Disclaimer: I don't own the Azumanga Daioh characters, and most of the ideas either belong to myself or fellow Daioh writers. Or other things, too.

Hello, people. This is just a little story I decided to write to take a break from Did I MIss Something?. I've been kind of depressed lately. There's this person that I really, really like. But we're friends, so...it's too weird for said crush. sigh I dunno. This story is sort of based on my feelings and experiences. Loosely.

A Pome

Yukari danced through the halls on her way to her homeroom class, miraculously on time. As the late bell sounded, Yukari opened the door and smiled at her class. The class was caught in the middle of a paper fight, and three wads of notebook paper hit the chalkboard one at a time--One-Two-Three--before falling and settling on the chalk ledge. Yukari was too caught up in herself to care. She waltzed to her desk, doing a little spin on the way, and patting a lone student on the head before she scurried back to her desk, ashamed to be caught.

Yukari stood at her desk for a moment before she remembered the task at hand. She brushed a paper ball off and took the piece of pink chalk from underneath. She wrote the assignment on the board, dotting the "i"s with little hearts, and filling them in. The class took out their books, but were surprised to not see their teacher sit down and take a nap, or begin critisizing them for not working dilligently enough, but instead continued to stand, staring with an absent smile out the window.

A student raised her hand. "Miss Yukari? Is something the matter?"

Yukari seemed to remember that she was in front of a class full of inquiring minds. Yukari strode over to the window and threw it open. A spring breeze blew Yukari's hair out of its order. Yukari did nothing to calm the brown hair in her face, but let the wind blow it back and forth. A cherry blossom came through the window and hit Yukari in the nose. The nose wrinkled in Yukari's smile.

Yukari gave a sigh before she spoke, and the petal flew off her face and back into the classroom. She turned to her class, and her cheeks were rosy from the cool breeze. "I'm in love," she said with an unpoetic grin. "I'm in love."

"You've fallen in love, Miss Yukari?! With who?"

Yukari gazed off in the distance. "With 'whom.' And I haven't 'fallen' in love."

"But you just said--"

"'Fallen' is a harsh term. Love is such an elevating feeling. I've climbed into love."

The one thing on the class's mind: This is the corniest thing ever.

"So who is it, Miss Yukari?"

Yukari, caught up in her passion, didn't hesitate. She shrugged her shoulders and gave a small smile. "Oh...I'm in love with a beautiful woman who--" Yukari stopped talking when the class fell silent. What? She looked around at the students, who had stopped whispering and were all looking at her. What did I do? She ran through her words again. Damn. I just told them I was gay, didn't I? Damn. Yukari put down the chalk that had snapped in her hand, right on the desk. The broken chalk dusted the metal desk with a pink powder, but Yukari didn't even notice. She turned and walked out the still open door, closing it behind her.

The class burst into an eruption of voices.

"Miss Yukari likes girls?"

"Who knew?"

"Does her loved one love her back?"

"Are they going out?"

"Are they getting married?"

"Are they already married?"

And almost in unison, the students asked each other, "Who is it?!"

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Yukari sat in the faculty bathroom, the door locked behind her. She sat on the closed seat of the toilet with her head in her hands. "Damn it." She whispered. "Why did I have to do that? It's bad enough that now they know my interest. But now they'll want to know who it is. I can't tell them. I couldn't do that to her. Even if she's not interested in...girls. I can't do that to her."

Yukari realized how silly she was. Not for telling her students, but for letting herself get this far in love before she even knew her loved one's sexuality. What if she was straight? What about bisexual? If she was bisexual, it'd be okay but...she wouldn't be able to trust men with her. Great. She had dug herself into a hole, and it didn't look like she was getting out.

Yukari lifted her head up out of her hands and stared at the buzzing light fixture. It flickered on and off once every five or six seconds. The ceiling had a permanent leak, and the grey, sagging tiles showed it. Yukari looked at her watch and realized she had only been sulking in the bathroom for about ten minutes. It had seemed like at least thirty. Well she still had a class to teach.

Yukari stood up and walked out of the small bathroom. She walked down the hall and up a flight of stairs, not making eye contact with anyone, in case it was her love interest. She reentered her classroom, which had once again fallen silent. Some avoided looking at their teacher and went back to their assignment, pencils waving nervously. Others watched her as she traveled the five-mile distance between the door and her desk. They finally followed suit with their classmates when Yukari sat down and made eye contact with them, taking out their books for the first time that day.

Yukari took a swig of the coffee she had left on her desk overnight. It was cold and seemed to have lost its caffeine, but she drank it down. One student in the front of the room put down her notebook and pencil. Yukari looked up and was surprised to see Chiyo, sitting there with her arms carefully folded in front of her.

"Finished your homework, Chiyo-ch--Chiyo?" Yukari bit back the "chan" since some of the more judgemental students could take that as flirting, after Yukari's "announcement."

Chiyo answered Yukari's question. "No, ma'am."

"Very good. Wait. No?"

"No, ma'am. I have not completed my assignment."

"Well then why have you stopped working on it?" Yukari was getting annoyed.

Chiyo coughed, keeping a calm outer appearance. "I would like to talk to you about your new-found love interest."

Yukari put her head on the desk. "I really don't want to talk about this, kids," she said in a muffled voice.

"Oh but I think I can help you, Miss Yukari."

Yukari looked up from her desk and saw Chiyo smiling back at her. "Huh?"

"I understand completely. My family has its fair share of homesexual and bisexuals. My aunt Yumi on my mother's side has had five boyfriends and three girlfriends. And my cousin Akio on my father's side is now my cousin Ami."

A couple other students gasped, not able to believe that this little girl wasn't as innocent as she seemed.

"But my family is very forgiving. Aunt Yumi comes and visits every month, and Ami is one of my best friends."

Yukari blinked. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm telling you this because I know what you're going through. I think my classmates and I can help you." Chiyo smiled wider, and several other students shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah Yukari, you're the best!"

"You deserve whomever the hell you want!"

"As long as it's not me!"

Yukari sat up and shook her head. "I'll ignore that last statement. You kids are really sweet."

"So tell us who it is!"

Yukari blushed. "I'm sorry, kids. But I can't. I haven't even told her yet, and I don't even know what her sexuality is. If I tell you, that would be like invading her privacy."

"Oh. Well you should tell her your feelings!"

Yukari smiled. "I don't think so. It would ruin our friendship."

"It doesn't matter! If she can't even accept you as a friend, then she's definetely not worth your time as a girlfriend."

Yukari smiled. "I guess you're right. I'll do that right after school, if I can get her alone."

"Awesome!"

So Yukari and the class continued their lesson, and it was the first time Yukari got involved in over a week.

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That night, Yukari put on her best casual clothes. She wore a black flowery blouse, dark jeans, and clogs. She got her hair all brushed out and even put on make-up. She was so nervous that she smeared the lipstick up to her nose. She washed it off and started over. Yukari stood in front of her mirror and leaned on the bathroom sink. "What am I doing?" She asked out loud. "Why am I doing this?"

Her mother walked by the open bathroom door. "Yukari, honey? Are you going out? Do you have a date?"

Yukari took out her brush and started brushing her hair again. "Sort of."

"Well tell him to stop by sometime!"

Yukari just shook her head as her mother hoisted the laundry back up to her hip and walked over to the laundry room. "Sure, Mom." She took out some water-proof eyeliner and elongated the tops of her eyes. She put it down, deciding not to do the bottom. "Sure I'll tell him."

Yukari picked her purse up, leaving the cell phone next to the sink, and left. She closed the door behind her, saying good-bye to her mother once again. She turned and looked at the street, dark enough to make it hard to see, but not dark enough for the lights to go on. "The days are getting longer and longer," she told a little bird sitting on a fence. "Pretty soon the rest of your friends will be coming home from wherever they go off to."

The bird chirped twice and flew up to Yukari's shoulder. Yukari smiled and let the bird be. When the bird realized that she didn't have any food, it chirped once and flew off again.

"Must be somebody's pet," Yukari noted. She looked around and realized that she had been walking for some time. In fact, she had passed her destination about a block ago. "Whoops!" She turned on her heel and jogged back. When she got to her apartment building, she smoothed out her hair, which had come undone from the brisk jog. She buzzed the intercome of the apartment she wanted, and a voice came back. "Hello?"

"Yukari Tanizaki!"

"Oh, Yukari! Come on up!"

Yukari opened the door to the building and stepped into the lobby. This was the moment of truth. She could chicken out right now. She could go up and just start talking, as if nothing had happened.

Or she could tell her the truth. She could tell her of her love, and hope for the best. Of course the best would not come, and she knew that. But maybe she wouldn't mind. Maybe they could still be friends. Even if the worst happened, she still had to get this out. Or she would be wondering for the rest of her life.

Yukari had walked up the stairs and knocked on the door. She heard footsteps coming to it. This was it. What would happen?

Minamo Kurosawa opened the door of her apartment and saw Yukari all dressed up. "Oh? Are we going to a fancy bar for once? Just hold on a second, I'll change my shirt." Minamo had on a loose fitting T-shirt and blue jeans, since tomorrow was the weekend.

Yukari licked her lips. "Nyamo?"

"Hm?" Minamo was busy rummaging through her top drawer. Her apartment was sometimes messier than her office. She usually kept it clean, but days like today, when she was tired from a week of school and wanted a drink as much as Yukari did, things got a bit disorderly. Clothes were put away casually, and the bed wasn't made. But it wasn't near as bad as how Yukari would have kept hers if not for her mother.

"Nyamo, I've got something to tell you."

"Oh?" Minamo pulled out a pink blouse with laces in front. She turned to Yukari and gave her a listening look. "I'm all ears."

Yukari sat down on a metal folding chair and rubbed her fingers through her hair. "I don't know how to tell you this."

Minamo got a more serious look on her face. She pulled over another chair and sat on it backwards, her legs straddling her chair and her elbows leaning on the back. "What is it?"

"I've...do you think we're good friends?"

"Well, yeah. We've been friends since high school!"

"Yeah. Do...do you think there's ever been something special?"

Minamo's eyes sparkled, as if they knew what was going on. But the glint soon faded, and she seemed completely naive. "I dunno. We were closer than any other pair of best friends, I guess."

Yukari gave a pathetic look. It was too late to back out now, she had already aroused her curiosity. "Well, I think I've...I know I have felt something very special." Minamo stayed quiet. "I think..." No need to sugar-coat it. Just blurt it out. "I'm in love with you, Nyamo."

Minamo blinked. "Run that by me again."

"I mean I love you. More than a friend. And I just needed to tell you that. I don't care if you don't like me, but I just couldn't go my whole life not knowing!"

MInamo put her head in her left hand, and felt between her eyebrows. "Yukari, this is not something I wanted to hear."

Yukari bit her lip. This wasn't going as she planned, but she wasn't surprised.

"I think it would be best if you left."

"What?"

"You heard me." Minamo looked up. "I'm not like that, Yukari. I didn't know you were. If I had known, I would have followed mother's advice and not associated with you."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Yukari. But I'm afraid I can't talk to you anymore. Please go home."

Yukari stood up blankly. She grabbed her purse and started towards the door.

"Oh and Yukari?" Yukari turned, hopeful. "Maybe you should see a psychiatrist. If I find out you just had a bout of insanity, I'll be your friend again."

Yukari's face went from hopeful to angry. "Bitch."

"Excuse me?"

"Bitch!" Minamo put her hand on her chest. "I don't need help! Okay? It's not insanity to like someone that everyone disaproves of! For God's sake, what the hell?"

Minamo stood up and flipped open her cellphone. "I hate to have to do this, Yukari. But if you stay in my house a minute longer, I'll be forced to call the police."

Yukari's face did not change. She turned and went out the door, slamming it as she left.

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The next morning, Yukari did not get out of bed. She did not get up until Monday afternoon, having skipped going to work. She sat up in her pajamas and grabbed her notebook. In a stubby pencil on cheap lined graph paper, Yukari wrote:

Dear Minamo Kurosawa,

It's unfortunate that you couldn't accept me. I was not expecting a new girlfriend, not in the least. I was expecting support and kindness.

I don't know when I'll be coming back to school. When you retire, most likely.

Sincerely,

Yukari Tanizaki

The End

Yeah. This wasn't the best ever. I didn't do any research for this story, sorry. Like, I have no idea if gay marriage is legal in Japan. And yeah, this is based off a true story. Just different characters, I guess. ((shrugs))

--L.A.!