So! This is my first Clannad fanfiction, about Ushio in High School. Disclaimer: I do not own Clannad or Clannad After Story! It's not got the same plot as either of them, but a couple of the same characters. Anyway... I don't know if I'll have any motivation to continue, but here you go! :D
'When are you going to try out for the drama club then? You're amazing at it, you really need to have a go.'
'Whatever you say,' muttered Ushio in reply, 'but the chances of me getting into the drama club are zero to none. Such a big margin, isn't it?'
The boy, leaning casually against a chair next to her, grinned as he watched Ushio attempt to stuff her schoolbooks into her bag. 'No, I'm sure you will. The fact that your parents founded it is an added bonus.' he assured her, and then moved over to her side to gently take the books from her hands. 'Here, you're rubbish at that. Let me.'
'Yeah yeah,' replied Ushio, stepping back to let the boy effortlessly slip the books into her bag. She accepted it off him with a smile and they began walking out of the classroom and out towards the gates of the school. Ushio was fairly short, with long brown hair and chestnut-coloured eyes, and petite features. She very much resembled her mother, Nagisa Okazaki (or Furukawa), who had been to the same high school as Ushio had recently entered, bar her long hair and lack of the strange little hair antennae that Nagisa had inherited. Her hair was also slightly darker than her mother's due to her father (Tomoya Okazaki)'s hair.
Chieko Mitsuharu, however, was about a head taller than Ushio, with dark-red dyed hair. It fell in messy locks around his head, framing his tanned face and hazel eyes. He and Ushio had become friends almost as soon as their freshman year had started at the high school, after both being alone during their first class of the year. They had ended up working together on a project and had immediately found many things they had in common, but still weren't on a first-name basis.
When they reached the front gates, Chieko turned the opposite way to Ushio. 'See you, Okazaki,' called Chieko over his shoulder, giving her a little wave.
'Talk to you tomorrow, Mitsuharu!' Ushio shouted back, smiling, and turned to walk home.
'Hi, Ushio darling, did you have a nice day at school?' Nagisa Okazaki smiled at her daughter as the front door swung shut. She quickly resumed her cooking before adding, 'I'm making dumplings and slightly seasoned rice for tea. Your favourite!'
Ushio grinned at her mother and discarded her bag on the floor, slipping off her shoes and saying, 'I'm home from school,' as was the tradition in their house - even if her parents already knew that she was there - then continuing with, 'I had a pretty good day. Mitsuharu spent most of the day trying to convince me to go to drama club. The truth is, I don't want to on my own... and Mitsuharu's really my only friend.'
'You might make some new friends in drama club, you know,' replied Nagisa, momentarily looking up from her cooking. 'I did.'
'But hadn't you already met Dad by then? Didn't he help you?'
Nagisa paused for a minute, and then said dejectedly, 'You're right, he did... but it was still only because he had the courage to talk to me in the first place. He might tell you different, but when we first met I wasn't actually speaking to him... I barely knew he was there. I suppose you turned out more like me, huh? You could just ask Mitsuharu to join with you. I'm sure he would.'
'He might,' replied Ushio, sounding unconvinced. 'I would ask a few of my old friends, but none of them are in my classes and we've kind of grown apart after almost a semester.'
'Yes, that was unlucky. Why don't you do your homework, have a think about it, and then sleep on it? You can tell Dad and I what you decide tomorrow morning.'
'Right.'
The evening was uneventful: doing homework; eating dinner; and lounging around with her mother and father doing nothing in particular - that was how Ushio spent it. True to her word, she spent almost the whole time trying to make a decision, and in the morning her head seemed a little clearer.
As Tomoya quickly ate his breakfast before going to work, and Nagisa began putting away dishes from the night before, Ushio made her final decision. I'll try it, she thought, and I'm going to make all of them proud - including Mitsuharu - by going all by myself.