's the only reason. Shaking his head, he continued walking forward.

"Ah, please wait!" Nagisa called out. Tomoya stopped, and Nagisa ran to catch up with Tomoya. "Um…Is it okay for me to follow you?"

Tomoya turned around to find Nagisa standing right beside him. Tomoya was slightly taken aback by this. "Why?" He inquired.

"Um…" Nagisa tried to find the right words. "Because…I feel uneasy going alone."

"…" Tomoya remained silent. She's confessing to a strange guy like me. She probably has one or two friends, so why is it me again…? Tomoya narrowed his eyes as he gazed up the hill. Well, it's only a short walk from here anyways. He thought. "Do what you want." Tomoya told Nagisa. Tomoya started walking again.

"Please wait!" Nagisa stopped Tomoya again.

Tomoya sighed and turned around again. "What now?"

"…Anpan!" Nagisa said.

Tomoya was speechless for a moment. How should I respond to that…He thinks for a bit, and then says, "French Loaf."

Nagisa gave him a dubious look. "I don't understand what you're saying…" She said in a small voice.

"That's my line." Tomoya shot back. "What? Do you just like anpan?"

"No, not really…" Nagisa looked aside. "Though that said, I really don't hate it."

"HEY!" A voice called to them.

They both turned to see another student approaching them from the top of the hill. It was Takahashi. Takahashi, grinning from ear to ear, called out to them again. "You should hurry, or you'll be late for class."

"Ah…" Nagisa looked at Takahashi as though she had just remembered why she had come to school in the first place. She then shifted her glance to Tomoya. Tomoya shrugged. "Come on. Let's go."

"Okay!" Nagisa was smiling. It seemed like the conversation had cheered her up a bit.

…

The lesson ended with the ring of the school chime. Tomoya decided to relax on his desk for a bit before the next lesson started. "Yo." Takahashi walked over to where Tomoya was sitting. Tomoya looked up at Takahashi for a moment before looking away again. "What do you want?"

Takahashi handed Tomoya a piece of paper. "It's the handout from today's homeroom. The class rep was supposed to give it to you, but I asked for a few extras."

Tomoya took one of the handouts Takahashi was holding, and promptly stuffed it into his desk. "Is there something else you want?"

Takahashi was still holding a handout. "Haha, yes." Takahashi said, scratching the back of his head. "I'd also like you to give a copy to Youhei. He sits right beside you, so that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Tomoya turned to face Takahashi. He finally had Tomoya's attention. "Wait." Tomoya began. "Why do you care about Sunohara?"

Takahashi's face suddenly seemed to lose its cheerfulness. "That…Well…It's because we used to be on the soccer team together. He's my friend, you know? Of course I care about him." He said, looking down a bit.

Tomoya stared at Takahashi for a while, before Takahashi looked up again. "Anyhow, I don't think I've introduced myself to you yet. My name is Takahashi Mirao. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." Takahashi put forth his right hand. Tomoya didn't want to bother, but nonetheless, he took Takahashi's hand and shook it. "I'm Tomoya Okazaki. Nice to meet you."

Takahashi had that bright 100 Watt grin on his face again. "Alright. I have to go back to my desk now. Please give that handout to Youhei, alright?"

Tomoya nodded. "I got it."

Takahashi turned around and walked back to his desk.

Tomoya was just about to relax again, when another person approached him. "Um…"

"Hmm…?" Tomoya turned his head.

It was the class representative, Ryou Fujibayashi. She's Kyou's twin sister right? Tomoya thought to himself. Ryou's eyes darted back and forth as she came by Tomoya's desk. "Uh…Um…" Ryou was struggling to even form a word.

Tomoya sighed. "What?"

Ryou finally seemed to be able to talk. "Here…" She presented a piece of paper to Tomoya.

"….." Tomoya takes paper and looks at it. It was the homeroom handout that Takahashi had just given him. Tomoya raised a hand. "Uh, Miss Class President. I already have one of these."

"Eh…?" Ryou was at a loss for words.

Noticing this, Tomoya quickly added, "Takahashi-san gave me one already. Didn't he ask you for a few extra copies?"

"Ah…yes…he did…sorry about that." Ryou said, evidently flustered.

Tomoya turned to look out the window again. Ryou continued to stand there beside his desk like a statue. Tomoya turned to face her again. "Is there something else you need?"

Ryou looked down at Tomoya's desk, avoiding Tomoya's gaze. "Um…Well, I think it's better if you come to school on time."

Tomoya was unmoved. "…It's none of your business." He said flatly.

Ryou tried again. "But…Well…It'd be better if…you came to school on time, so…"

"So, if you become the class representative, you can just talk about your other classmates' attendance, huh?" Tomoya questioned. He was getting pretty tired of this conversation already.

Ryou's expression suddenly became sad. "T-that's not what I mean, but…Um…" Her eyes were becoming misty.

Tomoya sighed. Maybe I was a little harsh. He thought. Tomoya decided to apologize. "Sorry, I spoke a bit too much."

Ryou gently shook her head. "No…It's my fault for bothering you so much…Sorry…"

A student beside him perked up. "Hey, Okazaki. Don't make her cry! You'll have her big sister rushing in."

Ryou shook her head again. "It's okay…I'm not crying…" Even so, there were evidently tears building up in her eyes.

Tomoya didn't want to make things worse. "…Well, I'll take your advice." He conceded.

Ryou smiled a bit. "Ah…O-okay…"

From his desk, Takahashi was observing the scene. "Haha, man…Makes me jealous. She doesn't really see me, does she? Tomoya, you lucky bastard…"

Ryou then proceeded to take out some playing cards and tried telling Tomoya's fortune. Takahashi turned back to his textbook. "I'll probably never score big like that."

And so rang the bell, signaling the start of class again.

…