Break Time: A Toyomi Short Story Series
By Funakounasoul
Disclaimer: Don't own Tomo, Yomi, or Azumanga Daioh. There.
Author's Notes: And now, as promised, the main focus shall be on Yomi. This idea was brought to you by my partner in crime, Raff. Enjoy!
SEEKING
With one swift push, Yomi angrily shut her door and fell on her bed. She had one terrible day today. First, she woke up late, which led to a skipping of breakfast (which she promised her mother to eat this time the night before). Throughout the school day, she had to give up her homework to Tomo to copy, find out that she left one assignment at home, had to pull Tomo out of the usual sticky situations, suffered throughout the lunch hour due to a lack of a bento, and learned today was her day for clean-up duty. She had finally made it home after a long day, though two blocks before arriving, she was chased by stray dog. It was truly a bad day for her.
She sighed deeply into her pillow. She was still in her uniform, yet she did not feel like changing at the moment. She needed to let off some steam...Yes, that was what she needed. Luckily, she was actually expecting Tomo to call sometime today. That would be her chance to finally relieve some stress.
While she waited, she tried to relieve herself the old-fashioned way. She took deep breaths, relaxing onto her bed as much as possible. She almost fell asleep at one point, but the sound of her phone ringing caused her to snap out of it. "Hello?"
"Ah, Koyomi! You're back home already?" It was her mother.
"Yes, yes I am."
"I just wanted to let you know we don't have much to eat today..." As if on cue, Yomi's stomach grumbled. "I'm going to head to the store after work, okay?"
Yomi sighed. Her mother did not get off from work until 10 at night. She could always go out to get something to eat, but she was expecting a call, after all. Maybe she could skip yet another meal...just for today.
"Koyomi?"
"Ah...Yeah, sure. I'll find something to eat."
"Okay...I will see you later, then."
"Uh-huh. Bye." Yomi placed the phone back on its stand and sighed. Her day just got a little worse. If only she had a cell phone like Tomo, she could easily just go out, find something to eat, and in case she got the call while she was out, she could instantly answer it. That was not that case, however. Compared with Tomo, she was still behind the times when it came to electronics – a telephone instead of a cell phone, a radio instead of a television. Sure, there was a set in the living room, but Tomo had a small one in her own room. Despite this, Tomo would come over to Yomi's house often, and though she did not show it, Yomi loved the company.
If only Tomo would call, though...The girl did have some "errands" to do today, but she did promise to call. Yomi could only hope her friend would have a rare intelligent moment and actually call her. She really needed to talk.
Fifteen minutes passed, then ten more. With each passing minute, Yomi grew tired. She felt it was best to take a nap – after all, if a call came in, she would easily wake up to her phone's ringing. Also, by taking a nap, she could relax some more. It was not like she had to bottle up her stress until the call finally came. With a simple removal of her glasses, Yomi got into a more comfortable position and closed her eyes. It was not long before she dozed off completely.
Yomi woke up to a wet sensation all over her cheek. Lifting herself off her mattress, she did not even need her glasses to realize what it was – she had been drooling throughout her nap. After muttering a few choice words, she picked up her glasses and checked to see if she missed any calls. Nothing. She looked at her clock – two hours had passed. Two hours passed and still no sign of her expected phone call. By now, it was nightfall since she came home pretty late. This irked her a little...
Then she realized something. Tomo had a cell phone! She could just call her on her cell phone! Then again, Yomi could have just called Tomo period to start the conversation, but on the other hand, the girl had errands to do. She could at least call her to set up a time. Yomi picked up her phone, pressed the speed dial for Tomo's cell phone, and waited.
And waited...and waited...
Finally, she heard Tomo's voice message. Figures, she thought. Either Tomo was truly busy or she was asleep. With her, it could be anything. Yomi placed the phone back on its stand and fell onto her bed. It seemed just the simple waiting of the phone call was becoming stressful for her.
"I need a bath..."
By now, Yomi did not care if she got the call or not; she just really needed to relax somehow, and a bath was her last resort. She entered her bathroom, turned the water on, and waited. When the bathtub was filled, she removed her uniform and the rest of her clothing and stepped into the warm, soothing water. The water was already affecting Yomi, fortunately, and she slowly drifted into a relaxed state...a state which was perfect for meditation.
"I wonder..."
Why did she want to talk with Tomo in the first place? This made Yomi confused. She could easily talk to someone else, she could easily go out and relax (and have some food while she was at it), so why did she not do these things? Why did she always depend on Tomo? Was it because they have been friends the longest? It was true that they knew each other very well – so much, in fact, that one could say they knew all of their past, their present, and perhaps their future simply by knowing everything about one another. They were always there for each other, despite their public appearances. Was it just the pure comfort they have grown accustomed to all these years that made her refuse the other methods?
Yomi sighed. This was just leading to more questions than answers. At least she was calmer now, somewhat. It was best to get out before she fell asleep again. After finishing her bath, she grabbed a few towels and began to dry herself. Since she was the only one in the house, she decided to just step out of the bathroom – with a towel wrapped around her body – to grab some clothes. Normally, she would have picked some clothes out before a bath, but seeing as she really needed this bath, she figured she could pick some out afterwards.
"Hey there."
"WAAAAHH!!" Yomi nearly jumped out of her towel at the sound of the new, yet familiar voice. There, sitting on her bed, was none other than Tomo. She had a jacket on, and there was a bag sitting next to her. The fact that Yomi was only wearing a towel made the brunette's face turn red in embarrassment. "H-how did you...When did you...?!"
"I came in the usual way," Tomo calmly replied as she pointed to the window. "And I came in just a few moments ago. Your light was on, so I figured you were in another room or something, so I waited."
Tomo had a way of arriving at the most random times. Yomi should have known by now that she was never really "safe" when she was at home. After quickly grabbing some clothes, she re-entered her bathroom to change. When she came out, she sat on her bed alongside Tomo.
"Where were you? I've been waiting for you to call me all day."
"I told you, I was out doing errands!" Tomo held up the bag she had brought with her. "I needed to get a few things, but since I finished early, I called my mom to let her know I was coming to your place for a bit."
"Oh..."
"Besides, talking in-person's way better than talking on a phone."
"I see..."
"So...what did you want to talk about?"
"Well...I just needed to rant was all...I had a bad day today."
"I can tell..." Switching over to Yomi's desk chair, Tomo crossed her legs while placing her hands on her lap. "So...Ready to explode now?"
Yomi looked up. She certainly felt calmer now that Tomo was around. At least she did not have to worry about the call that never came. Still, she could not help but wonder why she felt the way she did. The questions that were raised in the bath earlier resurfaced in her mind. She felt the only way to answer these questions was to share them with Tomo.
"Well, not anymore," Yomi finally replied softly, "but there is something I'd like to talk about..." Now completely sitting up on her bed, she added. "Tomo...I think we have some searching to do..."
The girl on the chair blinked twice. "We...do?"
Yomi smiled. "Yeah..."
Throughout the rest of the night, until Tomo had to return home, the two talked. They talked about the past, they talked about today, they talked about their feelings, and they talked about their friendship. It was a truly intimate conversation, one that only they could fully understand. It was a reexamination of their relationship, and throughout the discussion, a few of Yomi's previous questions were answered, though many more questions were raised. Of course, they knew it would take some time to answer them all, but this conversation was a truly refreshing event in their lives.
That night, as she got into her covers, Yomi thought back to this afternoon and a few moments ago. To think, what was to be a simple phone call to vent her problems away became a serious, thought-provoking session. She had impatiently waited all this time to find out she was going to do some deep searching. Seeking relief to seeking answers related to a long friendship. Yomi sighed in content before finally drifting off to sleep.
What an interesting day this turned out to be...
Okay, so nothing was really descriptive this time around, but interpretation is a GOOD thing! I love to hear some interpretations, your views on what the discussion was about, possible outcomes and such. Anyway, I have one more idea left in my reserves...so I would REALLY appreciate some more ideas from you all! Please?
