Disclaimer: Clannad the visual novel is the property of Key and their respective partners. Likewise, Clannad the anime belongs to Key and Kyoto Animation. I'm not making any money with this fanfic.
Author's notes: Thanks to Anya Anthony for her swift beta-reading, as well as the people who have reviewed. I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far, and hope you'll stay interested 'til the end.
Chapter four, right here.
The teacher's voice droned on about the wonders of English grammar, the chalk leaving markings on the blackboard almost constantly. Most of the students copied down the notes into their own papers at a feverish rate, and the chorus of pens and pencils filled the classroom air - third year was, after all, in full swing and entrance exams would soon be upon every senior student. In class 3-D, however, were three students that didn't seem bothered by the frantic atmosphere at all: Okazaki Tomoya, who was sleeping, Sunohara Youhei, who was absent, and Fujibayashi Ryou, who was violently trying to think just what had went wrong.
"Eh? Who's Ichinose?" She stared at him, confusion written all over her face. Couldn't he remember Kotomi's family name?
"Ichinose Kotomi-san," she decided to remind him, expecting recognition to dawn on his face. When his expression remained curiously puzzled, however, she began to feel the uneasiness building up. "The genius girl of 3-A, who ranks top ten in every national exam. Do you remember, Okazaki-kun?"
"We have someone like that in our school?" His tone was honestly amazed. Ryou's hands gripped the hem of her shirt. "How would I know someone like that? Sounds like someone who's in a completely different world than me."
"But, Okazaki-kun," she exclaimed, not able to hide the desperation in her voice. "Didn't you meet her once, in the library? I clearly remember telling you about her before..." Her eyes widened, and her words were cut short as the realization dawned to her. No, she thought. He hasn't asked me about her. Not this time. Tomoya shook his head and confirmed her fears.
"No, I think you're mistaken, Fujibayashi. I would remember if I had met someone like that."
Ryou's eyes trailed towards Okazaki for the umpteenth time during the class. It was hard to believe that he really hadn't met Kotomi in the library, but he had seemed honest with his claim - and even a bit troubled by the intensity of her question. She really didn't believe he would be feigning ignorance over this, not under any circumstances. However, that meant something had gone horribly, horribly wrong.
She recalled that Tomoya was originally supposed to pick up secluded genius girl from the library, where she had isolated herself from the rest of the students, surrounded only by books she kept reading through day after day. She didn't know why, but the timid girl hadn't apparently felt herself so uncomfortable around him, and due to his request, she had begun to make friends - most of whom were Tomoya's acquaintances. In the end, she had introduced herself to the Fujibayashi twins, too, which had eventually led not only to their joining to the drama club, but also a deep, lasting friendship between the three girls. The three had made several precious memories in their senior year and afterwards, even though Kotomi had ultimately moved to United States in order to continue her studies.
But now it seemed that none of that would happen.
What have I done so differently? she inquired herself, staring down at her lap. What have I done to make him miss something important like this? No matter how many times she shifted through her memories, she couldn't recall doing anything that would cause something of this magnitude. All she could think of was how she had skipped the first day of school - but that couldn't possibly be the cause.
Could it?
Once again, she glanced at sleeping Tomoya. Or is this my doing after all? Is Okazaki-kun simply doing things differently on a whim? Is he just making different decisions? The thought was frightening and depressing. Up until now, she had thought she could rely on things to happen exactly like before if she just thoroughly stuck to her memories. It had been an easy plan to follow, but if things actually differed from the last time, how was she going to keep herself up to date with anything? As far as possibilities went, everything could end up happening entirely different. She had a sudden urge to bury her face in her hands as desperation washed over her. How am I supposed to get anything done now?
"There are several choices we can make, leading us to different places via different paths."
That was what she had said, wasn't it? That was what she had always believed in, right? I shouldn't have expected this to work in the first place, she accused herself bitterly, realizing how naïve her plan had been. How was she going to save Tomoya and Nagisa if she just sit idly and watched things escalate out of control? I should've been more active since the beginning. I shouldn't have left this up to fate.
"I don't believe in fate."
That, too, was exactly what she had said to the mysterious woman, back at her 'future'. That's right, she told herself silently, becoming more and more disappointed in herself with every passing second. There is no such thing as fate. It's only natural for Okazaki-kun to make different decisions. I'm in this situation now because I didn't keep that in mind. She clenched her fists silently.
So, Ryou, what are you going to do about it?
As the chime rang, indicating the end of their lesson, Ryou was one of the first to get her belongings together and stand up. With determined steps, she made her way to Tomoya, who hadn't yet woken up completely. "Okazaki-kun," she called out in her usual soft voice but with a touch of steel in it. It hadn't taken her but a few seconds to agree that she had to do something drastic to remedy the situation, but she had debated long with herself to come up with the best way to do it. She couldn't afford to lose any more time, so whatever she was going to do, she had to do fast. At the same time, however, she would have to stick to the way the meek and polite Ryou would act as much as possible. It was a dilemma she could find only a few ways out, and none of them had really satisfied her.
"Okazaki-kun," she called out again, stronger this time. In the end, she had run out of time, so she had to go with being as fast as possible - if she acted fast enough, he would be too dumb-founded to realize just how strangely she was acting.
"What, Fujibayashi?" he muttered half-loud, squinting his eyes as he tried to focus on the girl standing in front of her.
Good, him being only half-awake should help, too, she mused contently. "I'd like you to come with me." She might've as well dropped all but the last three words, so commanding was her tone - at least on her standards. Okazaki seemed a bit startled and confused.
"What?"
"Now, Okazaki-kun," she told him steadily before turning around and heading out of the classroom. She was certain that he would be too amazed by her order to just ignore it - and true enough, she could hear him catching up to her before she had taken five steps in the hallway.
"What's this about, Fujibayashi?" Ryou only threw him a glance over her shoulder and flashed a small, reassuring smile, trying to make him a bit more at ease. The effect, however, seemed to be exactly the opposite, for Tomoya's expression became only more confused and troubled.
"I'm going to introduce you to someone who might be interested in joining the theatre club," she decided to explain. "Hurry up, we don't have much time left until the next lesson." With that, she quickened her pace a bit, not looking back at him. Tomoya couldn't catch up to her to present anymore questions thanks to the students loitering in the hallway, for which she was glad. She wanted to get away from other people before she would explain more to him, in fear that someone would gossip about the conversation to her sister.
However, with her hasty exit, she had missed out completely the long-haired Fujibayashi twin standing in the other end of the hallway, staring after her and Tomoya.
"What makes you think this person wants to join the theatre club?" he asked with a puzzled face once they had made it to the old school building. Ryou wagered he was more surprised about her actions rather than the question he presented.
"Well, she's very smart, so she doesn't need to study for entrance exams, which means she has the time to join a club," she explained calmly, doing her best to fade out the commanding tone she had previously used. "Besides, I think you can make a good first impression on her," she added vaguely, which earned her another curious look from him. She couldn't just outright tell him that he was probably the only one who could drag her out of the library.
"What makes you think that?" Despite the situation, she couldn't help smiling a little.
"Call it maiden's inspiration." Judging by his silence, he couldn't think of anything to say back at that. "Ah, here we are," she exclaimed as they stopped in front of the library. A sign hanging from the door read 'closed', but if one looked closely enough, one could see a tiny gap between the sliding doors. There was definitely someone inside.
"The library? Didn't you say something about that genius girl being here?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "Fujibayashi, she and I probably live in different worlds altogether. I don't think I'm going to achieve anything talking to her." Ryou shook her head, not having any success forcing down her cryptic smile.
"I think you'll be surprised," she told him and swung the sliding door open. Like she had hoped, she could make out a girl sitting barefooted in the far corner of the room, reading a book. Her smile lit up a bit more. "Just act natural." With that, she gestured him to step in and slid the door shut in his wake. A few seconds later, she leaned against the wall and sighed deeply.
I suppose I could've gone with him, she mused. Just to make sure everything would happen fine. I don't want to take any more risks. She peeked quietly through the miniscule gap between the doors and confirmed that the Tomoya had engaged in some kind of conversation already. She smiled. But I think it'll be fine from here on out.
Ryou dug through her memories, trying to remember what would happen next. Either today or tomorrow, Tomoya would take Kotomi outside the library and have her introduce herself to Nagisa and her. Soon after their introduction, they would go get the old violin from the music club together. Ryou wondered briefly if she should prevent the genius girl from getting her hands on the instrument that seemed to turn into a deadly weapon in her hands, but soon decided against it; Playing violin made Kotomi happy, and if she had endured it the last time, she could do it now, too.
She made a mental note to buy some ear plugs nonetheless.
Her sister would teach Kotomi in the ways of jabbing, and she would hold her first violin recital. The whole drama club crew would go hang out in the town together, and they would prepare the run-down yard of her house for her birthday. Birthday...
Ryou frowned. She had forgotten about the genius girl's family problems, how her parents had died when she had been little and how she had lived alone in her house ever since, no doubt traumatized by the tragic event. They would have to help her come over the painful past. Once again, she peeked through the gap. The two seemed to be sharing lunch. Well, I'll leave that up to Okazaki-kun, she concluded. He was the one to thank for Kotomi-chan's opening up originally, so he can probably do it this time, too. The rest of us will support her in any way we can.
She let out a relieved sigh. From now on, if things happened like she estimated, everything should end up fine and she could concentrate on being a good, supporting friend to Kotomi. As long as she kept a close eye on the development of the situation, she could fix the course of events with small, subtle actions before things got out of control. There would be no need for anything drastic like today. She hoped no one other than Okazaki had been there to witness that.
"Yo, Fujibayashi." Her heart skipped a beat as she heard the call, and she whipped her head to the direction of the voice. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't seen him approach her.
"S-Sunohara-kun," she greeted him in turn a bit shakily. "You surprised me." He scratched his head, laughing.
"Yeah, people say that all the time. I suppose it's a trait of mine," he explained with something akin to pride. Why would he be proud over a trait like that was beyond her understanding.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, a bit more sharply than she had intended, still a little off-balance because of Sunohara's sudden appearance. Realizing this, she tried to patch up her inquiry. "I mean, It's not often you visit to the library." Ah, now I'm implying he's stupid, Ryou scolded herself. This isn't going too well.
However, it seemed that Sunohara didn't mind it. "You could say that. There's no manga here, only boring books. Not really my place." He smirked a little before tilting his head to the side. "No, I saw you and Okazaki coming here and decided to follow you guys. It's not often I see you dragging him around." Ryou's cheeks became rose-red, and a heavy uneasiness settled in the pit of her stomach. He had seen her and she hadn't noticed? Just who else could've seen the two? "I was wondering what you two were up to, but I don't see Okazaki anywhere anymore."
"I wasn't dragging him around," she tried to protest, but he only scoffed.
"Yeah well, the only thing missing was the actual physical contact, but asides from that, it was obvious that you were taking him somewhere. Besides, Okazaki isn't one to follow someone unless he's forced." Ryou bit her lower lip. Sunohara was right, it would take quite something to make Tomoya do something that wasn't by his own initiative. And, normally, she wasn't supposed to possess such willpower. He pressed on. "So what were you doing? And where did he go?" If Ryou had been as strong as her sister, she would've probably been able to tell Sunohara to go mind his own business - both Tomoya and Kyou did so on a daily basis. She, however, couldn't do it. She couldn't go against her kind nature and tell him something so blunt - she didn't want to say such things to her friends. However, right now the blonde was treading on dangerous grounds; If he continued on, he could ruin the discussion between Tomoya and Kotomi.
"I wanted him to meet someone who might be interested in joining the drama club," she decided to explain, stepping in front of the library doors. "Right now, they're in a middle of a conversation. Please don't disturb them." He blinked.
"So this is for the drama club?" The Fujibayashi nodded. Sunohara looked down at her with confusion, inspecting her with his gaze.
"Wh-what's with the look?" she asked, fidgeting uncomfortably. He turned his gaze away and shrugged.
"I guess it's nothing. Is it someone I know?" he asked and pointed at the closed library doors, changing the topic. She shook her head, glad to be no longer under his gaze.
"I don't think so, but if all goes well, you'll get to know her." Again, the blonde looked at her, puzzled.
"Yet another girl?" Ryou frowned. Just what was he insinuating?
"Something wrong with that?" If possible, he looked even more lost. Then he sighed and shook his head.
"Nothing," he muttered. "I just thought girls were more vicious when it came to this kind of thing. Maybe you're an exception."
"Sunohara-kun," she told him calmly, yet with a hint of steel in her voice, earning a small shudder from the blonde. "You're approaching a dangerous topic. Please drop it." Thankfully, the point seemed to get through.
"Fine, fine," he said and turned his back to her, leaning his head against his hands. "I just thought you wouldn't want any other girls get close to Okazaki, but it seems you're okay with Nagisa-chan, and now you're introducing him to yet another girl." She felt all of her irritation vanish in an instant, along with the colour of her face. This definitely wasn't what she had expected to hear - not from someone like him!
"What?"
"You know, because you like him," he said nonchalantly, as if he was talking about weather. Ryou could only stare at his back, mortified. She had always kept her feelings for Tomoya hidden deep inside her heart; Her twin was the only person she had ever spoken to. Even though she had come to terms with her feelings long ago, it didn't make her feel any less violated knowing that Sunohara had, somehow, found out about it. Had she really been that easy to read? Had he figured it out because she had done something differently, or had he been aware of it the last time too? And if he had been able to see through her, who else knew?
"H-how did you know?" Had Kotomi known all along? Had Nagisa known all along? How big of a fool had she made out of herself in front of those two? Then Sunohara turned back to her and shrugged, chuckling self-contently.
"I just thought about it from the way you kept looking at him when you thought no one else was watching," he explained, shattering some of her fears. "I've had this hunch since our second year, and now you finally confirmed it." It wasn't as bad as she had thought. Sunohara, it seemed, hadn't had any kind of strong, evidence-based conclusion; As far as she could tell, he had simply been following his intuition and made a lucky guess. She didn't have to worry about losing her face in front of her friends.
However, now Sunohara knew about her feelings for Tomoya. Even though not as bad as having the other girls know, Ryou was still far from comfortable about having her secret shared with yet someone else. She chewed her lower lip, thinking furiously. Should she ask him to be quiet about it? Despite his foolish antics, she knew that he was - or at least would be in the future - a trustworthy friend, and if she asked him to keep something a secret, he would keep it solemnly to himself. However, if she did that, she would give him the impression that she still was competing for Tomoya's heart with Nagisa - her sister already thought that way, and she didn't want anyone else to have such thoughts.
"Sunohara-kun," she began. No, she should tell him the truth right away. If he already knew this much, telling him the rest wouldn't hurt. "It isn't exactly like you think." Unfortunately, before she could get further, the blonde begun his rant - and there was no stopping it.
"Ah, don't worry," he assured. "I won't tell Nagisa-chan about this."
"No, that's not-"
"I'm really a good guy, you see; I believe in fair competition, and I think you both should have a proper chance at going for him."
"No, I don't-"
"Too bad you're both my friends; I have no choice but to cheer both of you on. Ah, it's tough being a good guy!"
"Sunohara-kun, I-"
"So, best of luck with your battle of hearts with Nagisa-chan, Fujibayashi! And please, remain civil - I wouldn't like you guys to get in an open fight or anything like-"
"No!" she surprised even herself with the ferocity of her voice, and silently prayed Tomoya and Kotomi hadn't been disturbed by her yell. Sunohara stared at her with wide eyes, and for a good reason; She, herself, was aware that Fujibayashi Ryou raising her voice was about as likely as Earth suddenly stopping rotating. However, the stress of the past few weeks, of today, of talking with Sunohara - all of it had come to a point where she couldn't simply stay silent anymore. "No, I won't."
"Eh?"
"I won't do something like that. I, I couldn't go against Nagisa-chan. I don't want to." She shook her head fiercely. The pent-up words she had thought over so many times in the last few days came out on their own. "It's true that I like Okazaki-kun, but not in that way - I just want to be there for him as a friend. I want him to be happy..."
"I want him to be happy with Nagisa-chan." With that, she turned her gaze down on the floor and fell silent. Surprisingly, Sunohara didn't say anything either for a long while. Ryou had always thought he would never be the one left speechless, that he'd always have a retort - no matter how stupid or immature. Now, however, the atmosphere was heavy and she could feel it beginning to weigh down on her. Then the blonde scoffed, breaking the silence.
"What, so you've given up already, without even a fight?" Ryou shook her head and raised his gaze to meet his own.
"This is for both of their happiness, Sunohara-kun."
"Don't give me that crap...! Do you even realize what you're doing? Happiness or not, you're letting her just stomp over you!" His stare was extremely vexed, angry even, and she could tell he was pouring all of his strength into that look, trying to make her think over her decision. With his mindset, it was no surprise; She knew her friend well enough to tell he despised people who just bowed out of conflicts, letting others step over their own goals and dreams.
"You... You... You little coward..." He couldn't understand her decision at all, but she didn't blame him. After all, he hadn't seen Okazaki's misery. He couldn't know the depth of the misfortune that had fallen upon that family. Even though his words stung her, Ryou met his stare head on, something she didn't think she would've ever been able to do. Even as her twenty-five-year-old, adult self, she had rarely had enough strength of will to face such hard gazes.
Now, however, her strength was backed up by her determination. Sorry, Sunohara-kun, but this isn't something I'm going to give in. She could see how he clenched and unclenched his fists, clearly wanting to say something, anything, back to her. However, he didn't seem to be able to overcome the deathly serious stare of the teal orbs. Eventually, he tore his gaze away. Ryou sighed and looked the other way, too.
"Tch, fine." He sullenly put his hands in his pockets. "Do as you like. It's not like it's my business, anyway." With that, he set off to the direction he had come from.
"Sunohara-kun," she called after him. She really wanted to apologize to him, to explain just why she thought it was necessary not to interfere with Tomoya and Nagisa. But, as he looked over his shoulder at her, she was once again reminded that she couldn't do that. Just like with her sister, she couldn't tell him she was from another world, sent here to save Tomoya's happiness - there was no way he would believe something like that. "I'm sorry, but could you please not tell anyone what we just talked about? Especially not onee-chan." The blonde frowned at her request at first, but soon gave in, sighing.
"Fine. I'll do it, since I'm really a good guy. But that still doesn't mean I like this." She smiled and bowed slightly at his direction.
"I know. Thank you, Sunohara-kun." With a wave, he left, leaving her alone once again. She sighed and returned to her previous position, leaning against the wall with her gaze set up to the ceiling.
It had felt surprisingly good to speak a piece of her mind to someone - had she kept the bottled-up feelings all to herself, she was certain she'd have broken sooner or later. The conversation with Sunohara hadn't really solved any of her numerous problems; she still had to act like her old self in front of her sister and be ready to correct any mistakes Tomoya might make, but at least she was feeling a bit more at ease now. Had she known the blonde be of so much help, she would've sought him out sooner.
Ryou hadn't really considered Sunohara Youhei her friend until well after their school years. Both her sister and Okazaki had held him a safe distance away from her, and she had only observed his antics from afar, being mostly horrified of them. After their graduation, the blonde - who was no longer a blonde after he had had to stop dying his hair - had moved back to his hometown in search of work, and she or anyone else hadn't seen him very often afterwards. However, the few times the friends had gathered together, she had become more and more used to him, and had finally accepted the idea that Sunohara Youhei, too, was one of her precious friends. Eventually even Kyou had admitted, reluctantly, that 'he isn't as bad as he used to be' and that 'he's got his good points, too.'.
She glanced quickly at the already-distant back in the far end of the hallway and smiled softly. Despite what everyone - Sunohara himself included - said, he had never really been that bad - well, at least not that bad. The Fujibayashi was certain that he would prove to be an irreplaceable friend this time too. She only hoped the others, particularly Kyou, would realize that before he moved away again.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the library door sliding open. She turned her eyes on the emerging Tomoya, waiting patiently him to close the door before she opened her mouth.
"How did it go?" She could barely contain her anxiety. He sighed and gave a small chuckle.
"I was right: She really does live in a different world. Having a discussion with her was harder than the courses in algebra. And you should've seen those books she was reading; I could barely just make out the titles." Ryou fidgeted nervously; She was rather certain that he was procrastinating just to tease her. "But," he told her eventually. "For whatever reason, she didn't seem to dislike having me there - she even offered me part of her lunch. She promised to consider joining the drama club. I promised I'll come to talk to her again soon, the next time she's in the library." The Fujibayashi clasped her hands together, beaming.
"That's wonderful, Okazaki-kun. You should ask her again tomorrow around this time, then." He raised an eyebrow at that.
"How can you be so sure she'll be here?"
"It's not like she does anything other than sits in the library," she informed him, which only further confused him.
"You mean she does nothing else? Doesn't she have friends to talk to during lunch or something?" Ryou glanced away, a small, content smile on her face. Even if he had missed out his initial meeting with Kotomi, it seemed that his heart was still in the right place. All it would take was a cherry on top, and he'd be sold.
"As far as I can tell, she's all alone," she said quietly, casting her eyes down to increase the dramatic effect. When she peeked quickly up, she noted contently that he was gazing at the library doors, determination forming on his face. She smirked and quickly turned her head the other way. Hook, line, and sinker. "Anyway, we should head back to class now. Lessons are about to start." Tomoya nodded absently and trailed after her a few steps behind. Her mood was bright as she navigated through the hallway.
Finally, the crew would start getting together.
"Hey, Fujibayashi."
The following day, she was approached by Tomoya and a girl who was tailing him so closely one might've thought the two were glued together. Hiding behind his shoulders, she was throwing nervous glances all around her, never more than a step behind the delinquent. Every time they passed another student, she seemed to inch even closer to him. "There's someone I'd like you to meet. C'mon, introduce yourself." The shy girl fidgeted nervously in response to his encouragement.
"Hello, Tomoya-kun." He sighed and took a hold of her shoulders, pushing her from her hiding place towards Ryou, who was currently hiding her smile behind the palm of her hand.
"Okay, good enough for practice! Now, the real deal."
As the two girls faced each other, Ryou noted that Ichinose Kotomi was much like she remembered: the child-like hair ornaments, the dreamy, lost look in her eyes, the nervous twitching of her fingers. She summoned the warmest, friendliest smile she could muster, hoping to ease the genius girl's discomfort at least a little bit.
"Umm," she began hesitantly, pointing a finger herself. "I'm Kotomi. You spell Kotomi with three hiragana. When you speak to me, call me Kotomi-chan." Then she fell completely silent, staring her as if watching the effects of some strange charm. The Fujibayashi had mixed feelings because of her introduction. The child-like presentation, in all its naïve innocence, tickled a corner of her heart and made her feel like hugging her sweet friend-to-be - she didn't think she could find someone as pure as her no matter how she tried. However, her heart sank as she reminded herself what was the cause of it: Kotomi's parents' passing and the social void it had created had brought a halt to the genius girl's mental development, and she was still at least partially on the level of a child when it came to social skills.
"Nice to meet you, Kotomi-chan," Ryou greeted her as warmly as she could. "I'm Fujibayashi Ryou - please call me Ryou-chan. I'd be happy if you became my friend." The genius girl looked at her with surprise, throwing a questioning glance over her shoulder at smiling Tomoya, who seemed a little surprised himself. She couldn't remember exactly what the first meeting between her and Kotomi had been like the last time, but she was fairly certain she hadn't used those same words.
But, frankly, she didn't really care too much for none of that - the most important thing to her right now was to form a friendship with Kotomi. "Did you think I'd bully you, Kotomi-chan?" she asked her gently.
The shy girl dropped her gaze on the floor guiltily, fidgeting. Ryou could make out a small nod and a mumbled 'yes', which further fuelled the sympathy she felt for the child-like genius. It seemed her social skills were far worse than she had thought - without Tomoya standing there, she wagered Kotomi would've run away already. She took a step forward and placed her hand gently on her shoulder, earning a small twitch from her. Originally, she had thought her sole reason was to ensure Tomoya's and Nagisa's happiness, but as she gazed upon the slightly shaking girl in front of her, something inside her stirred. She couldn't rate her friends; She couldn't tell whether she wanted to help the family Okazaki or the genius girl more - she wanted to help all of them. She absolutely had to make sure that Kotomi would be drawn out of her lonely house and that the shell she had created around herself would be broken.
"Don't worry, I'm definitely not a bully. I'll be happy to be your friend - if you want me to, that is." Slowly, she raised her gaze from the floor into her eyes, and this time she was smiling too.
As her friend, she would do everything she could for her.
"Hello. Nice to meet you. My name is Ichinose Kotomi, a senior from class 3-A. My hobby is reading books. I would be happy if you became my friends."
"I am Furukawa Nagisa from 3-B. My hobby is acting. I would be happy if you became my friends."
"I am Fujibayashi Ryou from class D. My hobby is fortune telling. I would be happy if we all became good friends."
"A really strange group has just formed," muttered the elder Fujibayashi as she gazed upon the three smiling girls.
"You're part of it, too," commented Okazaki. A heavy sigh.
"I suppose so. Just what have I gotten myself into…?"
"Kotomi, listen to me. Put. The violin. Down."
"It is so beautiful... I'll play the second part now."
"Kotomi, no!"
"All crew, brace for impact!"
"What the hell, Tomoya-kun. I can't get along with you. Bye now."
"... Kyou, are you responsible for this?"
"Fujibayashi?"
"What did you say, Sunohara-kun?"
"I asked: Why are you wearing ear plugs? And where's this girl who Kyou said would take my breath away?"
"Why don't you take a seat over there and wait for her to show up? Kotomi-chan's violin recital is about to start."
"What the hell. What the hell. What the hell."
"... I'm not even going to ask."
"Onee-chan, Okazaki-kun. Kotomi-chan told her birthday is this coming Saturday. She said she'd like to have a stuffed bear as a present."
"We were thinking of winning her the one we saw in the arcade. The huge one from the crane game."
"What if we don't win it?"
"... We have a back-up plan."
"You seem to be working hard, Okazaki-san."
"I want to get Kotomi's yard done by her birthday. It's only three days 'til, so I must hurry. Can you guys handle the present?"
"Yes, leave it to us. We have the perfect gift in mind for her."
"Watch out!"
"That, that was a close one - my heart is pounding really hard!"
"Good thing you noticed the bike in time, Ryou. That could've ended up really bad! If I ever see that idiot again, I'm going to dramatically shorten his life span!"
"Is, is the violin still intact?"
"... Seems so."
"Thank goodness."
"We're all with you, Kotomi-chan."
"That's right. Don't be afraid to open up the suitcase, Kotomi - we won't leave you."
"..." Click.
"... Well, looks like she got a teddy after all."
"Happy birthday, Kotomi-chan! This present is from all of us. We hope you really like it."
"... This, this is..."
"We got the permission from the violin's former owner to claim it for us. It's all yours, Kotomi. Happy birthday."
"... I'm going to play a birthday serenade."
"Oh, you won't be having any time for that today! The rest of the guests are arriving soon, and we're going to have a great time! I hope you prepared plenty of food!"
"... Kyou, just how many did you invite...?"
"We had lots of fun, didn't we, onee-chan?" she asked later on that evening, when they were walking home. The birthday party had drawn on long to the evening, and the twins, along with Tomoya and Nagisa had stayed behind to help Kotomi clean up her house afterwards. By the time they set home, it was already dark. The cool night air brushed through the desolate streets, sending shivers down Ryou's back. Despite it being late spring already, the nights still weren't too warm.
"Yeah, the party was really great," she replied. "Although I had to straighten up Sunohara for trying to drink too much punch a few times - the idiot just wouldn't believe there was no alcohol in it! Sheesh." Her sister giggled softly, and then gazed up to the cloudless sky.
"I think Kotomi-chan liked her birthday, too." After a while, she added. "But I wasn't just talking about tonight. I've really enjoyed myself this last week, being with everyone. They're really great friends." Kyou's voice was faint as she replied.
"... Yeah, they are."
"... Onee-chan?" Ryou turned to look at her twin, who threw a few quick glances at her but always averted her eyes a heartbeat later. Eventually, she sighed.
"I just think how hard this all has become. At this rate, Tomoya isn't going to even look at your direction." This time, the younger twin turned her gaze away. She had held a faint hope that her sister would've forgotten about her quest of swaying Okazaki's heart to her direction already, even though she knew she wasn't the type of person to give up that easily. The faster Kyou accepted the fact that he wouldn't so much as glance to anyone else other than Nagisa, however, the faster she would get over the shock - and the faster she could stop acting like she was after him.
"Friendship is important, too," she pointed out softly. "You've enjoyed the time we've spent with Nagisa-chan and Kotomi-chan, haven't you?" This time, her sigh was more vexed than before.
"That's not the point. It's just that..." she held out her hands, frowning deeply. "Argh, I don't know! This whole situation pisses me off! Why does everything have to be so complicated!" Ryou looked back up again, towards the stars, letting her twin vent off her worst frustration. As much as she wanted to give Kyou an answer, she found herself at a loss of words, too. On an impulse, she placed a hand on her shoulder, realizing absently that she was doing it quite often nowadays.
"I feel the same way, onee-chan," she told her honestly. "Everything is so complicated that it almost hurts. But, you know," With those words, she turned to face her, smiling. "I think we should stick on the important things we have now. Like friends and each other." She couldn't make out her sister's face completely in the darkness, but the expression she had wasn't anything she could recognize. They looked at each other for a while, and then the elder twin chuckled.
"That's deep. Really, you're so mature that you leave your big sister to shame. I don't think I need to look after you for much longer." Ryou stumbled abruptly. Judging by the tone of her voice, Kyou had meant her words as a light-hearted joke, but she really couldn't take it as one.
"Th-that's not true!" she protested feverishly, trying to regain her balance. "I couldn't do a thing without you, onee-chan. It's thank to your strength that I've gotten this far!" Again, the elder twin chuckled, no doubt trying to tease her as was her usual fashion. To her, however, each chuckle caused a painful pang in her heart.
"Brute strength is one thing, and maturity is another. You have more than plenty of the latter to make up for your own strength. But still, I'm glad you think so highly of me." Ryou could only stare at her, anguished. Very rarely she had heard her sister use such a degrading tone of herself, and those times had been during their early twenties, when both had been troubled by the changes aging had caused them to undergo. To hear Kyou use such a tone now felt just wrong. Suddenly, every bit of her timidity and uncertainness she had had during her high school years seemed to come crashing back. Her twin sighed. "Come on, what's with the face? I'm praising you here!"
"N-no," Ryou protested, shaking her head. She could feel tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "It's not true. I still need you, onee-chan. I don't think I can ever face the world without you. I don't want to." She couldn't control her trembling. In the last few weeks, she had merrily forgotten the horrible scenario that she could one day lose the support of her sister. Now, when that possibility was once again shoved into her face, all the maturity and mental strength she had built up in the last six years went down the drain. Kyou, too, seemed to notice this, for the usual playfulness in her voice vanished as she realized she had gone too far.
"Ryou," she murmured gently, wrapping her arms around her little sister. "Don't worry. As long as you need me, I will be here for you." Then she laughed again, even though there wasn't the usual mirth in it. "In fact, I'll be sticking around you even if you don't need me anymore, just to be a pain!" The younger sister shook her head vigorously, sniffling as she fought back the tears.
"That'll never happen, onee-chan. Like I said, I don't think I can ever manage without your support." Fujibayashi Kyou didn't reply, but simply stroked her twin's back.
"If you say so," she mumbled soothingly. Her eyes, however, stared off into the distance, doubt and sadness pooling deep inside those purple orbs.
Author's notes: In my opinion, Kotomi played a rather big part in the anime, her arc influencing her friends and their relationships, as well as the progress of the general storyline by quite a bit. In that sense, it's really regrettable that I couldn't concentrate on her more than this - in this story, I can't find a very big role for her.
Perhaps in the next story, Kotomi.