LOSS
A CLANNAD: AFTER STORY ONE-SHOT
Tomoya Okazaki sat beside his deceased wife, Nagisa, as he held their daughter in his arms. His mother-in-law, Sanae, was crying in her husband, Akio's, arms. The loss of Nagisa was too painful for them. Even Ushio was crying; as if she senses that her mommy is gone and she can't come back. Can't see her grow up or be there for her milestones. Hours passed, paramedics took Nagisa's body away and they all finally stopped crying.
"We have to tell them." Sanae said with a hoarse voice. They knew who the 'them' she meant. Their friends. Nagisa's friends. They deserve to know of her fate. Tomoya nodded and stood up after handing Ushio over to Sanae. He picked up the phone and dialed the first number he could think of.
Kyou Fujibayashi was organizing her things for college while her sister, Ryou, was doing her college homework when the phone rang. She put it on speaker immediately.
"Fujibayashi residence. This is Kyou Fujibayashi speaking." She chirped cheerfully. Instead of a proper answer, she heard crying, catching Ryou's attention.
"Hello?" Ryou asked. Finally, the caller spoke.
"K-Kyou? R-Ryou?" The caller, a male from the sound of it, asked.
"Yes, who is this?" Ryou asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"I-It's Tomoya; I-I have something t-to tell you." He said shakily. His tone made the Fujibayashi twins worry.
"W-what is it?" The younger twin asked.
"Na-Nagisa just gave birth. A girl. Her name is U-Ushio." Tomoya said over the phone.
"That's great!" Kyou said with a smile but it confused her when Tomoya cried harder.
"O-Oh God…she-she's dead, Kyou! She's dead!" He yelled. Their mouths hung in surprise and disbelief. They both couldn't believe it. Just a month ago, they saw Nagisa, happy and cheerful as always. Tears sprang from their eyes as the realization finally sunk in.
"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. I-I'll call you when we have funeral details in case you guys want to go."
With that, he hung up. Finally, Ryou cried openly and ran to her older sister's arms. Together, they cried and released their grief at the loss of a good friend.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, Kotomi Ichinose was getting ready for school. Just as she was about to walk out of her dorm room, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw that it was an international call from Japan.
"It should be night there. Who could be calling?" She questioned herself as she picked up the call.
"Hello?" She greeted.
"K-Kotomi?" The caller greeted, she recognized it as the voice of her old friend, Tomoya.
"Tomoya! This is a surprise! Why are you calling?" She said cheerfully as she opened the door to a knock and a few of her classmates entered, coming over to pick her up.
"I-I'm sorry. I know you must be busy but I'm not asking you to fly home. I just c-called to tell you that Nagisa gave birth earlier. A girl we named Ushio. A-and Nagisa's gone, Kotomi. She-She's gone." Tomoya reported to her. Kotomi's mouth hung open and she nearly dropped her phone.
"I-I'll call you when we have more details. I'm sorry to bother you." He said apologetically before hanging up.
"Kotomi? What's wrong?" One of her female classmates said. Kotomi did not answer for she finally dropped her phone and collapsed on her knees, crying in her hands as the realization that one of the few friends she made in High School is gone.
It was another loss for Kotomi Ichinose…
In the countryside where Youhei Sunohara was visiting his parents and younger sister, the phone rang all of a sudden. Mei picked it up and joyfully greeted the caller.
"Hello! Sunohara Residence. This is Mei speaking!"
"Mei, it's Tomoya. I-Is your brother there? I can't reach his house." The caller said with a hoarse voice.
"Oh, Big Brother Tomoya! Yeah, Big Brother Youhei is here. I'll go get him." She said as she took the phone to her brother, who was watching the TV with their parents. Mei sat beside her parents and observed her brother.
"Hey, Okazaki. What's crackin'?" He asked jovially. Slowly, Youhei's smile turned into a frown and into a look of pure horror.
"A-Are you serious? O-Of course we'll be there! You hang tight there, Okazaki. We're here for you." Youhei said before hanging up and putting the phone on the table in a daze. Mei got a bad feeling about the call when she heard Tomoya speak. Now as she watched a few tears spring from her brother's eyes, it seems like her fears are about to be confirmed.
"W-what is it, Big Brother?" She asked as their parents looked on worriedly.
"Is it about Tomoya?" Their mother asked.
" N-N-Nagisa died in childbirth." He managed to choke out, shocking Mei and his parents.
In Tokyo, Tomoyo Sakagami was getting ready for bed to be refreshed before school tomorrow. Just as she was settled, the phone rang. She picked it up immediately.
"Hello?" She greeted coldly.
"Tomoyo, is that you?" A familiar voice greeted her.
"Okazaki? Yeah, it's me. What's wrong? Why the sudden call?" She asked him. It took a while for Tomoya to answer but she waited patiently.
"You-you know that Nagisa's pregnant, right?" He asked her.
"Yes, I am well aware of that. Why?" She asked, wondering where he was going with this.
"Well, Nagisa just gave birth." Tomoya answered with a hoarse voice. Tomoyo can tell he's been crying; though whether from tears of joy or something else that she hoped isn't the reason, she had no idea.
"Congratulations. What's the name and gender?" Tomoyo greeted him, even though she doubted he called her simply to inform her about this development.
"Thanks. A girl named Ushio. Th-There's something else, though." He said gravely, sending an uncharacteristic chill down her spine. "N-Nagisa's gone, Tomoyo. She-she's gone. I-I'm sorry to bother you, I just thought you'd want to know. I'll give you the details about the funeral soon in case you want to go."
With those being his last words, he hung up. To say Tomoyo was shocked was an understatement; they may not have been very close but she still considered Nagisa a friend. She chuckled bitterly as tears were begging to be released from her eyes.
"Looks like I won't be getting any sleep tonight."
About a week later came the funeral of Nagisa Okazaki. Friends of the family came and gave their condolences to Tomoya, Ushio and the Furukawa's. They pitied Tomoya and Ushio the most. Tomoya, because they can see how painful Nagisa's death is for him. Ushio, because she'd have to grow up without her mother. The biggest surprise for them came in the form of their old friends, who now led different lives. Miyazawa, who was informed by Sanae, came with a 2 of her gang members acting as her escorts. Kouko and Yusuke Yoshino came as well. Kyou and Ryou were holding hands as they approached Tomoya, as were Youhei and Mei. Tomoyo came on her own and much to their shock and surprise, even Kotomi flew in from the States. They all gave their condolences and shed many a tear upon seeing Nagisa in her coffin. They each took turns in holding Baby Ushio as the funeral commenced. Finally, Nagisa was lowered into her final resting place, bringing more tears to each of them.
"She was such a kind girl. Why did she have to go?" Ryou asked as she cried. No one can answer her question though. Kyou was holding Baby Ushio, who was crying in her arms. She thought of the only way she could pacify the girl and came up with only one solution.
"Dango, Dango, Dango, Dango, Dango, Dango, Daikazoku…" She sung to the child. Ryou realized what she was doing and as did Kotomi and joined in.
"Dango, Dango, Dango, Dango, Dango, Dango, Daikazoku…" They sung together. As they continued, Mei joined in, as did Youhei. Then Tomoyo, then Miyazawa, followed by Akio and Sanae. The last to join in was Tomoya. And when they finished singing, they saw that Ushio was peacefully asleep. As they looked at the child, each one of them made a solemn vow. To protect Nagisa's child and to care for her, even if they have their own lives to build, they each swore that every once in a while, they would go and visit her just to see how she was doing. But there was also another vow they made…
They vowed to keep Nagisa close to their hearts, no matter where their paths may lead them.