Sunday noon, May 25 - The Park

Tomoya and Kotomi were seated on a picnic blanket under the spreading Sakura tree's in the small park at the foot of the hill that winds up to their high school. It was well past the time of the blossoming of these trees, but the shade was nice on this Sunday in late May. Next to the blanket was a large and elaborate bento kit that was full as Kotomi had prepared enough food for three. For now though, there were only these two.

They lay relaxing on the blanket and watching the clouds slowly rolling across the sky as the gentle breezes wafted them on the hillside. The chirping of the birds in the Sakura branches meshed with the laughter of children from the playground area at the base of the hill. Kites caught the gleam of the sun as rays of light streamed out from a passing cloud. Together, with hands held as they lay on the blanket, they had been experiencing this scenic marvel for almost ten minutes now.

"Kotomi-chan." Tomoya started.

"Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi answered.

"I'm bored." Tomoya admitted.

"As am I." Kotomi agreed, "It may have been a mistake to give ourselves thirty minutes to relax and enjoy the scenery before Kyou-chan is supposed to arrive.

"The thing is," Tomoya sighed, "I don't know why I'm bored. I used to enjoy this kind of thing."

"Perhaps, back when you were able to enjoy this kind of thing, you did not have as much going on in life." Kotomi suggested, "Your mind was able to fully relax since it wasn't aware of timetables and all the things that needed to be accomplished."

"That's probably it," Tomoya agreed as he sat up. Looking down the hill now, he could see Kyou just entering the park. "Kyou is here."

"She's early." Kotomi commented without getting up.

"A little," Tomoya looked at his watch, "by the time she gets up here she won't be that early." Looking at her more closely, it looked like she also brought a lunch. "Uh oh."

"What?" Kotomi opened her eyes to see the clouds rolling by above the Sakura branches but otherwise didn't move.

"It looks like she may have also brought a lunch." Tomoya observed.

"You did tell her that she didn't need to?" Kotomi asked.

"Yes," Tomoya said as he waved back to the smiling Kyou who was just starting up the hill.

"Then, unless you did not convey the message well," Kotomi supposed, "it is probably a dessert."

Tomoya looked carefully at the bag that Kyou was carrying. The shape of the box inside was too wide for a normal bento box but would be about right for a pie or a cake. He didn't say anything as Kyou was now within earshot, but he did smile at Kotomi's keen rationalization.

"Hey guys," Kyou called out as she approached the picnic blanket. Seeing Kotomi lying down she looked at her watch and asked, "Am I late?"

"No, Kyou-chan." Kotomi sat up a smiled, "We arrived earlier to enjoy the scenery for a bit."

"Oh, that sounds nice." Kyou would have liked to do that too, but she understood that Tomoya and Kotomi were a couple now. There would be things they would want to do with each other that would not involve their friends tagging along.

"It was nice..." Kotomi responded, "for the first five minutes."

"Oh?" Kyou wondered what went wrong.

"Then we got bored." Tomoya explained with a laugh.

Kyou handed her bag over to Tomoya and was about to sit on the open space opposite the couple when Kotomi stopped her.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi indicated the spot on the other side of Tomoya instead, "please sit next to Tomoya. I would like us all to share the same view."

"Oh… okay." Kyou had mixed emotions about this arrangement. Unless she sat in the grass, she would be awfully close to Tomoya. Kotomi's Tomoya. Kotomi's boyfriend. She had to remind herself of these things as she tried to suppress the twin horns of jealousy and desire that this arrangement was promoting. On the other hand, if she sat across from them, she would be on the downhill side of the picnic blanket and would have a view of their knees. Conversation would be awkward too with her having to crane her head up and them looking down at her all the time. Perhaps this was for the best.

"So," Tomoya asked Kyou, "shall we start on Kotomi's lunch, or do we need to get to yours before it melts?" Kotomi leaned forward and also awaited Kyou's answer.

"Oh," Kyou realized she hadn't said anything about the bag she brought, "It is a cherry pie. In my cooking abilities, pastries and desserts are my weakest, so I don't know how it will turn out."

"So," Tomoya asked with a suspicious tone, "using us as guinea pigs eh?"

"No!" Kyou was flustered, "It's just that… since you told me that Kotomi was taking care of lunch, I just..."

"Hey Kyou," Tomoya laughed, "I was just teasing. If you made it, I'm sure it will turn out fine."

"Very funny," Kyou mock punched Tomoya's arm as Kotomi began passing out the bento trays. To Kotomi, she said, "Thank you." as she took her tray. Looking at the tray, Kyou was impressed with the variety on the tray. Truly, no two items were the same. It was as if Kotomi were trying to exhibit the range of her skills.

"Itadakimasu!" they all said and selected their first bites.

Kyou had heard that Kotomi was a good cook and now she was eating what could only be described as a sampler of Kotomi's skills. Although Kyou had already given up any fight for Tomoya, to some degree she still thought of Kotomi as a rival. Thinking of her in that respect, it was hard to admit that Kotomi's lunch was quite good. True, Kyou could do better on just about everything, but not by much. Kyou knew that Tomoya would never want for a good meal with Kotomi by his side. She would make him a very good wife.

"Kyou-chan?" Kotomi called out, "Do you have any plans for this evening?"

"Not really, Kyou replied, "I have some homework I need to finish up sometime today, but I am free otherwise. Why?"

"She's going to put you to work." Tomoya said wryly.

"Eh?" Kyou was confused.

"Recently I have been comparing myself to you." Kotomi explained, "I would like you to prepare dinner so that I have additional comparisons. Since you have had my lunch, we will be able to critique and compare notes."

"Kotomi..." Kyou wanted to tell her that she was so weird, but this wasn't all that odd for Kotomi. "I guess I can do that after I finish my homework."

"Tomoya-kun and I will be studying anyway," Kotomi offered, "why don't you come early and I can help you with your English homework."

"Oh, that sounds..." Kyou's eyes suddenly opened wide and she asked, "How did you know it was English homework?" Curiosity and surprise turned to concern as she felt Tomoya stiffen beside her.

"Because you always save your English homework for last." Kotomi answered.

"And how do you know that?" Alarm bells were going off in Kyou's head and her face was beginning to turn red. Kotomi was missing the verbal and visual indications that Kyou was rapidly leaving her happy place, so Tomoya cut in.

"Kotomi-chan," he turned to Kotomi but reached out and firmly grasped Kyou's hand as he spoke, "Kyou-chan is becoming agitated that we would know such things about her."

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi said in alarm, "I did not mean to agitate you and I did not notice that you were becoming upset. As my social skills are sub-par, perhaps it would be better if Tomoya explained."

Kyou's face was still red, but it was only half from anger now. Her eyes were fixated where Tomoya was holding her hand and there was no stopping the rising blush. She wanted to run away from this scene now, but it looked like Tomoya already figured that out. He was not holding her hand in the way of lovers; his grip was strong and he was clearly intending to keep her from escaping.

"I'll let go, but promise me that you will listen to everything I have to say before you run off." Tomoya said as he held up her gripped hand.

"I..." Kyou trembled, "I can't promise that." She knew that if she did make that promise, he would let go of her hand. As embarrassing as it was, she did not want him to let go of her.

"Very well," Tomoya said, "Then I'm not letting go of you until you have heard everything I have to say."

"I… see," Kyou responded but her mind played his words back to her in an unkind way. Her heart ached a bit as her interpretation was that Tomoya would be letting her go, after he had said whatever it was he had to say.

"Kyou..." Tomoya looked into her eyes and tried to present her with his most honest and sincere face, "I'm about to tell you about things that were done that will… require your forgiveness. But first I want you to know why we decided to go this far."

"Okay..." so far, his explanation was only confusing her and doing little to alleviate her fear or anger.

"We were really concerned… worried about you." Tomoya struggled, "We both think of you as a very important friend."

"Okay, we're friends," Kyou's anger was showing in her voice now, "get on with it!"

"Kyou," Tomoya looked earnest as he told her, "I don't believe you fully comprehend how much Kotomi and I care for you. I'm pretty sure you have been excusing our concern for you as pity or some other charitable emotion. But you're wrong."

"But..." Kyou stopped talking when Tomoya put a finger up to her lips.

"Let me finish this." Tomoya continued, "After Youhei, you were my only other friend in my second year. I was even crushing on you for some of that year."

"Eh?" Kyou's blush deepened. Was Tomoya an idiot? How could he be talking about this in front of his fiancé?

"And, even though you sometimes worried Kotomi that you might be a bully, you are one of the few friends that she has had in her entire life.

"Okay, I get it." Kyou tried to brash through the blush, "We are all friends."

"You don't get it yet," Tomoya told her, "Kotomi and I have agreed that when we have kids, and if something should ever happen to us, you are the person we would trust with our children."

Kyou's jaw dropped and her eyes opened wide in surprise and even fear. This must be a mistake. Surely no-one would ever entrust their precious children to a monster like her. Tomoya should know better after what he had gone through… Kyou could feel her heart hammering inside her chest. She wanted to scream at them. How could they make a decision like that. How could they be so wrong to trust her with the life of a child… Kyou needed to shout these things to them but she couldn't seem to get the air. And why had it become so dark?

"She's blacking out." she heard Kotomi say.

"I've got her," she heard Tomoya's voice but it seemed to be coming from so far away now, "she'll be okay as long..."

.

Sunday afternoon, May 25 - The Park

Kyou woke up feeling contentedness and peacefulness that she had not felt in a very long time. A gentle breeze caressed her skin and tousled her hair. It carried with it the scent of pine and sakura. She lay against something warm and comforting. Taking a deep breath, she smelled the unmistakable scent of … Tomoya?

Sure, there was the pine and sakura and even jasmine and amber mixed in but she was certain she could smell Tomoya as well. Where was she? She was lying on her right side. Her head was laying on a shoulder and an arm encircled her with the hand resting on her hip. Her left leg was bent at the knee and resting on someone else's leg and her left hand was resting in someone's chest. A guy's chest. And someone's hand was covering hers.

"No no no no..." she said to herself. There could be no sufficient apology if she was sleeping and snuggled up with Tomoya. Words like disloyal and betrayal began to assault her for what could only be the most brazen and dishonorable thing a girl could ever do to the friend that asked her to be her maid of honor. Kyou desperately did not want to find out that she was so lowly and horrible that she might do something like this, but she had to open her eyes. She had to see the depths to which she had fallen. Mustering her flailing courage, she opened her eyes and saw…

"Kotomi?" Kyou gasped. Kotomi's face was only centimeters from her own. Her eyes were still closed and her face looked peaceful in sleep. Kotomi's head was on Tomoya's right shoulder as Kyou's was on his left. It was Kotomi's hand that was on top of Kyou's. Looking up, it looked like Tomoya was asleep too. Planning to escape this predicament before either of them woke up, Kyou pulled her hand back from where it rested on Tomoya's chest and watched in horror as the motion yanked Kotomi's arm along with hers. Something tugged on her wrist. Lifting up her hand she saw that her wrist was bound to Kotomi's in red string.

"No!" Kyou cried out quietly as she realized her chance at escape was gone.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi said as she came out of her own slumber, "I see you are awake now."

"What?" Kyou asked while looking at the loops of red string that wrapped around her wrist and Kotomi's.

"I brought the string for kite flying," Kotomi explained as she moved her hand in a circle to cause a single twist in the threads between her wrist and Kyou's. "but it turned out to be more useful for this. I asked Tomoya to wrap our wrists before we went to sleep… after you had passed out."

"Why?" Kyou's shocked face turned to Kotomi as the purple haired girl put her hand, fingertip to fingertip, against her own.

"To make sure I woke up when you woke up." Kotomi was about to say more when Tomoya suddenly lurched and crushed both of the girls to his sides as if a powerful spasm had taken him.

"Ah!" both of the girls cried out. They watched in horror as Tomoya's back arched and he cried out in agony through clenched teeth.

"What the hell is happening to him?" Kyou asked as she tried to pry his hand off her hip. "His hand… it's freezing cold!"

"His whole body is cold," Kotomi could feel the cold through his thin summer shirt and where she could touch him on his exposed face. "I don't know..." Kotomi admitted, "I've never seen anything like this before!"

.

Winter, daytime - The Illusionary World

"What the..." Tomoya stood shocked as he looked out on an endless plain of snow.

"Don't tell me there's another one!" he heard a familiar voice from behind him. Turning, he saw three other guys. One was dressed in pajama's that were too small, one was wearing the Hikarizaka High School uniform with the gold jacket, and the other one was in heavy winter clothing. All of them looked like they could be his twin. This can't be right.

"Let me guess," the uniform Tomoya said, "your name is Okazaki Tomoya, right?"

"Yeah," Tomoya looked at the other three. I've never had a dream where I had a conversation with myself before."

"Something tells me, this isn't a dream and we aren't just different versions of the same person." the pajama Tomoya said.

"Why is that?" picnic Tomoya asked.

"This isn't my first time here." pajama Tomoya answered. Picnic Tomoya was about to say that he thought he remembered being here before too when pajama Tomoya continued, "and it isn't the first time I saw other Tomoya's here."

"Let's see how similar we are," winter Tomoya offered, "can any of you raise your right arm above your head?" They all shook their head no and they all knew why without having to hear an explanation.

"Maybe we are all the same," pajama Tomoya wondered.

"Does anyone have a girlfriend?" uniform Tomoya asked.

"I've got friends that are girls… for the first time in forever." winter Tomoya laughed.

"Yeah, me too." pajama Tomoya observed, "it started with Furukawa Nagisa for me."

"Same with me." uniform Tomoya agreed.

"Me too," winter Tomoya looked over to picnic Tomoya and asked, "what about you?"

"It started with Furukawa Nagisa for me too," picnic Tomoya answered, "but I am engaged to Ichinose Kotomi now."

"What?" pajama Tomoya gasped.

"No way!" uniform Tomoya said in disbelief.

"Who is..." winter Tomoya wondered, "wait a minute… that name sounds familiar."

"So, it looks like we are different Tomoya's" picnic Tomoya observed.

"That's great," pajama Tomoya asked, "but now what do we do?"

"How long were you here last time?" picnic Tomoya asked pajama Tomoya.

"Just long enough to be surprised," pajama Tomoya said, "not long enough to have a conversation."

"So, we've already been here longer than you were here last time. I guess that means we don't know how long this will last." offered uniform Tomoya.

"Looks like I'm the only one dressed appropriately," winter Tomoya said as he started to scan the horizon, "we should try to find some shelter soon or you guys are gonna freeze."

"Is that a shack?" uniform Tomoya was pointing toward something in the distance.

"Let's hope it is," pajama Tomoya was already making strides through the snow in that direction, "I'm starting to get really cold!" Uniform Tomoya caught up with him and made strides toward the shack on the horizon.

"What if more Tomoya's show up?" winter Tomoya asked picnic Tomoya.

"Well, you're the only one dressed in winter clothes." picnic Tomoya said, "you can wait here for a while if you want. But I think we are smart enough to follow all the tracks we'll be leaving behind."

"Yeah," winter Tomoya looked around at the tracks on the ground and agreed, "let's go."

Winter Tomoya and picnic Tomoya were about a hundred meters back from the other two when they heard pajama Tomoya suddenly scream and fall to the snow. Winter Tomoya and picnic Tomoya turned to look at each other then ran through the snow to catch up. As they got within twenty meters of the other two they heard uniform Tomoya yell.

"Stop!" he warned them, "Are you both wearing shoes?"

"Yes," they said as they came to a stop, "Why?"

"It looks like there is junk lying all over the place under the snow." Uniform Tomoya answered, "Some of it is pretty dangerous if you step on it."

"What kind of junk?" picnic Tomoya asked as winter Tomoya started kicking snow out of the way to see for himself.

"Screws, nails, metal rods… " uniform Tomoya called out, "even sheet metal."

"What kind of shoes are you wearing?" winter Tomoya asked picnic Tomoya.

"Cross Trainers," picnic Tomoya answered, "Why?"

"I'm wearing heavy boots," winter took off running for the other two and yelled back, "you be careful!" Picnic Tomoya watched as the winter dressed version of himself caught up to the other two then put pajama Tomoya over his back in a fireman's carry and headed off toward the shack.

"What do we do?" uniform Tomoya asked.

"Follow in his footsteps." picnic Tomoya suggested, "Hopefully, with his heavy boots and their combined weight, he'll crush down into the ground, anything that could hurt us through our shoes."

With that, the uniform Tomoya took off into the footsteps with the picnic Tomoya following close behind. They were already fairly close to the low flat building when pajama Tomoya had hurt his foot so it didn't take long for the them to make it to the building. As they got close to it, they realized it was more of a cabin with one wall of windows that looked out over the snow covered landscape.

Finding the door unlocked, they went inside to discover the interior of the cabin was a single large room. It didn't have much for furnishings but a table, something that looked like a space heater, and a pile of rags in the corner of the room. The space heater appeared to be on, but was either set poorly or malfunctioning as the room was still bitterly cold.

Winter Tomoya moved over to the table to put the injured pajama Tomoya down.

"See if you can find a rag suitable to bind his foot," uniform Tomoya said to picnic Tomoya, "I'll try to crank up that heater.

"Right." picnic Tomoya moved over to the pile of rags. He intended to just grab them all and head back to the table but when his hand closed on the pile, he realized that he had grabbed a leg under the cloth. "Eh?"

"What is it?" winter Tomoya asked.

"There is a body in these rags." picnic Tomoya started to separate the rags to get a look at the body to see if it was still alive. For one thing, it was way too small to be another Tomoya.

"Crap!" pajama Tomoya said, "this just went from potential dream to definite nightmare."

"Wait," picnic Tomoya rejoiced, "She's alive!" Then more somberly, "But she's freezing. Give me your jacket!"

"Um, no." Winter Tomoya answered as if that was the stupidest comment ever.

"Come on, she's just a kid. She's gonna die!" picnic Tomoya pleaded.

"Giving her my jacket won't help. That's not how jackets work!" winter Tomoya looked around the room and saw that everyone was staring back as if he was the crazy one. "Wait a minute… why am I the only one that knows that? Where are you guys from?"

"Hikarizaka City." picnic Tomoya answered. Pajama Tomoya and uniform Tomoya both nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, me too." winter Tomoya admitted, "and in the Hikarizaka City where you come from… is it winter almost ten months of the year?"

"What?" all the other Tomoya's yelled at once.

"Damn," winter Tomoya started taking off his jacket and explained, "Here's what we'll do. Under this jacket I am wearing a sweater, a heavy shirt and an undershirt. After I take them all off, uniform Tomoya will bring her to me and help me get my jacket back on with both of us inside. Picnic Tomoya, you can put my sweater on and pajama Tomoya can put on the heavy shirt."

"What about the undershirt?" pajama Tomoya asked.

"We'll use that to bind your foot. If there is any left, you should wrap it around your other foot." winter Tomoya told pajama Tomoya as he finished taking off the sweater and handing it to picnic Tomoya.

"Why his foot?" uniform Tomoya asked as he accepted the transfer of the shivering little girl from picnic Tomoya.

"The human body looses most of its heat through the head and the feet." winter Tomoya said as he peeled off the heavy shirt and handed that over to picnic Tomoya. A moment later and he was handing the undershirt over to picnic Tomoya since pajama Tomoya was still putting the heavy shirt on. Then he gasped as the small girls cold body was pressed up against his bare skin. She was still wearing the light colored shift but the cloth was a summer weight and he could feel her cold limbs and body through the material easily.

Picnic Tomoya was able to bind pajama Tomoya's wound with a torn off strip of cloth from the long sleeve undershirt. As picnic Tomoya finally got a chance to put on the offered sweater, he thought he heard someone call to him from far away. He looked around but none of the other Tomoya's seemed to notice anything.

"Good news," uniform Tomoya said as he helped zip up the jacket with the little girl and winter Tomoya inside, "the heater is throwing out more heat but it will be a while before it gets a room this size warm."

"Good," winter Tomoya said, "I suggest you guys gather around the heater and try to get some rest."

"What about you?" pajama Tomoya asked as he limped closer to the warmth of the small heater.

"I have to be careful." winter Tomoya explained, "with the jacket zipped up, it is making the best use of my heat for the girl, but if I sit wrong I could suffocate her."

It was hard to relax anywhere. This cabin must not have any insulation at all. The walls and floors were cold to the touch. The place was truly miserable. Why would anyone want to be in a place like this? And why would a little girl be out here all alone like this? Was she abandoned? Just then, picnic Tomoya heard the call again.

"Tomoya!" it was definitely Kyou's voice. Her voice was faint, but had the feel of someone screaming. She sounded scared but not panicky. He was about to get up to see if she was wandering around outside the cabin in that awful frozen wasteland, but she didn't sound far away.

"Hey," pajama Tomoya interrupted picnic Tomoya's thoughts, "You're really engaged to Kotomi?" Picnic Tomoya nodded as winter Tomoya spoke up.

"Who is she?" he asked, "Why is that name so familiar?"

"Over ten years ago we were childhood friends." picnic Tomoya said, "I found her again just this year in the school library."

"Holy shit!" pajama Tomoya looked like he had seen a ghost, "So that's where I knew her from!"

"I found her in the library too, but she won't talk to me." uniform Tomoya said.

"I had to call her Kotomi-chan before she would talk to me." picnic Tomoya admitted.

"Are you guys in the drama club?" uniform Tomoya asked.

"We are trying to get the drama club started up again but we've been having problems." picnic Tomoya answered.

"What's this about a drama club?" winter Tomoya asked and pajama Tomoya looked curious too.

"It's Furukawa's dream to do some kind of drama production on stage at the school." uniform Tomoya said.

"Huh?" winter Tomoya almost laughed, "where I come from, Furukawa is in the choir club. She actually has a really good voice."

"So, there are more differences..." uniform Tomoya observed.

"Have you guys made up with dad?" pajama Tomoya asked.

"Whaaaat?" the other three were surprised with that one.

"Find your grandmother." pajama Tomoya told them. "Dad's mom should still be alive. Talk to her," he looked down and his eyes had a far away look as he finished, "it's important."

The room was silent after that. All four Tomoya's were thinking about the troubles they had with their dads and it looked like that was one more thing that was a constant. As picnic Tomoya thought about what pajama Tomoya had said, he could feel the weariness of the day rising up in him to pull him down to sleep.

"Tomoya!" Kyou called to him again. She still sounded faint, but much closer now – almost as if he could reach out and touch her. The last thing he remembered in that place was, as he lay down on the hard wood floor, that it didn't feel so cold now.

.

Sunday afternoon, May 25 - The Park

"Tomoya!" He heard Kyou shouting his name.

"Tomoya-kun!" he could hear Kotomi saying his name through sobs.

"Where am I?" Tomoya asked as he opened his eyes and saw blue sky and summer clouds through the greenery of the sakura branches.

"He's awake!" Kyou shouted, "Kotomi, he's awake!"

An instant later Kotomi had thrown herself on Tomoya. Her arms were around him and she sobbed into his neck as her long purple hair cascaded over his face and chest like a blanket. Tomoya held onto Kotomi with one hand, patting her back to calm her down. With the other hand he cleared the layer of purple hair away from his eyes and looked up to see Kyou kneeling beside him. She looked frightened, confused, relieved, and pensive all at once. He smiled at her and reaching out, he took her hand.

"Thank you." he said to her.

"For what?" Kyou asked through her blush.

"I could hear you calling me." he tried to recall the memories but they were like wisps of smoke on a windy day, "You called me back from that place."