Spring lingers in the air.
With the snow melted, life flourishes once again. It's as if the world is waking up from a dream.
"Crap, I'm late!"
I run forward, down the familiar shopping district. It's not my first time traveling these streets, but today is a special day. That's why I must run.
"You there! Out of the way!" I shout to a single person in the midst of the crowd of people lining the streets this morning. As I am hard-pressed for time, I don't slow down. The small person, a little girl it seems, doesn't move out of the way. The two of us collide, falling backward onto the concrete from the impact.
"Ow...what's your problem?!" I scream at the little girl from the top of my lungs. She whimpers in pain, turning her gaze upon me. It's then that I realize exactly who I'm talking to.
"Uguu~ Yuuichi-kun hit me~"
It's Ayu, wearing lighter clothing than I usually see her in. The situation reminds me quite a bit of how we first met this past winter. Come to think of it, isn't she heading in the same direction I am?
"Ayu, what are you doing here?" I ask her with sharp words.
"Uguu~ I forgot to bring my share of food, so..." She's still whimpering, holding a large bag against one arm. I can only assume that it's taiyaki.
"You're supposed to bring a dish you cooked yourself!" I point out her mistake in a harsher voice than necessary. In response, her teary eyes well up even more.
"Uguu~...I forgot..." She's shedding legitimate tears now.
"Really? Pretty sure I made it clear to everyone. Or did you choose to forget because you can't cook?"
"Uguu~! I can cook!" She's angry now. Nevertheless, I can't help but shake off the complaint. We're already wasting time with this conversation, so I grab Ayu's small hand hard.
"Come on, we're already late as is!"
I grab Ayu's hand and pull her in the direction I intended to go. She keeps struggling and Uguuing as I pull her, but I persist in dragging her along. After all, this is a special day.
A day when everyone I love is together at last.
Kanon ~ The Picnic Episode
Written by EisenKoubu
I do not own Kanon. All rights go to Key and Visual Arts.
Our destination is in view: a large forest clearing with a single stump in the middle. Already I see Nayuki, Shiori and Makoto hard at work setting stuff up.
"Hey, Nayuki!" I call out to my sleepy-looking cousin. She turns towards me, and her sleepiness turns into joy.
"Yuuichi~" She waves back, calling my name with a smile.
Shiori and Makoto also stop what they're doing and turn toward me upon hearing my name. They both wave happily as well, acknowledging my arrival. I slow down, walking up to Nayuki and breathing excuses out in between pants.
"Sorry...I'm late," I respond to them. "I bumped into someone...on the way..."
Ayu is still attached to my grip, clutching her bag like her life depended on it. She, too, is panting hard.
"Uguu...Are we...finished...running yet?"
"Hello, Ayu-chan," Nayuki greets Ayu with a pleasant smile.
Ignoring Ayu, I look around for anyone who's not present. Mai and Sayuri are supposed to arrive soon, but I can't see them anywhere. I turn back to Nayuki to ask where they are.
"I haven't seen them yet," she replies.
It's at that point that a blue streak blows in at an inhuman speed, stopping just short of Ayu's tired body. The figure of Mai stands tall and beautiful in the chilly morning light, like a Celtic goddess. By Mai standards of emotion, she seems troubled.
"There you are, Mai," I acknowledge her presence. "Where's Sayuri?"
She stands in silence for a brief moment, before answering "...She's not at her house."
"What?"
All five of us gasp at the same time upon hearing those words. Sayuri's just as important as any of us, perhaps moreso given the nature of this gathering. She makes great food, but if Mai can't find her...
"Nayuki, take care of Ayu for me, have her help around," I ask her quick before running off with Mai.
"Yuuichi, where are you going?"
Nayuki's pleas go unanswered as Mai and I make a run for Sayuri's house.
I can only trust Mai's sense of direction as we zip through the streets. Granted, I don't know how many times she went to her house, so maybe I'm just paranoid. Turns out I'm right, as we soon reach a massive estate that fits Sayuri's background to a T. Does it fit her character, though?
"Guess we'd better ring the bell," I state to Mai, feeling anxious. She nods without reservation.
I press the button by the gate, and it makes a low, harsh buzzing sound. We wait a few seconds, my anxiety building up inside me. This is my first time seeing Sayuri's place. Given how rich it looks, I expect guards all over the place watching us with hostile eyes. Mai's lack of reaction should comfort me, but it seems to do the opposite.
I hear static come from the speaker by the doorbell.. A grainy male voice asks us in a low, impartial voice: "Do you have business with Councillor Kurata?"
"We're friends of his daughter, Sayuri," Mai speaks up, as if reciting a secret password.
"...One moment, please." The static drops and the speaker goes silent. No less than twenty seconds later, two security agents dressed in black arrive to open the front gates. They bow in front of us in a respectful manner.
"Welcome back, Kawasumi-sama," the two guards greet Mai. They raise their heads to meet my eyes, and send intense glares in my direction. I feel intense fear just by standing close to Mai; I feel my masculinity draining by the second.
"He's with me," Mai clarifies for me, unintimidated by their stares. They relax, and allow us in.
We are led into an large, stylish entrance hall and are told to wait. Mai and I find a seat, and sit in silence as we wait for someone to arrive and tell us where Sayuri is.
My eyes ignore the hall and look toward Mai, who's just staring off towards a wall. She looks so composed and patient, it's hard to tell what she's thinking. In this circumstance, the best thing to do is ask.
"Mai, what's on your mind?"
Her eyes move for a brief second toward me, then back toward the wall.
"...Sayuri," she answers in a low whisper, respecting the silence of the place. "It's not like her to leave without telling me where she's going first."
"Whatever the case, we can't start without her," I whisper back. "Where do you think she went?"
"...Who knows?" Her isolated gaze falls to the floor, looking low on confidence. As an uneasy silence lingers between us for what feels like hours, I hear soft footsteps moving across carpet echo across the halls. Mai stands with newfound attention, and I do the same to keep up with the formalities.
"Mistress Kurata will see you now," a housemaid dressed in frilly, dark-green attire addresses us in a kind, respectful tone, not unlike Sayuri herself. I assume at first that she's Sayuri's personal handmaiden, but Mai turns to me and whispers, "...It's Sayuri's mother's personal attendant." I nod in silent response.
Down a long hallway with polished windows and decorated walls, the maid walks ahead of her mistresses' guests. Mai is keeping quiet throughout the whole endeavor, but I'm shaking in my boots. Is Sayuri's mother as good-hearted a person as her daughter? I would like to believe so, since I'm of the firm belief that daughters are most like their mothers. Doesn't keep my anxiety at bay, though.
The maid stops in front of a large ivory door in the middle of the corridor. As she opens the door for us, Mai presses forward with a silent nod in my general direction. I walk along behind her into what looks to be a sizable reading lounge. Books line the walls, and in the center of the room is single chair facing away from the door. No other furniture or any other such oddities exist, save the lights that glow an unnatural blue-green.
Mai stops some five feet from the chair, and prostrates herself in front of it. I hear her speak up in a respectful voice, with a surprising hint of familiarity and warmth. "I am back, Oka-sama."
A tall figure rises out of the chair, her shadow twisting around to face us. I am dumbfounded to find that I was completely right: Sayuri's mother bears an uncanny resemblance to her daughter. Unlike Sayuri, however, there's a great deal of experience hidden behind the age in her otherwise fair skin.
"Ah, Mai, welcome back," she answers in a voice as soft and comfortable as a homemade quilt. There is a moment of silent adoration for one another, almost as if an angel was coming down to forgive the sins of Mai. But this is no time for hugs and kisses. I step forward, and the instant I do, the woman's head turns to me.
"Ah...who are you?" She asks me this in the same tone of voice. It's so similar to Sayuri's voice, it's frightening.
"I-I'm Yuuichi," I answer, nervous and staggering. "I-I'm Sayuri's friend."
She gives me a curious stare, before beaming with self-assurance that I am her friend. "Ah, of course," she replies, smiling wide. "It did not occur to me that Sayuri fell in love, but this will serve as great discussion for when she arrives home."
"...He's not her boyfriend," Mai speaks up, breaking her silence. "Just a friend, like me."
"You should stay for dinner, Yuuichi-san," Kurata-san continues, ignoring Mai. "My husband and I would like to know you a little better."
"That's...kind of you," I answer in an awkward tone. "But I really need to speak to Sayuri first."
"Yes," Mai seconds my request. "We need to speak with Sayuri."
"Oh, my," she reacts to our request with a dainty smile. "I am afraid Sayuri is visiting her brother today. She will not return until late this evening."
The story of a girl, burdened with the death of a loved one, resurfaces in our memories. I remember Sayuri telling me this past winter about it, and it made Mai hide in a corner and cry. Despite our lingering feelings, I must know where Sayuri went.
"Where did she go?" I ask her mother.
Uguu...where did they go?
Yuuichi-kun and Kawasumi-san are still missing after three hours, so Nayuki-san told me to go look for them. The problem is, I don't know where they went. Sayuri-san's house is hard to find, and I'm worried about getting lost.
"Uguu...I wish I knew my way better about this town..."
I stop by a rather large house for directions, but a pair of well-dressed men with scary looks won't let me in. Before I know it, I start crying. The men try to stop me, but don't pursue as I run away, frightened.
"Uguu~! Uu!" I hit something soft, and fall backward onto the road. I rub my bruised nose, still whimpering.
"Uguu...my nose hurts...Huh?" I look up and see a girl, taller than me and dressed in elegant clothing. She's just as surprised at me as I am to see her.
"Oh, are you okay?" The girl picks me up after expressing her concern for me. "I'm sorry about your nose. Do you need a nose bandage?"
"...I'm fine," I answer, dumbfounded at this girl's kindness. Then I remember my objective. "I need to hurry and look for Yuuichi-kun!"
"Yuuichi...?" She looks at me with curiosity. "Do you mean Yuuichi Aizawa?"
"There's only one Yuuichi-kun!" I declare to her. "I doubt there's anyone else in the world as Yuuichi-kun as Yuuichi-kun."
"Ah, yes, I agree," she gives me a wholehearted answer. "So you're friends with Yuuichi-san, too?"
"Un!" I nod with great enthusiasm. "Are you Yuuichi-kun's friend too, Ojou-sama?"
"Indeed I am," the girl nods, her smile beaming. "You said you were looking for Yuuichi-san?"
"Hai!" I nod. "He went to go find his friend Sayuri-san, but he hasn't come back yet."
"Ah, I see," she responds as her smile grows more abashed. "Well, how about we go look for him together?"
"Sure, let's go," I take up her offer with glee. I'm quite curious about how Yuuichi got to know someone as beautiful and kind as her.
"Why does this feel like a game of hide-and-seek or something?" I ask Mai as we approach the cemetery.
"It's not," Mai shoots a blunt answer back at me. "She would tell us if she was playing."
Of course she would. Sayuri holds a long history of playing hide-and-seek with Mai, although she made it clear that Mai was better at hiding than she was. So why is it so hard to find her at her house, or a cemetery, on that matter?
Row after intimidating row of worn and brand-new graves are spread out over the entire funeral lot. The one Sayuri's visiting could be anywhere, so Mai and I agree to split up. I take three seconds to examine each grave before moving on to the next, while Mai treads and inspects each grave with care.
By the time I finish three rows, Mai's finished with one. A hopeless sigh escapes my mouth as I cradle my forehead in my right hand.
"Mai!" I call her name as loud as I can. "We gotta hurry and find Sayuri, so move faster!"
At the far end of the graveyard, I see Mai utter something, but I can't hear it.
"What was that?!" I call out to Mai again, but I see her eyes squint with hostility. Before I can register what she means by that stare, I'm picked up by an invisible force and thrown a considerable distance. My leg catches on one of the graves as I land, scraping it and chipping off a piece of the gravestone. As I hold my leg in pain, I feel a breeze as a figure speeds past me.
This feels similar to Mai's demon hunting escapades last winter, only in broad daylight. I hear vigorous slashing sounds and strange, supernatural noises coming from one side of the graveyard. As I get up, I wonder how these spirits got so angered as to attack us like this.
The action stops almost as soon as I'm back on my feet. Mai marches up to me with an angry look on her face, her sword dragging behind her in her right hand.
"You're disturbing the spirits, Yuuichi," she scolds me.
Without waiting for my response, she walks off and resumes examining the graves. I'm left speechless, so the only thing I can do is limp over to the next grave and continue.
By the seventeenth hour, I see Mai waving to me without making noise. I limp over to her and check the gravestone she found. It reads:
Kazuya Kurata
1988-1993
Died without knowing all the joys of living;
his sister loves him forever
Decorated with flowers, a small tin full of hard candy and a plastic water pistol, Kazuya's grave looks well-visited by this point. Seeing it in person gives the words Sayuri etched into my memory that much more weight. I look at Mai, and I witness her expression growing more depressed the longer she looks at the gravestone. Her connection with Sayuri feels stronger than ever before, and I can almost imagine what's going on in her mind right now.
What if Kazuya never died? Where would I stand if Sayuri never needed her friendship? Would I still know Yuuichi as a friend if Sayuri never invited him to lunch with us? I find this cause to thank the little boy resting in the earth below.
Mai's eyes widen at the new, unexpected sight. I kneel in front of the gravestone, eyes closed and head lowered in reverence.
"Kazuya," I address the boy in the ground with humility in my tone of speaking. "I thank you for the happiness you have brought Sayuri. Because of you, we are able to share in her happiness. Mai and I, we love your sister very much. Today, you can rest in peace knowing that your sister will be happy with us, as her friends."
As I close my prayer and raise myself up, Mai gives me a look I seldom see from her. It is a look of awe and wonder. I think she's amazed at how close my words resonated with her thoughts.
"Let's go back to the picnic ground," I smile at Mai, placing my hand on her shoulder. She nods in response, maintaining her awe.
There's a clear sunset falling over the shopping district as we walk without any hurry towards the forest. I bet Nayuki and the others are worried about us, since we spent a considerable amount of the day looking for Sayuri. I almost forgot we were looking for her, but I feel it's more important now to celebrate with what we got.
Mai walks beside me, her head low. Since leaving the graveyard, it feels to me like something's bothering her. I'm hesitant to ask, so I look towards our destination instead.
"Sunset's beautiful today," I muse to myself. "These clouds are worthy of a master painter's work. I wonder if Shiori still does landscapes?"
Mai says nothing, eyes glued to the ground. An audible sigh escapes my mouth. I start directing my speaking to her in the hopes that she will snap out of her train of thought, but then...
"Yuuichi-kun~!"
I hear the familiar voice of a short, brown-haired girl with a boyish haircut run down the street. She stops just short of my legs, her eyes meeting mine.
"I've been looking for you everywhere," she gasps.
"You didn't have to come looking for me," I respond, patting her head.
"Uguu~, that tickles," she complains, her eyes tinged with sorrow. "You were gone for so long..."
"Sayuri's tougher to find than I thought," I utter a dejected sigh. "She's the whole reason we set this up, and yet she's never shown up. Still, I think it's best to celebrate when the time comes. We can still have fun with the others, right?"
"Oh, that reminds me!" Ayu jumps with enthusiasm for some reason. "I ran into one of your other friends while I was looking for you."
"Other fri-" As I start questioning her claim, my gaze meets the person behind Ayu's. I've seen that face at least once today, at least on another person. This time, however, there's no mistaking it. Mai looks up in surprise soon after I do. I'm sure we both have the same thought going through our heads.
"Sayuri!" Mai runs up to her faster than I can, and embraces her like a large stuffed animal.
"Oh! Mai, you are holding me too tight," she laughs with joy. Mai loosens her grip a bit, but does not let go. She's as invested in her embrace as I am interested in how Ayu found her.
"How did you bump into Sayuri, of all people?" I ask her out loud.
"I met her near this large residential district on the far side of town," she explains with ardor. "She said she knew you and wanted to help look for you."
"This is who we were looking for in the first place!" I yell at her.
"Oh, really?" She looks quite surprised.
"Why didn't you take her back to the picnic ground?!" I yell with ferocity at her. "She's the whole reason we are having this whole get-together!"
"Uguu~...I didn't know..." She's whimpering again. I would yell her ear off for a few more minutes, but...
"Yuuichi-san," Sayuri's voice, more of a direct warning than a friend greeting another, stops me in my tracks. I turn to Sayuri in response, but she's still smiling her heart out as Mai cuddles her while standing. It's...a little unsettling.
"Hey, we can't just stand here! Come on, Sayuri, we have a whole celebration waiting for you!" I direct everyone in the direction of the picnic ground. However, no one seems to move.
"...Anybody coming?"
Sayuri shrugs Mai off and approaches me. "I am glad you went around looking for me," she responds with a smile, "But Ayu-san worked hard to look for you as well. I think you should apologize for yelling at her."
"Yeah, you should apologize!" Ayu repeats in agreement like a child does with her parent.
"Speak for yourself," I snap back at her.
"Yuuichi-san," Sayuri pouts at my snappiness, then turns to Ayu with a soft smile. "Perhaps you need to apologize too, Ayu-san."
"Why?" Ayu complains. "I haven't done anything wrong!"
"You made Yuuichi-san worry about you," Sayuri answers her. "It is not a good thing to throw yourself in situations where he fears for you. So please, both of you, apologize."
Sayuri's soft, concerned words coax the both of us to turn towards each other and fix our gazes at one another. Each of us wait for the other to apologize, but no one seems to want to go first. I don't know what Ayu's thinking, but I feel it makes sense for Ayu to apologize first, seeing as she claims first offense.
"What is the holdup?" Sayuri asks us after our two-minute staring contest. "Just apologize at the same time."
We nod in agreement, and I prostrate myself forward. "Ayu, I-GAH!" My head hits something hard as a rock with the texture of a broom, and I careen backward onto the street. My forehead is throbbing with dull pain.
"Uguu," I hear Ayu squeal. "My head hurts...Yuuichi-kun hit my head~!"
"Hue~" Sayuri stands in amazement of what just happened. Mai also looks at us in awe of the event. Looks like this apology business will take a while...
In the end, we have to hurry to the picnic ground, dragging Sayuri along with us. Despite her desire to return home, she couldn't refuse Mai's request to attend the waning hours of the picnic. By the time we reach the forest clearing, the sun is nearly gone from the sky.
"Uguu...it's dark..." Ayu's whimpering again.
"Run ahead, Mai," I tell her in a whisper. "Take Ayu with you."
From what little light is available to me, I see Mai's silhouette nod in compliance. She disappears along with Ayu, who spews Uguus left and right as she is dragged by what appears to her as an unknown force. That just leaves me alone with Sayuri, who is growing more worried by the second.
"Yuuichi-san," she asks me in an anxious tone. "...You are not going to do anything to me, are you?"
"I'm going to take you to the picnic ground," I answer her with a smile. "The others have something they need to prepare first."
"Ahaha..." Sayuri's laughter is dry and shaky, betraying her distrust of my words. There's no need for her to worry, though. We'll arrive there soon enough.
"Here we are," I show her the forest ground. Sayuri looks around and finds nobody in the area. Before she can ask, I call out, "Now, everyone!"
Five shadows holding flashlights jump out of the trees, run up to Sayuri, and scream, "Happy birthday, Sayuri!"
Sayuri lets out the biggest "Hue~?!" she's ever spoken. Her surprise is massive and genuine, and it brings excitement to my heart. She starts running away, but I catch her just in time and tell her it's okay.
"Today's your birthday, isn't it? We planned this whole celebration just for you. If only you showed up before the sun set, though..."
"Huh?" She looks to me in surprise. "So that was why you came looking for me?"
"Why else would I? We can't have a birthday picnic celebration without the birthday girl! Go, thank everyone for what they did for you!" I push her back towards the others, who are now holding their flashlights in differing directions.
"Well," Sayuri clears her throat to speak, and it comes out tiny and cute. "Thank you, everyone, for throwing a party for me. I am sorry I couldn't come earlier...there was someone I needed to see today, but now I am here! So, let us celebrate!"
The five of them cheer, and a smile stretches across my face once more. Nayuki and Shiori bring out a small Boston Cream Pie for Sayuri to blow out the candles from...wait, where are the candles?
"What happened to the candles?" I ask Nayuki with great concern. "Whose responsibility was it to get some candles?"
"...Auu," Makoto is the first to admit, in a guilty tone.
"You've got to be kidding me," I groan as I start towards the shopping district again.
"Yuuichi-san, please stop," Sayuri pleads with me. "You already searched for me long enough."
"But the candles..." I try to reason with her, but she shakes her head and smiles.
"I do not need them," she answers. "You all did so much for me already, and it's not safe out at night by yourself. Let us celebrate a different way this time around!"
Everyone lets out a collective "Huh?!" before Sayuri pitches to us her idea. "Let us all make a wish together, under the stars." She sets the example by closing her eyes, lowering her head and holding her hands together, fingers interlocked with one another.
Nayuki is the first to follow her lead, with Mai doing so after. Shiori, after taking a look around, joins in as well, followed by Ayu. Makoto stands there, bewildered by what everyone is doing. I move up next to her and whisper,
"Just do it. You don't need to make a wish, just do it for Sayuri's sake."
I watch her nod in obedience, and she joins in the wish circle. That just leaves me, so the question is, what could I wish for?
I close my eyes and lower my head underneath the stars, praying in silence to whatever genie in the sky grants wishes. Maybe we are praying to a deity of some sort, but it doesn't matter to me. All I want is for Sayuri to enjoy this birthday picnic we set up for her, so of course that's my wish.
"Alright, you can open your eyes now," Sayuri calls to us. As I open my eyes, for some reason, the starry sky seems all the more brighter now. Perhaps it is accepting our wishes, however small and insignificant they seem. I smile at the thought before turning to everyone.
"Everyone," I speak out to them with warmth. "Let's sing happy birthday to Sayuri before eating!"
Everyone except Makoto nods, her stomach growling from hunger. "Auu~"
Sayuri smiles as we sing, looking a little embarrassed. She's always averse to holding the center of attention, but she knows she does not have much choice here. After all, today is a special day, a day when everyone she loves is together at last.
Next time, let's celebrate at her house.
Hello, everyone! EisenKoubu here. Thanks for reading my second Key-related fluff fest! This was written for Kazamatsuri's Kanon Bookclub after the mild success of the AIR Beach Episode I wrote last year, but originally I wanted to write a completely different story. It's rather obvious in this fic, but I wanted to make a Sayuri-focused story because I felt her route was too short and didn't have as romantic a conclusion as I hoped for. Because I was working on a deadline and I ran out of ideas, I decided to write a successor to the Beach Episode instead. Sorry if you were expecting descriptions of Kanon girls in bathing suits. I don't think there's a beach near where Kanon takes place. ^^;