Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.
Disclaimer: Don't own Azumanga Daioh or its characters. Title ripped off from some Queen lyrics. Read more in the author's notes which can be found at the end of the chapter.
Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, possible shoujo ai (though it'll all be fluff if anything).
Chapter 1
The three of them were sitting in the food court at the mall waiting on the others to arrive. Tomo was leaning back in her chair, feet against one of the table legs to keep her balance. Kagura was watching people stand in line to order food. Osaka appeared to be happily staring off into space, eyes focused on nothing in particular.
It had been awhile since they all had gotten together to just hang out, usually only meeting in groups of two or three. Not everyone could make it, of course, considering Chiyo was in another country and Sakaki was continuing her education far enough away that a weekday visit was impractical. It was just supposed to be Tomo, Kagura, Osaka, Yomi, Kaorin, and Chihiro. A mini high school reunion of sorts.
Tomo sighed in an exaggerated manner before leveling her chair so all four legs touched the ground, earning her a sidelong glance from Kagura. This was stupid. She came because Yomi asked her to. She had tons of other things she could be doing besides sitting in a crummy food court with sticky tables. Like… sleeping… or watching T.V. Yeah, she was sure something good was probably on. Something better than a food court at a mall. Not to mention the unpleasant atmosphere that hung over their presence, or more specifically her's and Kagura's.
Their gatherings were currently restricted to going to the movies, the mall, and eating out. This was the first time since several weeks ago that both Tomo and Kagura were present at the same time. So, she had gotten a little out of hand at the party a couple of weeks ago and had embarrassed Kagura in front of one of her guy friends at the swim house. Kagura needed to get over herself. It's not like Tomo hadn't apologized. At least, she thought she had apologized, but her memories of that evening were fuzzy at best.
What'd Kagura have to get all up on her high horse for anyhow? It wasn't like Tomo had meant anything by it.
Before Tomo was able to continue with that thought, Yomi sat down in the chair next to her, removing her scarf and gloves as she sat.
"Sorry, guys. I got a phone call from Kaorin as I was on my way, but it's so loud in here that I decided to finish the conversation outside before I came and sat down," Yomi explained, cheeks still red from the cold.
Kagura turned in her chair and asked, "So, what'd she say? She gonna be late?"
Yomi shook her head before continuing, "Her and Chihiro can't make it. They said they both have papers due tomorrow, first thing."
"Papers?! They're ditching us for papers?! What's wrong with them? University's for having fun, not writing papers. We had enough of that in high school!" Tomo exclaimed, rising in her seat to further stress her point.
Across the table she heard a snort from Kagura while Yomi just rolled her eyes before quietly grumbling, "Not that you ever did your assignments in high school."
"Hey! I did my work. Sometimes. Well, it was usually just copied off your work, but… I handed stuff in. And wait a minute! Is that the way you greet your best pal?!" Tomo shouted, causing several heads at surrounding tables to turn in their direction.
"Put a sock in it, drama queen." Kagura retorted, attempting to sound more put out than snide. She had always thought of herself as a generally nice, laid back person, but Tomo sure knew how to push her limits and the fiasco at the party earlier in the month wasn't making things any easier.
"Who said I was talkin' to you?!" Tomo yelled, if anything, voice getting louder.
Yomi not liking where the conversation was headed, or the amount of attention they were receiving from the other diners, decided to intervene.
Sighing in resignation, she yanked Tomo down into her seat by her jacket sleeve, Tomo's rear connecting with the chair in a dull 'thud'.
"Would the two of you give it up? I mean, how old are we?" Yomi asked anxiously.
Osaka, who hadn't seemed to have been paying attention up until that last question, helpfully offered, "Well, I'd say we're all about 20 years old. Except Chiyo-chan, but she's not here, so, I guess we'd all be about 20."
"Thanks, Ayumu. Your words of wisdom have enlightened us all," Kagura murmured sullenly.
"Geez. Just 'cause you're cranky and uptight doesn't mean you've gotta take it out on Osaka," Tomo sneered in response.
"Y'know what? I don't have to put up with this. I've got enough stuff to worry about. I don't need to come hang out with friends, trying to relax, and end up havin' to deal with you. I'm surprised any of us still spend time with you. Well, I'm not gonna bother anymore. I'm leaving," Kagura snarled before grabbing her coat and heading for the nearest exit, but not without a quick acknowledgement of the two who were still in her good graces. "Bye Ayumu. Later Yomi. Sorry you guys had to see that. Maybe I'll see you at lunch tomorrow."
"Yeah, well, good riddance," Tomo remarked, still upset despite Kagura's abrupt departure.
Yomi huffed, feeling emotionally drained. Why did Tomo have to create messes like this? Kagura was partially to blame, but Tomo knew exactly which buttons to press. Yomi herself was somehow able to cope with her idiot friend, but it must've been through years of exposure, she supposed.
It wasn't like Kagura had been the only one slighted that night that would forevermore in Yomi's mind be known as "Absinthe Night". And actually, one poor decision aside, it wasn't all Tomo's fault. She just shouldn't have taken that mystery shot, especially after downing several glasses of other beverages earlier that evening at the party, and deciding to "pregame" it before they had even left the apartment.
Yomi hated going to these things, but Kagura had invited them, excited for them to meet her swim team buddies. It was supposed more or less an exclusive party with the swim team members and their friends, but naturally people's friends had invited friends and there ended up being a decent amount of students there. Yomi actually had seen some people she recognized from some of her classes and had started up conversations, knowing Tomo would absolutely die if she knew Yomi was casually chit chatting about professors and coursework. At a party, on a Friday of all things. Tomo though had wandered off somewhere with Kagura who had promised to introduce her to some of her guy friends. Well, what she doesn't know won't hurt her and I'm glad Kagura's dealing with her now and not me. A tipsy Tomo could be a handful sometimes.
She looked over to the opposite side of the living room to find Tomo gesturing wildly, obviously in the middle of relating the details of some event, most likely exaggerating certain points. Kagura was standing next to her and seemed amused at first, but her expression shortly became more irritated.
Noting from across the room that Tomo was getting out of hand, Yomi politely excused herself from the conversation she was having with one of the guys in her English class to go retrieve her friend. In the short period of time it had taken Yomi to cross the room Tomo and Kagura had somehow started a screaming match, Tomo revealing and embellishing some of the more embarrassing escapades Kagura had been involved in during their high school years, each line riddled with bouts of laughter, which only added to the incoherency. Kagura at the same time was vehemently trying to tell the shorter woman to shut up, voice increasing in volume with each demand. Of course, Kagura's obvious discomfort only served to egg Tomo on.
Before the yelling could escalate into an all out cat fight, Yomi not so gently grabbed Tomo's collar just as she was in the middle of making an inappropriate remark suggesting there was a negative correlation between Kagura's bust size and her brain capacity and yanked her out of the argument while simultaneously explaining that "we were just on our way out" and "thank you so much for the invitation".
As the two approached the door, Yomi noticed the sudden paleness of Tomo's skin.
"Are you alright?" she had asked, now troubled by Tomo's lack of both color and obnoxious come back as Tomo had failed to reply to the inquiry.
While she was dragging Tomo's half limp form out of the house, Tomo decided at that moment she was going to be sick and it couldn't wait. Hauling Tomo over to some bushes, her ears were greeted with the unpleasant sound of someone retching. She was happy that not only did Tomo refrain from ruining her sweater and coat, her skirt also survived the assault.
Upon closer inspection though, Yomi quickly realized that not everything remained unscathed. Afraid to look down, but even more unwilling to ignore the wet warmth that threatened to seep into her newly purchased, rather pricey boots, she addressed her companion with a glare that would stop any normal person dead in their tracks. Tomo on the other hand was so pathetically trashed out of her mind that either Yomi's anger failed to register, or she couldn't summon the strength to care, mind completely focused on her current plight.
Yomi just sighed as she did her best to wipe off the offending material in the grass, though she had a sinking feeling that cleaning her boots wouldn't be easy. She took out some unused tissues from her purse and cleaned off Tomo's face, before tossing them in a nearby trash receptacle.
"C'mon, let's get you home. You're a mess," she said before adjusting Tomo so one of her arms was slung over her shoulders and her own arm was wrapped around Tomo's waist.
The rest of that night Yomi had spent monitoring her friend's health as Tomo herself prayed to the porcelain god ("I'm never going to drink anything that glows again..."). Five thirty in the morning found an exhausted Tomo curled up on the bathroom mat and an equally tired Yomi stretched out on the carpeting in the hallway.
Indeed, Kagura wasn't the only one who suffered due to Tomo's antics.
For whatever frustrating reason, Yomi was never quite able to reach a conclusion where her tie to Tomo was concerned. But now, at least, she was able to take Tomo's overbearing presence and disruptive idiosyncrasies with a semblance of grace. It is what it is, she supposed. …Whatever it is.
In spite of her newfound lenience towards the anomaly that was Tomo Takino, she couldn't help but feel annoyed that what was supposed to be an enjoyable study break had turned into a heated argument between two of her closest friends.
Tomo was still sitting to her left with an outwardly smug expression, though Yomi could tell her friend was upset, and Osaka seemed content to continue her other worldly musings.
"Well, so much for that," Yomi declared as she gathered her things and stood, not surprised at all as Tomo began to protest.
Her earlier dismay at having to squander precious minutes of her life away at the food court nothing short of forgotten, Tomo noisily started to object, "Wha-wh-what?! Don't tell me we're gonna let a whole evening go to waste just 'cause Kagura got her panties all in a bunch and ran off on us like that! I wanted to see that movie, y'know that new comedy with what's his face and-and what about dinner? You know you don't want to cook tonight, Yomi!"
Eat out with the friends night was kind a treat for them both. Tomo was banned from anything in the kitchen that could potentially either catch on fire or start a fire once switched on (Yomi's way of saying "Do not touch anything in the kitchen") and Yomi, due to her dieting habits in high school, never had enjoyed the actual process of cooking all that much.
"I am going to make myself a sandwich, and you, I don't know. You're on your own tonight. If you're that desperate for fast food, you can walk yourself over to the nearest McDonald's. Let's go, Ayumu, I'll walk with you to your bus stop."
"That's too bad Miss Kagura had to leave all of a sudden like that…"Osaka trailed off as she followed Yomi to one of the mall exits that opened out onto the streets.
Tomo watched their retreating backs completely dumbfounded. What did Yomi mean by "you're on your own tonight"? Was Yomi mad at her? It wasn't like it was her fault. Yomi had seen the way Kagura had acted. The athletic woman had obviously been itching to pick a fight with her, not the other way around! Why should she take the blame because Kagura was in a snippy mood?
Geez. Well, maybe the night wasn't a complete loss. Once Yomi and her got back to the apartment, maybe she'd be able to convince the brunette that she didn't really need to spend the rest of the evening at the library and to just stay at home with her.
Heck, if Yomi cooled off by then, maybe they could put in a movie and order take out from the place down the street. It wasn't like we weren't gonna go to the movies in the first place.
Yeah, she should be able to salvage something. On that note Tomo followed her two friends to the revolving door, her attitude once again carefree.
Author's Notes: This chapter is a tribute to all those friends who have been in Yomi's place. What the hell, kudos to people who've survived Tomo's position, too. Don't drink mystery shots, kids. Especially not mystery shots that are a strange green color (and especially, especially not if you've already had too much to drink before that).
I honestly dunno what the heck this is. Or where it's going (wherever the wind takes it, in other words). This stemmed from a completely different (but vague) idea… and morphed into this… thing. Ah well, it's not a one shot, but I dunno really what to do with it. I have some ideas.shrugs But most likely due to course work it might not be continued for awhile (I'm not going to hold new chapters captive in exchange for a ransom of reviews, though at the same time, I can't deny that if people are actually interested in this, I will be more likely to write stuff). In the end though, I suppose it all depends on my whims (my very fickle whims… sorry… eheh…).
Ah, I don't own Azumanga or its characters. And excuse me if they aren't quite in character. And sorry. I didn't quite turn Tomo into a lush, per se… but as most people who've read the manga and watched the show noticed a parallel between Tomo and Yukari (and to a slightly lesser extent, that between Yomi and Nyamo)… I'm just sort of continuing that parallel. Though with slightly more serious undertones, but nothing crazy. I can't make any promises, but I'm almost positive that there will be no rapes, character deaths, gunfights, magical girls, pregnancies, mechas or hospitalizations for terminal illnesses used as plot devices in this work of fiction (unfortunately, that means I will probably rely on drama between characters… sorry about that in advance… though I hope to refrain from making it over the top). Also, there probably won't be much of Chiyo-chan or Sakaki due to me being lazy and not wanting to write parallel storylines (and the lack of Chiyo who is more of a peacekeeper and Sakaki who'd much rather think about kitties and cute animals than fighting, is cause for more imbalance). There might be some Nyamo and Yukari appearances though.
Oh, and sadly I don't have a penchant for writing… and grammar, well, let's just say I tend to put punctuation in where it doesn't belong and leave it out when it should be there.; My sincerest apologies for any typographical errors. And this will be the longest author's note, hopefully, since it's the first chapter. (I'm not all that good at writing, but I sure as hell like to chit chat.)
This title is most likely temporary… and it's ripped off from that Queen song "You're my best friend". Chapter name pending… maybe.