"This one is Ryou, and this one is Kyou!" Fuko cried, throwing her hand out with an ostentatious force. The twin on her right grinned and lifted a finger with a tsk tsk.
"Wrong!" Kyou scolded, snickering. She placed her fists on her hips. "You'll never be able to tell us apart!"
Ryou stayed silent next to her older sister, trying her best to smile brightly and join in the game. Fuko pumped her fists, speaking in her usual third person. Her face was harsh and confident.
"No way! Fuko could never be fooled by your game!"
Near by, Tomoya and Sunohara were sitting next to the toy box. Sunohara was on his feet, making a tower out of wooden blocks that was quickly becoming taller than him. Tomoya however was on his knees, making a sky scraper with a base that gradually got thinner. But despite having this to think about, the one thing he was curious about was why Nagisa had been gone for nearly 3 days now.
"That game is stupid," Sunohara snickered towards his friend, "everyone knows that Ryou is the cute one." He stuck his tongue out, but Tomoya had hardly noticed his friend talking to him.
Without warning, Sunohara's tower came tumbling to the ground. He shrieked and turned towards the Godzilla. Ryou was throwing a block up and catching it repeatedly. She was glaring at Sunohara, her eyes slits. He took a step back, a bit scared.
"What was that you were saying?" she grumbled. Her voice sounded almost robotic. And watching, Tomoya could have sworn he heard a mechanical sigh as she lifted her arm, holding the block in a threatening pose. He wasn't interested in what happened next, so he lifted up on his knees and crawled off as the block went flying over the mess, smacking Sunohara in the arm.
"Sensei! Kyou threw a block at me!!"
Tomoya ended his journey next to Kotomi who was sitting on a cushion, surrounded by picture books. He fell to the floor next to her and picked up one of her books. As he flipped through, he was surprised that she hadn't said anything yet. He looked up at her curiously, but her eyes just scrolled through the images. Just as Tomoya opened his mouth and drew in a breath, Kotomi spoke.
"I wonder where Nagisa has disappeared to," she asked rhetorically, turning the book's page. Tomoya's eyes widened a bit and he looked down at the book he took, then back up again.
"I was wondering, too," he admitted a bit embarrassed. He closed his book and looked up at her with a bashful enthusiasm. "Will you help me find out where she is?"
Kotomi's head slowly raised, her expression blank. A smile eventually spread across her lips and her eyes closed. "Yeah, that sounds like fun. Let's get everyone else to help, too," she suggested, turning towards the group.
Tomoya was reluctant, but he went to speak to them anyway. He told the group about their plan, and they were all on board immediately.
"Maybe she was abducted by aliens!" Sunohara suggested with a pump of his fists. Kyou rolled her eyes and shoved him.
"Aliens aren't real," she corrected, crossing her arms. "Maybe she got a new puppy and doesn't want to leave it home alone!"
"Fuko wants to see the puppy, too!"
Tomoya wasn't that interested in all their suggestions. He really just wanted to find out where she was right away. But he had no idea how to go about it. Their suggestions continued, and Tomoya tuned further and further out. He looked back at Kotomi who was still reading her books. He found it curious that she was still reading her books with a calm, content smile. He thought she would be joining them, but she seemed happy where she was.
When he turned back, Sunohara was on the floor, being strangled by Kyou, screaming about the non-existence of vampires. He took in a breath and let it out with a sigh, his face falling. Ryou came to his side with a mature, nervous smile.
"You don't seem very happy here," she noted, turning to him with a nervous smile. He shifted his weight of one leg.
"Well, it's fun to think about silly things but I'm really only interested in the real reason she's missing," he admitted turning to her. She was still watching her sister. He wasn't sure if she had even heard what he said, but he decided he didn't really care.
- - -
"So her fever hasn't gotten better, then?"
Tomoya's eyes twitched and he tugged his thumb from his mouth.
"I'm not sure if she'll be able to come back this year."
He sat up on his legs and looked around. The room was dark, and all around him, his friends were under their blankets and on their mattresses. It was nap time at their daycare. But who was the Sensei talking to? A light was peering from around the corner. He pushed up on his legs and strolled over, rubbing at his eyes.
"Give Nagisa-chan my regards, I suppose," she said sadly. He peered around the corner and his eyes widened. He had seen that man before. He was Nagisa's father.
"I'm sure her fever will go down eventually, but I'm worried that it won't be for a while."
Tomoya's gaze slowly fell to the floor and he pulled back into the main room. "So she's ill..." he muttered quietly. He felt extremely guilty suddenly, and he wasn't sure why. It was as if everybody took her absence as a joke, including himself. He leaned against the wall and dug his sneakers into the carpet. He stood there for a while, clouding his eyes.
"Daddy?"
Tomoya's face cringed a bit. He felt the hands on his shoulder. He managed to pull his eyes open, his eyes searching for the cause.
"Oh. Ushio," he managed to choke. She was already dressed with her backpack on. "Am I late waking up?" He pushed up to his knees and took a deep breath in, rubbing at his eyes.
"Yes. We're going to be late!" the girl cried, her stance widening. "Hurry and get dressed!" She spun on her heel and rushed to the door, standing up straight in the doorway with an impatient bounce. He smirked watching her and pushed to his feet. He turned to the image of his wife as he walked towards the dresser, pulling open a drawer and tugging out a shirt.
I suppose you're all better now, right?
"Daddy, hurry up!" Ushio cried, clenching at her back-pack straps and stomping with a huff.
"I'm hurrying—I'm hurrying!"