Alternate Canon: Fuuko
by Magnus Prime

Knock Knock…

"Yes, yes, I'm coming…" I grumbled as I made my way to the front door. I knew who was on the other side, but the foreknowledge didn't make it any easier.

As I opened the door, the young woman on the other side snapped a jaunty salute. "Ibuki Fuuko reporting for playtime!"

I sighed heavily as I stepped aside to let her in, and it wasn't long before she was latched onto my daughter. "Shio-chan! Your onee-chan's here to play!"

"Good afternoon, onee-chan," my daughter greeted as politely as she could with Fuuko's face mashed against hers, bringing a smile to my face; Pops and Sanae had taught her manners better than I would've been able to.

"What are we going to do today?" I heard Fuuko ask excitedly as I made my way back to the kitchen to prepare their snack. As my hands worked on the meal, I allowed my mind to contemplate Fuuko's situation.

She had just recently come out of a near-decade-long coma, so her mind was still stuck at around age fifteen. However, every time I saw her she would act like a much younger…well, child. This worried me; had she suffered some kind of brain damage due to how long she'd been in her coma? I didn't know much about comas, but I could see how someone being unconscious for almost ten years could end up having some brain problems.

I found myself feeling more sorry for Fuuko as I finished putting the snacks on their plates and turned to head for the table. "Snack's ready," I announced.

The girls immediately plopped themselves down at their usual places at the table, Ushio to my right and Fuuko across from me, and put their hands together. "Itadakimasu."

As usual, Ushio dove into her meal; also as usual, Fuuko examined her own meal. "You didn't put any aphrodisiacs in here, did you?"

"Of course not!" I huffed. "And where did you learn that word, anyway?"

"Don't remember," she replied as she started on her meal.

I inwardly fumed as I watched my daughter eat but, of course, I couldn't fume for long as I watched that angelic face, with its large eyes that blinked so innocently…

"Daddy, what's an 'afro-dizzy-axe'?" she suddenly asked.

So much for innocence. "It's…well, it's hard to explain…" I knew what they were, but how could I explain it to a five-year-old child? Should I explain it to a five-year-old child? "It's supposed to be a thing that…well…"

"It makes people fall in love with you," Fuuko explained simply. At my astonished look she shrugged. "Fuuko knows about these things because she's an adult."

"Well yeah, but-"

"Maybe Okazaki-san's not the adult he thinks he is," she said with a melodramatic sigh.

I bit back a smart-alecky reply, realizing that it would do no good; the woman's pride was simply too strong and would not allow her to admit any kind of mistake. Wait a minute…'woman'… "Fuuko, you say you're an adult, right?"

"Of course!" she chirped. "Fuuko is very mature, unlike Okazaki-san."

I pointed to the plate in front of her. "Then why are you eating snack like Ushio?"

Her hand froze on its way to her mouth. "Wh-What?"

"You're a grown woman, right? And grown-ups don't need snack since they've done all their growing, unlike children like Ushio."

"Hey, you're right, Daddy," Ushio breathed. "You're so smart."

"B-But-" our guest sputtered. "There's nothing wrong with eating snack with Ushio-chan, is there?"

"No, that's true," I conceded, "But you don't need it, do you?" I leaned forward, crossing my arms on the table. "Now that I think of it; do you help your sister with cooking at home?"

"A-A little," she said, and I figured she knew where I was going. "I can't use the stove, yet." At least she was being honest.

"And you and I are about the same age; twenty-five? Twenty-six?"

"C-Close enough."

"Then that does it," I declared, leaning back to clap my hands on my knees. "From now on, you're going to help with meal preparation when you come over."

"But…B-B-But Fuuko's a guest!" she protested.

"You're here to help me with Ushio," I corrected, pointing at her, "and while playing with her is helpful, that's not the only way you can help. I'm her dad, and I don't get to see her very often, so I'm not going to want to be spending all my time making meals and cleaning up after you."

"That…sounds harsh."

I played back what I had just said, and realized that I might have gone too far. "You're right; it's not fair for me to treat you like this. But try to see it from my side."

Her eyes lost focus briefly, then: "I think I understand. I'm sorry."

"Thanks," I said, finally smiling. "If you understand, then do you think you could help with stuff that doesn't involve playing? We could work together, and it would give me more time with my daughter. I'd be really grateful."

"How grateful?"

"Huh?"

"How grateful would you be to Fuuko?" she asked, squirming in her seat.

I wasn't sure what she meant or why she was suddenly so fidgety. "Well…what did you have in mind?"

"I-Ice cream?"

"Ice cream?" I repeated. "I…suppose. The three of us could go, and-"

"No!" she nearly yelled before quickly covering her face.

I shared a concerned glance with my daughter before returning my gaze to our guest. "Fuuko?"

"Just…us," her muffled voice replied from behind her hands. "Y-You and Fuuko."

Was she serious? But…it would be a reward for her hard work, so it made sense, if only a little. "Okay, Fuuko, I get it; you and me."

She dropped her hands from her face and started flapping the front of her shirt, looking like she was trying to cool herself off for some reason.

I headed to Ushio's school a little later than usual; our last job had been more difficult than expected, so Yuusuke and I ended up with a little overtime.

I arrived and checked in with the front office. ""I'm sorry I'm late," I told the lady at the front desk. "Got held up at work, but I'm here to pick up Okazaki Ushio."

"You're not that late," she said, looking through some papers. "Who's her teacher?"

"Fujibayashi Kyou."

"Just a minute, please," she said, reaching for her desk phone.

As I waited I thought back on the past week. Fuuko had really been trying to help out around the home, vacuuming and snack preparation, as well as dinner preparation on Wednesday and Thursday. She was obviously uncomfortable with using the stove, but she still tried her best, and on more than one occasion I caught myself thinking about how well we worked together despite her being so weird. Fuuko had been working hard the whole week, learning and trying new things. If she held up okay today, I had every intention to treating her to ice cream on Saturday.

Finally she hung up and looked up at me over her glasses. "According to Fujibayashi-sensei, someone already picked up your daughter."

My blood froze. "D-Did she say who?"

"No, but apparently she had reason to believe that the girl knew you."

"G-Girl?" I sputtered. "I don't know any girls, unless…" Reacting to something like instinct, I sprinted down the hall to Kyou's classroom.

She must have been cleaning the tables, because a sponge went flying when I slammed the door open. "What did the girl look like?" I demanded.

"Dammit Tomoya, you nearly scared me out of my mind!" Kyou yelled before grabbing the sponge off of the floor with a huff. "Don't come in my classroom and start barking at me!"

"Kyou, the lady at the office told me that you let some girl take my daughter," I managed to say more calmly. "I Just want to know whether to go home or to the police."

She paled appropriately at my words. "O-Okay Tomoya, fair enough..." She paused, presumably to gather her thoughts. "She was really short, about up to here," she said, indicating her chest. "Long brown hair tied with a purple bow toward the end. Look, I let her take Ushio because she said she knew you and called herself Ushio's 'onee-chan'. I'm really sorry; if you need me to talk to the police, I'll help any way I can."

"No, I think it's fine," I said, a smile starting to tickle my face. "I think I know who picked her up. Thanks, Kyou," I said, waving as I turned. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I barely heard her farewell as I sprinted out a side door and ran for home.

Sure enough, when I got home I found Ushio sitting at our table, working on eating snack. Fuuko was in the kitchen, stirring a pot over one of the burners. "I'm home," I greeted, still trying to calm my nerves from the scare and the run.

Fuuko immediately put the spoon down on the counter next to the stove and hurried over to me. "Welcome home, Okazaki-san," she greeted with a small bow. "Shio-chan has been picked up and given snack, and I'm preparing some water for the noodles."

"Thanks, Fuuko," I said. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I wish you'd told me that you were going to pick her up; I ended up worried out of my mind when I went to pick her up and she wasn't there."

Her hands flew to her mouth. "I-I'm so sorry! Fuuko was trying to help, and wanted to surprise you with how responsible I could be!"

"It's fine, now that I know she's safe. Just…let me know in the future, okay?"

She nodded vigorously and wordlessly.

"What did you give her for snack?" I asked as I made my way over to the kotatsu and sat down. "Hey, sweetie; what'd she give you?"

"Peanut butter and crackers," she munched, before reaching for her cup of milk.

"That sounds good," I said. "Maybe I should have some."

I was about to stand when a plate and cup appeared before me. On the plate were several crackers with peanut butter on them, and the cup had milk in it. I looked up to see Fuuko with colored cheeks. "I thought you might want some, so I made them shortly before you got home," she said, averting her gaze.

I couldn't help but smile warmly up at her. "Thanks, Fuuko. Have you had snack?"

She put her fists on her hips. "Adults don't need snack, remember?" she huffed, still unable to look me in the eye.

"It's fine," I told her. "Here, let me prep some for you."

"You don't need to," she huffed again before heading to the counter. When she returned, she had a plate of crackers and a cup of milk of her own. "Fuuko was just playing."

I chuckled as she took her place across from me and folded her hands for a quick blessing. When she finished I said, "Listen; you up for some ice cream tomorrow?"

Her eyes got so wide I thought they'd pop out of her head. "Are you serious? Have I done a good job this week?"

"Sure! You've worked hard and learned and tried your best, and…well, other than today, you've helped everything go smoothly. Thank you very much," I said, bowing as much as the kotatsu would allow.

"Wh-What time do you want to meet?" she asked, starting to tremble for some reason.

I leaned back and thought for a minute; out of the corner of my eye I could see my daughter watching me with a smile. "Well, I'll need to make arrangement with Pops and…Sanae…" I trailed off as the thought occurred to me: What would they think of me going to eat with another woman?

"Papa?" I looked over to see Ushio with a worried look. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, reaching over to ruffle her hair, causing her to giggle. "Just had a thought I don't know what to do with." I looked back to Fuuko. "Anyway, I'll have to see about having Ushio watched by her grandparents, but that shouldn't be a problem."

"O-Okay."

Thanks to Fuuko's hard work, we enjoyed a tasty dinner and I had plenty of time to work out arrangements with Pops and Sanae.

I checked my watch as I headed along the sidewalk to the ice cream shop. I had arranged for Ushio's grandparents to take her after breakfast so we could have the morning. That way, we could be back for lunch with the Furukawas before taking Ushio home for afternoon activities. I was surprised that Fuuko's sister would let her be out so early and for so long, though.

As I got closer to the shop, I could see Fuuko out front, presumably waiting for me, so I picked up the pace; I wasn't late, but I still didn't want to keep her waiting. I saw that she was looking at herself in what I assumed was a pocket mirror, messing with her hair and touching her eyebrows and mouth for some reason. She was wearing a brown dress that went to her knees and elbows and had something like a white long-sleeved shirt underneath. Brown leggings covered her legs, and a white hat with brown trim covered her head. I chuckled as I realized she looked like a little doll. "Morning, Fuuko."

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of my voice. "Eep! G-Good morning, Okazaki-san!" she greeted.

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting," I said as I stopped before her.

"N-No problem!" she stammered. "I-I-I-I haven't been waiting long!"

"You look really nice," I said, gesturing to her outfit. "I don't know anything about fashion or anything, but brown looks really good on you."

I thought her face would burst into flame. "TH-THANK YOU! DO YOU REALLY LIKE IT?!"

I had to take a step back; someone had apparently given her hyper juice with her breakfast. "Y-Yeah, I do. Do…Do you want to have ice cream now, or maybe do something else first?"

"Something else!" she nearly shouted before taking several deep breaths. "You are not going to act like this on your first date…" I heard her mutter to herself.

"Date? You have a date today?" I hadn't heard anything about that. "When do we need to be done, then?"

"Huh?" the green tint to her skin went well with the brown of her dress. "D-Did Fuuko say 'date'? N-No, Fuuko didn't say 'date'! You must have heard wrong!"

"Okay, okay," I said, lifting my hands in surrender. "Clearly I misheard you. Sorry about that. Anyway, did you want to have your ice cream first, or maybe look around at the shops?" She seemed nervous, so maybe a walk would help her calm down.

She said nothing, but jerked her head once in what appeared to be a nod, so we wandered around the shops, window-shopping or actually going in if one of us found something interesting.

After poking around for about an hour, we found ourselves back at the ice cream shop. "Have you settled down enough to eat now?" I asked, trying to hide my amusement.

"Y-YES!" she managed to blurt out; I'd never seen her act this anxious before; maybe her sister didn't take her out that often? I'd have to ask about that. "Fuuko will do her best!"

"Right..." I said as I opened the door for her.

The place was nice and cool, as one would expect any ice cream shop to be. "Order whatever you want," I told her. "You've worked hard."

She stuttered her way through her order, a single-scoop chocolate-strawberry swirl, while I ordered a two-scoop cone; one chocolate and one vanilla. We took our seats and started on our treats.

"So, how do you like being more responsible?" I asked between bites.

"I…I like it," she replied timidly. "It...It feels good taking care of Shio-chan like that, by doing things other than playing."

"Good," I said before taking another lick at my cone. "For what it's worth, I'm grateful for everything you're doing." I then had to hide another smile as she blushed furiously; What a funny girl-er, woman. "Really, though, if it gets to be too much, just let me know; I know that you're more a guest than anything, and-"

"It's no problem!" she blurted, her eyes darting around. "I-I like taking care of Shio-chan. So…So…"

"You okay, Fuuko?" I asked. "Do you want me to take you home? You haven't been yourself this morning."

"I'm fine!" She quickly devoured that last few bites of her cone. "Could…Could we talk somewhere alone?"

"Um, sure," I replied, then eyed my treat. "Just give me a couple minutes…"

I wolfed down the rest of my cone and we left the shop. "The only place I can think of would be the park; there'll probably be people there, but I'm sure we could find someplace private."

"Okay."

The whole way there, she kept her eyes fixed on the ground in front of us. Even an idiot like me could tell that something was weighing heavily on her mind, and if I could help her with it…

We made it to the park and found the privacy she wanted. "Well, here we are," I said somewhat awkwardly. "What's up?"

I watched as she took several deep breaths, her hand on her chest. "Okazaki-san, I…I…"

"Take your time," I said encouragingly. "I can see that whatever it is bothers you a lot."

She nodded with a grateful smile before taking a few more breaths. "Okazaki-san, I...I've really enjoyed being Shio-chan's 'onee-chan'."

"I think she's enjoyed it, too," I said, smiling at the warmth of several memories of their interactions. "She really thinks highly of you."

She smiled as well, but only briefly as her smile faded to a serious expression. "But…I don't want to be her 'onee-chan' anymore."

"What?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "But you two get along so well, and she loves you, and…" I scrambled for a reason. "Look, if it's me, I'm sorry; I know I was an ass early on, but-"

"STOP!" she cried out, her hands balled into fists. "Let me talk! I need to say something!"

"All right," I acknowledged before performing the 'zip-the-lip' motion.

She nodded once before taking several deep breaths again; I felt bad for making her have to start over, but kept my mouth shut. "I…I-I don't want to be her 'onee-chan' anymore because…because…I want…I want…"

I pressed my lips together and waited patiently.

"…I-I want to be her mother."

I had to grab my jaw to keep it from hitting the ground. "Y-You want to b-be her mother?!"

She quietly nodded, her eyes fixed on the ground.

I thought about it. "Well, she's never really had a mother, so it'd be good for her, but…are you sure? Being a parent is not an easy responsibility."

"I know," she said. "But I'm not…satisfied…where I am. I want to be more than just a friend to her." She tapped at the ground with her toe. "Nee-san says that when I talk about Shio-chan I sound like a mother."

I chuckled. "Well, I guess we could-" I cut myself off as it hit me what else it would mean; this was going to be awkward. "Fuuko, you understand that if you're going to be Ushio's mother, that means that I'd be, uh…your husband."

"I know!" she cried, covering her face. "I…I want that, too!"

I blinked as I felt the blood drain from my face. "Wh-What? Y-You do?"

She nodded, hands and all.

"I…I don't know what to say," I admitted. Truth be told, I hadn't given any thought to remarrying; Nagisa was my wife and, even thought she was gone…well, she was my wife.

"I understand that you miss your wife!" she cried, releasing her face to latch onto me, looking up with distressed, almost wild, eyes. "And I would never think that I could replace her! I just…" She suddenly averted her gaze again.

"What is it?" I asked, still in a bit of a daze.

She nearly intimidated me with the look of determination she gave me. "I think I love you."

I studied her expression for what seemed like forever before responding. "You're serious about this, aren't you?"

She nodded solemnly; I'd never seen her like this before. "I know I have growing up to do, but…you're a great man, Okazaki-san, and I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"I'm…afraid that if I don't do something, that someone else will come along and take you."

She was serious; even I could tell. "This…is a lot for me to take in..."

"I'm sorry," she said, still holding my gaze. "If you want Fuuko to go away, then Fuuko will go away. But my feelings for both of you won't change."

I knew that she wasn't entirely right, that feelings do change over time, but I understood what she meant. ""Let's, uh…does Ushio know?"

She shook her head. "I didn't want you to think that I was using her against you or anything."

I blinked; she'd really thought this through, hadn't she? I chuckled somewhat stupidly. "I have a feeling I don't stand a chance, here."

She smiled at me…affectionately? "Not when I put my mind to it, no."

I chuckled again, a little more intelligently this time. "Let's…Let's go talk to Ushio. I'm still not sure what to think, but I'd still like her to hear about you wanting to be her mother."

I'd want to talk to Sanae and Pops about it, but maybe it was time for Ushio to have a father and a mother, and for me to have someone I could share my life with.

Rough Draft complete