Disclaimer: (Raises right hand with wooden starfish) I, (Whatever my pen name is now), solemnly swear that I do not own Clannad since it belongs to Key, Kyo Ani, and Toei (they made the movie, right?). Only the story and ideas presented in this fanfic are mine. No profit is being made by the author of this story.

So help me starfish.

Author's note: Well, first of all is 'Hi, thanks for reading my fanfic'.

Second of all is, to those who find this fic very, very familiar and are planning to ask some questions, then I'll preempt with an answer. This is a re-upload (or repost) of my second fic, 'All because of bread', the differences being that it is now divided into chapters and some tweaks (both plot-related and mechanical) had been made to make it better and more reader friendly than the first one.

Now we all got that cleared up, to those who have read it before then you are welcome to not continue with reading this version (But thanks for reading the first one). To those who haven't, then go on with reading and thanks for looking it up.

Now, onwards with the fic!

Chapter 1:

When she would smile

Furukawa bakery, 7:00 a.m.

Morning. I stood behind the cash register, staring out into blankness when I should be out in the field playing baseball with the kids in the park. A familiar smell filled my nose as I tiptoed towards the door with my bat. Startled, I stopped and scrambled back to my cashier post. A woman came out from the backroom, with a tray of delicious-looking bread ready to be sold (Or to be given to Isogai-san. Whatever came first).

"Akio-san…"

I was smoking. "What is it?"

She arranged bread on the counters with prongs. Then she said proudly, "I tried a new idea again!"

A jolt in my head and I spat the cigarette out. "What? Er-I mean, really?"

She nodded. "This is the best one I've made, I'm sure of it!"

Oh god, not another one. Please don't make me taste them, please don't make me taste them, please don't make me taste them…

She cocked her head to one side, expectant. "Akio-san, could you please taste them?"

Yecch!

I scratched my head. "Uh, you see… Errr… I, I… I can't."

Her brows frowned. "What did you say?"

"Sanae, I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too, Akio-san."

I sighed, thanking the heavens that still worked.

"Can you taste them now, Akio-san?"

Hiii…! It didn't work!

"I, I, I, I, I…" Calm down, damnit! Taking a deep breath, "…I'll taste them later," I said with my deep 'I'm awesome' voice.

"Why?"

"I just uh, ate…?"

She laughed. "Oh, of course! Breakfast! Why didn't I remember of that?"

Oookay… "Y—eah, breakfast. I thought that I wouldn't, uh, savor your bread's taste that well since I just ate. Yeah." I started nodding. "Let's go with that."

"Well then promise me you'll taste them later, 'kay?"

"Sure, no problem." I tried to make myself look cool and decided to use the fact that Sanae had classes that afternoon. "Now, go and prepare for those tutorial lessons. Those kids you teach can be quite a handful."

"You're right." She smiled again. "I think they'll come here in an hour. In the meantime, I'll prepare lunch. Take care of the store until then, okay honey?"

She left, and I held 'the pose' (which was just leaning on the wall, arms folded) until I heard her footsteps disappear. Then I realized that I hadn't eaten breakfast yet. The worst part was if Sanae found me eating, she'd make me taste that new bread of hers…

As realization (and hunger) sank in, light started disappearing from my face as though I just received the curse of god.

"My breakfast, nooo-!"

I crumpled. I was still lucky, though. I managed to live through the morning without Sanae running out of the door. I looked at the bread she just brought in with a suspicious glare those soap opera detectives gave to crime suspects. They looked normal enough; just round buns. But they had multiple colored dots and… wait. Were those cheese sticks jutting out the sides?

M&M and cheese buns. Great, more dirt for the landfill…

I sniffed them and they smelled normal, despite the cheese. Then, a nostalgic feeling crept up inside me. I drew close to them, feeling that some of its bits got in my nose. Maybe these were…

It'll kill you. Don't!

The bun was already in my reach when I stopped. No, I-I wouldn't be fooled again! I'd tasted many others like this, all of them with tastes I would comment as from 'this is unbearable' to 'Omigod, did you just dip this in toxic sludge?' Last week, it was fiber loaf and I earned myself four glorious hours in the bathroom for my trouble. The week before that was rice cracker bread, where I accidentally drank dishwashing liquid and had Nagisa make bubbles with the Heimlich maneuver (Oh yeah, the cracker I choked on flew out the kitchen window and hit a cat). And the week before that was…

That wintry, cold feeling pierced my spine, and my mind went blank.

A rainbow to you!

In chilling fear I muttered, "Rainbow bread."

I could still remember that incident

…

Furukawa bakery, A time that was too embarrassing to remember

It was an ordinary day, as always. The sun was up, the air smelled good, and the store's light burned out since I forgot to turn it off the night before. I was calling a mail order service for a new fluorescent one when Sanae brought a new tray to my face. It was a bun, of course. It looked good, but the strange thing was it had different colors that I usually found in a kaleidoscope. And they were all glowing. I couldn't even see my own face anymore in the blinding light.

Yay, baked flashlights.

Due to my experience with these kinds of breads, I first tested it using the most civilized and intelligent way possible (It's science, I tell 'ya!): I buried it under one of our ferns in the garden (I thought it would be too cruel to test it on dogs).

And, it happened.

The fern withered, and then disintegrated into black dust. Some of it got in my eye and I swore I went blind for a few minutes.

It was… a waste to say the least. Now I had to buy a new fern. I was going to take the other buns on display away to a landfill when I gasped. At the counter, an old man was going to taste one.

"No, wait! Stop!"

Too late! The old guy had sunk his teeth in. I watched in horror as his eyes glazed over and he fainted, his walking cane jettisoning in the air. It hit a tray that sent a pair of prongs flying towards unsuspecting Hirano-san, the local mechanic.

"Ow, my eye!"

He stammered back and accidentally stepped on Tokunosu-san's (another regular customer) foot.

"Ow, my foot!"

Jumping in pain, he fell on Fukuzawa-sensei who was walking in through the door. They fell out onto the sidewalk and it so happened to be that a guy on a bicycle was passing by and hit them both. And a bike wheel rolled into our store, a testament to the possible carnage.

And in one day we lost four customers and had to pay a lot of money for bike reparations. Later that evening, I chucked the rest of the bread in a fire pit I made in the backyard, telling Sanae I was having one hell of a midlife crisis barbecue.

"That's for my fern! Now, burn in hell!"

Furukawa bakery, the present; 7:19 a.m.

Ugh, I still felt dizzy whenever I thought about it.

I frowned upon the buns, knowing that they would get thrown out sooner or later. But when I went back to the cash register I couldn't help but wonder why I still had that nostalgic feeling inside me. Then a customer came and they all started flooding in till noon.

The last customer left, and I heard Sanae reciting alphabets to kids in the backroom. Peaceful times like this should be spent with a game of baseball. But I was so tired that my mind was starting to get lost in the tranquil atmosphere created by talking kids, chirping birds, buzzing insects, and the blowing wind. Then everything slowly went blinkered. A dull thud later and I slumped on the counter, snoring soundly.

…

One weird dream, Somewhere in the past

"Here."

I turn my head and there was a person reaching me a tray with something light brown in the middle.

"Hm?"

"Please, taste it."

I take the warm bun into my palm and feed it in my mouth.

"I know it's a bit undercooked but I hope you will like it…"

Time stops, as though it was necessary to catch that person's smile when I realized that this was the best bread I had ever tasted in this single life…

…

Furukawa bakery, (still) the present; 7:31 a.m.

"Furukawa-san, Furukawa-san…"

Hm? Huzzat?

I opened my eyes, and a customer was in front of me. Judging by the look on his face he must've waited here all the time I was asleep.

Sanae was right. I did have the inclination to sleep almost everywhere.

"Uh, sorry about that…I was kinda tired…" I scratched my head. "…what do you want today, sir?"

After giving the customer what he wanted, I sighed. I never knew I would end up running a bakery. I thought the name 'Furukawa' would be on banners of theaters and glitzy lights flashing my name as the leading actor of the latest Broadway show. Instead, it ended up on a dim, blinking store sign (Wow, thirteen years and I still couldn't get over it). I had to give up a lot of things for this place, and now I'm pretty much getting my due.

At least, some of it.

Later that day, Furukawa bakery, 7:00 p.m

Afternoon past and there were no customers anymore, just like any other day. Most of our stock got sold but Sanae's tray sat there, lonely as ever. It was always like that. Most of our customers generally knew how… 'Intriguing' her bread tasted. This was also why they probably memorized where she would put them. 'Avoid to live' was their unspoken rule. Lucky on our part, for if ever they took even one of those then we would probably have tons of lawsuits filed against us in an hour flat. Okay, that was too much. But still, that sort of thing happening would burn holes in our pockets one way or another. We would still have to pay for hospital bills.

"How was your day, the bearer of the superior Furukawa gene?" I asked before picking up a piece of pork cutlet with chopsticks.

We were at dinner. Nagisa had just come home and she and Sanae cooked up the equivalent of a feast. Chicken Yakitori, beef strips, pork cutlets, steamed vegetables, and a large pot's worth of rice. Would I get heart-burn after eating all these? The pork cutlets are already more than enough.

"It was fine, otou-san," my daughter replied, eating her share of food bit-by-bit like a lady.

"Fine's a bit vague." I smiled. "Can you tell us real news?"

"Um…" Her eyes rolled around. "Where should I start…?"

That timid face made me a bit nervous. Was her day not that good at all? I was going to tell her that it was okay for her not to say anything when a smile curved on her face.

"The theater club's been re-established!"

Sanae gasped, and the earth seemed to have stood still for a whole minute. All of us did nothing before she wrapped her arms around my daughter. "That's great, Nagisa! Now you can act on stage like an actress." She let go and held her face, letting out a deep sigh. "The theater… The lights, the glitz, the glamour, the warm feeling inside you when you wear a costume and pretend you're someone else…" She started swaying around, getting all excited. "I just love the theater!"

Just as much as you love me, Sanae.

Nagisa hugged her. "Me too!"

Seeing this scene of mother and daughter in each other's arms made me feel proud as a father. Nagisa was finally able to reach her dream. A few weeks ago, I thought she was going to give up on that theater club of hers. But when I saw that brat (Who I would more than love to tag as something worse. I can't find a better word yet!) come along, she finally got it. That's good. People should chase after their dreams and never give up on them. Then when they're done, they could chase after a new dream.

As for Sanae, it was good that she got along with our daughter well. They should spend more time like these, especially on special occasions like our (drum roll, please) Saturday movie night.

At least, she was doing better than the day Nagisa almost died.

Sanae kept blaming herself, saying that she was a horrible mother. She didn't eat, didn't sleep, and couldn't even speak. Then she fell into a depression, where the doctor told me that anything could make it 'blow off'. One time, she almost killed herself with a knife…

Wait, why was I thinking like this? I shouldn't stick to the past, I should be thinking about what's happening now. All those bad things could be left behind. I couldn't keep myself from enjoying the present.

That was why I stood up, rummaged in our storage room, and brought out a dusty old box of party poppers from my house party some years ago. It was a good thing Sanae didn't ask questions.

"Otou-san," Nagisa curiously looked at the box I was holding, "What's that for?"

I put up a mad smile. "The theater club's open so we have to celebrate!"

Now I was consumed by an insane fixation for party fever!

She put down her head, hesitant. "But, we already celebrated at school…"

"Then," I opened the box and blew a party popper upwards, "we'll make an even bigger celebration here at home!"

PARRRTY FEVERRR!

Confetti and tape flew all over the living room. We went out on old tricorns and sounded those cheap party trumpets Sanae found. I busted out the mics and our Karaoke VHS and all of us sang to the dismay of cats, dogs, birds, crickets, people, and the neighborhood in general. We didn't care. That was family night and it didn't matter even if they called the police on us. The only important thing was us being happy, even just for the night. The song, the slow loss of voice, the laughter, the emotional high and physical high, everything made us elated.

And not to mention shameless. This was proven by me, since the atmosphere went up my head. So much that I dug out what I shouldn't have.

My old beat up orange jacket from the 80's.

The lights were dimmed, the VHS was blaring, and both Sanae and Nagisa were waving flashlights at me as I was holding the concert of the century on our table.

"Birreh Jen ish not mah robbel! Oooh-! She is da girr who thinks dat I am da one!" I threw my mic arm in the air. "And the kid ish not mah zon! Wooo-!"

In the hilarity, my raving (read: laughing) audience blew party poppers at my face.

Soon we all got tired. And, fearing we would attract the attention of the neighborhood watch association turned the Karaoke off and switched on the lights.

"From the greatest M.C. Aki-oh, congratulations Nagisa!" I shouted as I threw the jacket in the air due to overwhelming jubilation.

Pop! Smoke and streamers flew and landed on my head.

Nagisa and Sanae both laughed.

"Congratulations and good luck to you, Nagisa!" Sanae popped the last confetti popper.

I was so happy.

And with that, our little celebration ended. My wife and Nagisa cleaned up streamers while I ended up wrapping the leftovers with kitchen plastic.

Then I remembered…

I took a plastic bag from under our kitchen counter.

… Sanae's leftover bread.

So it would still be a pretty ordinary night, even with the party.

And what would be an ordinary night of mine without the part where I knocked on Isogai-san's door at nine o'clock in the evening?

Isogai residence, 9:00 p.m.

"Isogai-san. You there?"

After a few moments of knocking, a middle-aged woman opened the door. She had chin-length hair and a face that made me think she was just in her forties or something. But that'd make her as old as me.

And she had been in town way before my mother even finished high school.

I gave a bow. "Good evening, Isogai-san"

"Ah," her eyes widened, not even being suspicious of a man knocking on her door late at night. "Furukawa-san, what are you doing here so late in the evening?"

"Well, I'd like to give you some of our bread." I raised a white plastic bag up and choked out my salesman's voice. "All of Furukawa bread's specials. For free."

We never had specials. Isogai-san gave a knowing smile as we exchanged meaningful glances.

Unexpectedly, she said, "What's that on your head?"

Huh? I put a hand on my scalp and realized that I was still wearing a tricorn.

"Oh, this." I took it off. "Just came from a party."

"Is that so…?"

And as expected, she looked at the bag and smiled.

"Why thank you, Furukawa-san. You are so kind." She gladly took the bag. "You should come inside for some tea."

I waved my hand shyly. "No, no, no ma'am. Its fine, no need." I hooked a thumb. "I live next door."

"Oh yes, I forgot." She laughed an old woman's laugh. "How silly of me."

I smiled. "I should be going now, ma'am."

"Oh, you should. It's getting late and it's pretty cold. You might get measles."

Getting measles in this hot weather? "Okay, good evening to you."

"Good evening to you too." Her cheeks wrinkled as she smiled. "And thanks for the bread, dear."

It's you I should be thanking. "You're welcome, ma'am."

I began walking towards my store as the humid air brushed on my face and made me fan myself with a hand.

Furukawa bakery, closing time

"How was the bread, Akio-san?"

"It was delicious, just as expected from you Sanae, my love."

There I was, closing the shop with my wife. She took away trays while I closed the door's steel shutters. I felt the sound grind down my chest as I pulled them down.

"Were you able to eat them all?" she was now counting the money we earned that day.

I almost choked. "Y-yes, yes. Every single one."

She brightened up. "Good, then."

It was painful, really. Even after all the years I had been doing this, I still couldn't picture myself lying that well. With every letter that came out my mouth, guilt slowly crushed me. Especially at the part where…

"Thank you, Akio-san."

… She would smile.

"Oh yes," She said, "I'm going to try a new idea tomorrow."

For the love of… The week's not even done yet! "Really?"

"It's now exactly a new idea. It's a sort of improvement on an old idea of mine. Something I made in the past that was pretty delicious."

"You made something good?" I paused. Wait, why did I say that? "Er-I meant, you're going to revive an idea of yours?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh."

Oh, for Pete's sake... "Good luck with that."

"I'll give it my best!"

She left through the backdoor as the last padlock clicked as though it sealed my fate. Damn me for living.

And I closed the Furukawa bakery's door for another night, like all the nights before it.

Author's note: Well there you have it, the first chapter. If you're still interested, then by all means turn to the next one and thanks for reading!