Chapter 20: The Turning Tides

Right now, fourth period was over, and so was homeroom. The only students who were left were the ones that had club activities. Takahashi did get back to class, though he ended up only getting half of the notes that he had intended to take. Given the circumstances, it was all he could do just scribble things down.

"All right then, let's go hang out somewhere." Sunohara grabbed his bag and was ready to leave already. He looked a little loopy. "We could go hit on girls from the schools once in a while."

"Bad idea." Takahashi pointed out the window at the angry gray clouds. "It's about to rain."

"Huh?! No way!" Sunohara turned around to look out the window that he had been ignoring for most of the day.

"Look how cloudy the sky is…" Tomoya got out of his desk and pushed in the chair.

"No way…" Sunohara grimaced and slammed his right fist on one of the desks. "My fun Saturday night…"

"Hey, Sunohara!"

For whatever reason, the homeroom teacher had suddenly appeared behind Sunohara. He looked rather intimidating, as all teacher should when they're about to do something worse than death to a student.

"You're coming with me to the staff room right now."

"Not good!" Sunohara was grabbed by the shoulder, and quickly pulled away. He left a trail of protests as he was dragged out of the room.

Takahashi sighed deeply and stood up. "Well, let's get going. He'll probably free in a while."

"Yeah." Tomoya glanced at Takahashi's leg. "How's that leg doing?"

"Peh." Takahashi tapped his shin lightly with a goofy grin. "It hurts. A lot. Think of what happens when something harder than bone hits your bone. Now imagine the pain that accompanies it. Now imagine-"

"Alright, alright, I get it. Let's go."

…..

Tomoya and Takahashi stood outside in the corridors for a while watching the cloudy sky. A thought crossed Tomoya's mind as he gazed over a few clouds.

Is Furukawa out there somewhere waiting for me, holding a basketball?

Tomoya couldn't see her from where he stood, so he kept staring at the sky. He hoped that it wouldn't rain.

"Well my friend, are you ready to go?" Takahashi snapped in Tomoya's ear to get his attention.

"Go where?"

"Outside." Takahashi replied. "Furukawa-san is waiting for you, right?"

Tomoya couldn't respond to that.

"Okazaki? Mirao?"

"Oh? There's someone calling you." Takahashi pointed behind Tomoya before sitting down and collapsing his bo-staff.

Looking back, it was Tomoyo who stood there.

"I guess you made him stop. Nothing happened all day."

"Hah. Figured as much." Takahashi shrugged. It didn't really concern him, and he didn't really do much anyway.

"Yeah, you'll be fine now."

"Yeah. You really helped me out. That's the only thing I have to do these days, so if it's over I'll feel a bit lonely."

"Why's that?" Takahashi pulled out an ice pack from his backpack before continuing. "You have plenty of friends, right?"

"Of course. Everyone is nice to me. And I have nothing bad to say about them. But they're a bit too polite. You and Sunohara are great at being idiots." Tomoyo said what sounded like an insult with a gentle smile.

"I don't think that is the issue." Takahashi cringed at the term "idiots." "That is why you came to this school, right?"

"You know, it might better if you just ignore us." Tomoya added.

"I don't really mind."

"Even with bad guys like us?"

Takahashi snickered. "Does that "us" include me?"

Tomoyo ignored Takahashi's remark. She looked a bit more serious than before. "I also say hello to people like you. And by the way, I don't hate anyone."

"What about Sunohara?"

Tomoyo nodded, almost reluctantly from what Takahashi could see. "Yeah, him too."

"You're a softie, aren't you?" Takahashi finished applying the ice pack and stood up again. "I'd even go as far as to say that it would be unexpected from someone such as you."

"Heh, I guess you're right." Tomoyo smiled in agreement. "I'm filled with motherly love. Don't you think this makes me kind of girly?"

"Are you still going on about that?" Takahashi laughed. "Girly? More like an old lady."

"Hey wait, I don't follow." Tomoya interjected. "Where is this coming from?"

"I told you about that time Youhei was being stupid and trying to prove that Sakagami-san was a guy, right? It stems from that. Long story." Takahashi pushed up his glasses.

"Hey, that's rude." Tomoyo pouted. "I'm a year younger than both of you."

"Completely forgot. Must be the height." Takahashi teased.

"Huh." Tomoyo flicked her hair aside. "Well, I have to go. I'm going home with some friends. I'll look bad if I make them wait."

"Alright, get going then." Takahashi yawned.

"Well, get out of here." Tomoya shrugged indifferently.

"It doesn't even bother you does it?" Tomoyo was evidently disappointed with their reactions. "You should at least act as if you're sorry we have to part ways."

"Well, don't go then and stay here?" Takahashi frowned for comedic effect.

"That's great and all, but too bad." Tomoyo smiled again, satisfied. "I have to keep my promise. Later." Tomoyo waved before walking away.

Takahashi watched as she walked away, while Tomoya turned around and headed towards the entrance.

"Just wait for us, Furukawa-san."

…..

When Tomoya got the field, surely enough, Nagisa was there. She was holding a basketball to her chest and waiting patiently. Tomoya couldn't bring himself to tell her why he had stopped playing basketball the same way he had told Takahashi. Nagisa was probably doing her best too, wanting to know about it.

"She's making a big fuss out of it. Damn. She'll probably head home once it gets dark." Tomoya started walking in the opposite direction. This did not escape the attention of Takahashi.

"My friend, where are you going? Furukawa-san is waiting for us."

Without answering Takahashi, Tomoya picked up the pace and headed for the school gates.

"Hey!" Takahashi called out in protest, but there was little he could do. His leg was in no condition for a race. He could only watch helplessly as Tomoya disappeared through the school gates.

With no other choice left, Takahashi walked over to Nagisa. Thankfully, with the icepack there now he didn't have to use that bo-staff as a cane. It would have been dead obvious that something was wrong with his leg.

"Furukawa-san!" Takahashi waved to her.

"Takahashi-san." Nagisa was smiling. She probably thought that his arrival meant that Tomoya was not far behind.

"Sorry, but it seems Okazaki-san isn't here right now. I guess it means we'll have to wait for him." He was afraid to have to say this, but Takahashi couldn't really do anything. He can only hope that Tomoya would be coming back.

"Really?" Nagisa looked at the school building. "Is he busy with something?"

Takahashi didn't want to discourage her in any way. "No clue. Haven't seen him since the end of homeroom."

"Okay…Well…I guess let's wait then." Nagisa glanced up at the sky. She seemed to have all the patience in the world right now.

"If it rains, you're going to catch a cold." Takahashi warned.

"Don't worry." Nagisa's smile had confidence behind it. "Okazaki-san will come for sure. I know it."

"Heh…" Takahashi raised his backpack over his head. "Whatever. We can wait. I've come prepared."

The two of them stood there at that basketball court outside. Nagisa held onto the basketball tightly, as if it were giving her hope.

You better make it, Okazaki-san. You'll be getting heck from me if you don't. Takahashi exhaled and thought he saw, just barely, his breath condensing into vapour. It might've just been his imagination, but it definitely was cold right now.

…..

Tomoya went to Sunohara dorm room. The door was open, of course. After waiting for a while, Sunohara appeared.

"Whew…" He was shaking his head in dismay when he noticed that Tomoya was sitting on his bed. "Whoa? Who's there?!"

"Welcome back." Tomoya acknowledged Sunohara with a quick nod.

"Don't enter people's rooms without their permission. You scared me." Sunohara tossed aside his book bag.

"Oh, is that so?" Tomoya looked up. "Then next time I'll pretend to be a zombie."

"That's creepy!" Sunohara slammed the door shut and took off his jacket. "Damn it, he really chewed me out today. By the way, you're next. He'll come by since this is my place."

"No way…" Tomoya grimaced. He hated dealing with the teachers.

"Well, it's because he wants us to go to college."

"You?" Tomoya laughed in patronizing manner. "That's impossible."

"You're no different!" Sunohara glared at Tomoya in response.

…

Outside, it began to rain. They'd waited patiently, but Takahashi and Nagisa didn't see Tomoya anywhere.

"Furukawa-san, perhaps we should go inside and wait." Takahashi glanced up at the clouds. It looked like this would be a downpour.

"No…" Nagisa was adamant on waiting. "Okazaki-san will come for sure…I know he will."

Takahashi sighed. He wasn't really up for arguing with a girl today. But he felt that he should do something if Nagisa did insist on waiting.

Takahashi put down his backpack for a moment. He unbuttoned his jacket and walked up behind Nagisa, placing the jacket over her shoulders.

"Wha…" Nagisa was startled by the new weight on her shoulders.

"You'll catch a cold waiting like this." Takahashi pushed up his glasses. "I can't let that happen now, can I?"

"T-thank you." Nagisa hugged the basketball in her arms tightly, her eyes slightly dazed. "Sorry about this."

"Don't worry about it." Takahashi raised his backpack over his head again with a smile. "We can wait, but I'd like to avoid any unnecessary ailments."

…..

Sunohara was gazing out the window in his room. "It looks like it's really going to rain." He muttered. "I guess we can't go anywhere because of this. Spending the afternoon with another guy…"

"Get out then." Tomoya pointed towards the door.

"Hey! This is my room!" Sunohara protested.

"But still, someone has to stay here, right?" Tomoya grabbed a magazine.

"I'm not leaving." Sunohara took a magazine as well.

They ended up lounging around and reading magazines. It was a scene that could've been expected of two young adolescents who acted like dropouts. However, as they flipped pages, Tomoya was becoming increasingly bothered by the sound of the rain. It was raining even harder than before.

There's no way she's waiting for me in this rain, right? It'd be horrible if she was.

That is what he thought to himself. It was a rhetorical question though. Tomoya knew the answer to that already.

"I'm out of here." Tomoya stood up, and left the room before Sunohara could say anything.

Grabbing an umbrella from the stands near the entrance, he ran into the pouring rain.

. ….

Tomoya was at the top of the hill outside the school gates right now. He was panting from exhausting, having ran all the way there.

"Haah…Haah…"

Tomoya sluggishly walked the rest of the way to the basketball court. Much to his dismay, Nagisa was there, without an umbrella, completely soaked by the rain. Takahashi was there too, crouched down with his backpack over his head wearing only his white dress shirt.

"Furukawa…Are you an idiot!?" He hurried over to Nagisa.

"Ah…Okazaki-san…I'm glad. You finally came." She smiled, looking slightly fatigued.

"About time, my friend." Takahashi let go of his backpack to clap very slowly, looking more than a little disappointed.

"Hey, how long have you two been waiting? You're both soaking wet." Tomoya dropped his umbrella, took off his jacket to put it over Furukawa, when he noticed that there was already another jacket over top of Nagisa's. That jacket was completely soaked as well. He knew it was Takahashi's. He placed his jacket over top of it.

"And I just borrowed this ball…I should dry it off and return it…" Nagisa looked at the ball she was holding.

"The ball won't catch a cold, but what about you?!"

"If you were really worried about that…" Takahashi stood up and walked over to look Tomoya right in the eye. "Why didn't you come sooner?"

"…" Tomoya gritted his teeth. Takahashi was right. He didn't have anything to say back to that. The rain was falling really heavily on Nagisa's head.

"No…" Nagisa shook her head gently. "Let's play…basketball…"

"How are we going to play, soaking wet?"

"Can't we?"

"We can." Takahashi gently tossed aside his backpack. "Just with a little impaired vision."

"No, you two." Tomoya was soaking wet now as well. He didn't even care about the umbrella anymore. "Just go home."

"But, please…" Nagisa held the ball up to Tomoya. "Let me see just one shot. I want to see one at last. I haven't seen a basketball player shoot up close. You won't throw underhanded like me, right? You need to have a good stance to do it, right? So I want to see it at least once." She gently pressed the ball into Tomoya's hands. "Please."

Takahashi nodded and then looked away. Tomoya knew why. He had no choice but to show Nagisa.

How long has it been since I held one…? Tomoya wondered to himself. He slowly turned and headed for the basketball loop. The ball felt familiar to his hands, but it didn't feel like how it used to, back when he was the captain of the basketball team. It had been too long since he last took a shot.

Tomoya tried to lift the ball over his shoulder. But he suddenly dropped it before he could shoot it. The ball fell to the wet ground, bouncing in the rain and the mud. Picking it up, Tomoya tried again. But his arm couldn't lift it up properly. The ball fell to the ground again.

"…" Nagisa was dumbstruck. She didn't have a clue what was happening.

"Hey, Furukawa-san." Takahashi was standing beside her, biting his lip. "Do you want an explanation?"

Tomoya exhaled. A melancholic smile appeared on his face. "I can't do it."

"What?"

"There's no way I can shoot the ball." He picked up the ball and passed it back to Takahashi. "I can't even raise the ball over my shoulder. I injured myself a long time ago…"

"..." Nagisa looked shocked and saddened as she stared at the ball that Takahashi had just given her.

Tomoya had to wonder if Nagisa's mind was swirling after saying the things she had said.

"You won't throw underhanded like me, right? You need to have a good stance to do it, right? So I want to see it at least once."

He wondered what she was thinking after saying that to someone who couldn't even lift his hand above his shoulder.

"I'm sorry…I didn't know…" Tears started welling up in Nagisa's eyes. Her face became flushed, and her cheeks were trembling. "I guess I really am an idiot…Ah…"

Suddenly, Nagisa stumbled and fell forward, as if someone had pushed her from behind. Takahashi lunged and grabbed her mid-fall.

"Furukawa!" Tomoya ran over to Nagisa, and placed his hand on her forehead. She was burning up.

"Jesus…She passed out." Takahashi checked Nagisa's pulse. "No choice then. We need to take her home, now. Can you carry her?"

Takahashi placed his and Tomoya's jacket over Nagisa's chest as Tomoya cradled Nagisa in his arms. She seemed so fragile right now. I'm the real idiot here…Tomoya thought that as he looked at Nagisa. He hadn't felt this worried for a long time. After that train of thought, he took off towards the front gate.

Grabbing the umbrella and his backpack, Takahashi followed not close behind. "Damn it, Okazaki…" He muttered to himself. "If you'd had just come when we left the school…"

To be continued…

….