Two days after Nagisa left, Tomoyo was walking around Tomoya's neighborhood again. Tomoya sighed when he saw her, but he went outside to go see what she wanted.
"I thought you were staying at Nagisa's place," Tomoyo said.
"Well, she's going to be gone for two months so she can be in a play." Tomoya frowned.
"Aw, you didn't breakup, did you?" Tomoyo teased.
"Actually, we did," Tomoya said unhappily.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"
"It's fine. She said that we could get back together once she comes back. She just thought that I might find someone else." Tomoya felt frustrated with himself. "Listen, would you mind leaving me alone today?"
Tomoyo nodded and walked away quietly. When she was out of Tomoya's view, she was spotted by Kyou and Ryou.
"Hey!" Kyou yelled. "What are you doing here?" Ryou looked at her sister with worry.
Tomoyo sighed. "If you must know, I came to check on Tomoya, but he's upset and wants to be alone because Nagisa left to be in a play. Nothing new has really happened, so calm down. He and Nagisa have only temporarily broken up. By the way, if you're going to go ahead to see him even though he wants to be alone, he's no longer staying with Nagisa."
Kyou wasn't satisfied with Tomoyo's reply. "What makes you think you need to check on Tomoya? He has his friends for that!" Ryou tried to get Kyou to calm down.
"Then why don't you do check on him now? He's available, so shouldn't you be jumping at the chance to be with him. After all, aren't you in love with him or something?"
Kyou took a moment to slightly calm down. "I'm not in love with him, but I'll let you pass anyway!" Tomoyo walked away, trying to avoid a long pointless argument with Tomoya. Kyou and Ryou walked to Tomoya's house. Ryou was wondering whether they should still go in after what Tomoyo said, but she didn't want to argue with her sister. When they knocked on the door, Tomoya reluctantly answered.
Kyou grinned at Tomoya. "Hey, Tomoya! Come to the beach with us for a picnic. You won't have to swim unless we really want you to!"
Ryou stepped in front of her sister. "What she means, Tomoya, is that if you come to the beach with us, we could have a lot of fun."
Tomoya tried to be polite. "I guess that would be okay." He suddenly felt guilty for telling Tomoyo to leave him alone now that he was acting like nothing was wrong near Kyou and Ryou. It's fine, he thought. Kyou and Ryou would take it more personally if I told them to do away.
Kyou led Ryou and Tomoya into her car. "I didn't know you had your own car or knew how to drive one," Tomoya said.
Kyou smiled casually. "Well, there are a lot of things you don't know, especially after you skipped all those classes, but today is a day to fun." Tomoya was slightly scared to let Kyou drive them to the beach, but he relaxed after a minute.
At the beach, Kyou, Ryou, and Tomoya enjoyed eating sushi and pork buns on a colorful mat. While they were eating, Tomoya saw someone in a distance. Kotomi was walking along the shore of the ocean. She was wearing shorts and an orange tank top. Her long blue hair was blowing in the wind. At first, Tomoya, couldn't recognize her. When she turned and Tomoya could see her face, he was certain that it was Kotomi. It reminded him of the time when they were in the library and she was standing next to an open window and the wind was blowing her hair.
"Is something wrong, Tomoya?" Ryou asked. "You look like your mind just went blank."
Tomoya shook his head. "It's nothing. I just saw Kotomi over there. Should I go get her?" Ryou and Kyou agreed that would be a good idea, so Tomoya went to go get Kotomi.
"Kotomi-chan!" Tomoya called.
"Hello, Tomoya-kun," Kotomi said. "It's a nice day, isn't it?"
"Do you want to come over to where Kyou and Ryou are? We're having a little picnic."
Kotomi's face was unreadable. "You're having a picnic…with Ryou and Kyou? I actually have to go now, but can I stop by Nagisa's bakery tonight to talk to you about something?"
Tomoya explained what was going on between him and Nagisa and told her to stop by his house instead. Kotomi smiled, nodded, and left the beach. Tomoya was sad that she had to go, but he made his way back to where Kyou and Ryou were sitting.
"What took you so long?" Kyou demanded. "And where did Kotomi go?"
"She had to go home," Tomoya explained.
Kyou smiled playfully and stood up. "Oh well. I'm going to go take a dip in the ocean. You can come along when you feel like it." She ran off to the ocean, leaving Ryou with Tomoya.
"Tomoya," Ryou said, "Tomoyo said that you and Nagisa have temporarily broken up. How long will she be gone?"
"Just two months, but she insisted on breaking up to make sure that she wasn't being selfish."
"So you're definitely going to get back together when she comes back?"
"Well, most likely, unless someone somehow convinces me to change my mind. Why are you asking?" Tomoya waited for a response. "Ryou, you can just say whatever you want to tell me, and I won't get mad.
Ryou sighed. "Alright, here it goes. Tomoya, I want to ask you to change your mind. I mean, you don't have to. You and Nagisa are probably meant to be! I just feel like…" Ryou was clearly blushing. She took a deep breath in order to calm down. "Tomoya, I've had a crush on you for a while now." Ryou's heart was beating quickly. She was so nervous about talking to Tomoya.
Remembering Kyou's advice, Ryou just stopped talking. She looked straight into Tomoya's eyes and slowly leaned closer to him. At first, Tomoya stared at her with wide eyes. When he was an inch away from Ryou, he moved a centimeter forward and a foot back. "Nagisa said that I could be with someone else, but I'm still loyal to her," he said.
"Tomoya, I'm so sorry," Ryou said. She was clearly upset, but Tomoya said it was okay. Just then, Kyou came back. Ryou decided to take a walk along the shore by herself.
"And now we're alone," Tomoya said. "You're not going to tell me that you've had a crush on me for a while now and then try to kiss me, are you?"
Kyou gasped. "What was your reaction? You know, it must have taken her a lot of courage to do that, so you better have been nice."
"Relax. I just rejected her kiss told her that I'm still loyal to Nagisa. I told her not to be sorry."
"Ugh! Why are you still loyal to Nagisa, anyway? She broke up with you, didn't she? You didn't want to breakup, but she did, right?"
"Okay, I'm sorry. She just left two days ago."
Kyou looked at the ground. "I'm sorry. Will you at least consider going out with someone else? It wouldn't be cheating."
Tomoya smiled. "You're always watching out for Ryou. At one point, I actually had a crush on you."
"Don't try it on me, Tomoya! Just remember that you don't have to be completely loyal to Nagisa. I bet she hasn't even tried to kiss you yet, unlike Ryou."
When Ryou came back, Kyou dropped Tomoya off at his house. The sun was just beginning to set. It was almost time for Kotomi to come to Tomoya's house.