Chapter Twenty-Five: Pain

Mei leaned into me as we watched the bonfire. Yohei and Nagisa were trying to roast marshmallows over it while her dad tried to not laugh at their efforts. The twins sat a short distance away, with Fujibayashi watching as Sakagami tried to stop Kyou from eating all of the marshmallows out of the bag.

I looked down at Mei to see her with her eyes closed and a peaceful smile on her face. It made my chest swell to think that I was part of the reason she could smile like that.

Yohei plopped down next to me and held out a small black cube. "You want a marshmallow?"

I kept myself from laughing just in case Mei was asleep. "No thanks," I whispered. "And keep your voice down; I think your sister's sleeping."

"I'm not sleeping," murmured a contented voice. "I'm just…listening."

"You want a charcoal briquette? Your brother just roasted one," I said, earning me a dirty look from my best friend.

"No thank you," Mei replied. "I'm perfectly fine."

Yohei studied the two of us for a moment before smiling as he got to his feet. "Okay. Have fun, you two."

Other than the sounds of Kyou and Sakagami fighting, it was quiet for a while as Mei and I watched the bonfire burn. The dancing of the flames had a somewhat hypnotic effect on me, and I found myself starting to nod off…

"Tomoya?"

I blinked, snapping my head back up. "Y-Yeah, Mei?"

There was a noticeable silence before she spoke again. "Am I extra-special to you yet?"

What a strange question. "Huh?"

She sat up, so I turned to look at her expression. "Am I extra-special to you yet, Tomoya?"

My confusion must have shown on my face. "I don't understand; what do you mean 'extra-special'?" Her face fell, and I had a bad feeling… "Mei, have I forgotten something?"

She nodded with tears pooling in her eyes. "Yeah. Something really important."

My stomach slithered to my sandals. "I'm really sorry, Mei. Would you remind me what it was? It may have just gotten lost in how busy we've been."

She gave me a look of loss, that…the feeling it caused in me was indescribable. She didn't say anything, but she tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and slightly puckered her lips…

"Oh my god…" I shuddered. "How could I forget something that important?" I could feel a pressure behind my own eyes. Wasn't this supposed to be important to me, too? I grabbed her in a hug. "Mei, I'm so sorry! I…I…I don't know why I forgot!"

She sobbed quietly as I held her; this was more important to her than I apparently realized. I bit my lip as I wracked my brain trying to figure out a way to help her feel better.

I couldn't come up with anything, so I admitted my failure: "Mei, I don't know what to do. I didn't mean to forget. What can I do to make this right?"

She shook her head but didn't try to push me away. "I don't know either," she sobbed. "Just…just hold me, okay?"

Finally! Something I could do! I carefully pulled her into my lap and held her. She wrapped her arms around my head and we held each other the way we both liked.

After a time of quiet, she spoke: "I forgive you, Tomoya. Please don't forget again."

"I won't, Mei…I promise."

"You lovebirds make me sick!" Kyou complained for the umpteenth time as we rode the train home. As usual, the twins sat together with Sakagami, Yohei and Nagisa snuggled together, and Mei leaned against me.

"Shut up Kyou," I repeated for the umpteenth time in return. Deciding to change my response up a little I added, "What about those two?" I pointed over at Yohei and Nagisa, who had fallen asleep while holding each other.

Kyou sniffed. "At least they weren't all over each other like you two!"

"Onee-chan…"

"We weren't 'all over each other'. We had a problem and we worked it out. End of story."

"And the 'end of story' always seems to end with her in your lap, doesn't it?" Kyou nearly snarled.

This female was starting to get on my nerves. "What the hell is your problem, Kyou?" Out of the corner of my eye I saw Yohei start to stir, and I was relieved that we were the only ones in this car. "Ever since summer start-no, wait…since Mei and I started dating, you've been nastier to me than usual!"

"Yeah, Kyou, what's eating you?" Yohei chimed in. It was strange; he had a knowing smile on his face for some reason. "Why don't you tell us?"

Kyou drew in a deep breath and I was glad that she didn't have a book with her; it would likely have found its way into Yohei's forehead. Or mine. "None of your business," she growled.

"If you're being nastier to me because of it, then it is my business," I countered. Then I sighed; being nasty back wouldn't solve anything. "I'm sorry, Kyou. I'd like to help you if I can. Really."

My eyes widened as Kyou shuddered so violently that I thought it would shake the train car.

"S-STOP IT!" she yelled. "Stop being nice to me!" she looked at me with wild eyes and clenched her fists so tightly that I was worried that she'd draw blood. "I'm an idiot…and I'll misunderstand you…"

"Onee-chan…" Fujibayashi breathed as Mei and I looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Misunderstand what?" Sakagami had asked the question, but when I looked to her, her expression was one of someone who already knew the answer.

I finally remembered that we had a grownup nearby, and I looked to Nagisa's dad for help. But he simply sat there, arms crossed, watching us. Either he didn't care or, more likely, he wanted us to work this out ourselves. He was either a crummy dad or a great dad. Considering how Nagisa turned out…

I looked back to see that Kyou had buried her face in her hands, breathing heavily, with Fujibayashi rubbing her back; trying to calm her down, I assumed.

Kyou suddenly sat up, threw her head back with eyes squeezed shut and yelled: "I love you, Tomoya, you idiot!"

Fujibayashi continued to apologize as she started to walk her distraught sister home from the train station. Sakagami went with them, with a hand on Kyou's back. I could see that, in spite of their arguments, she was a very caring friend.

Yohei, Nagisa, and her dad also watched them go. "She'll be all right," Nagisa's dad said before lighting his cigarette. "She's needed to say that for a long time, I think." He nudged his daughter. "Good thing you talked to Brat when you did, or you could've ended up like that."

"Dad!" Nagisa protested, blushing madly.

I gasped as I suddenly saw Nagisa laying in a futon. I was holding one of her hands with both of mine and she was saying something to me but I couldn't hear it. She then fell asleep, but somehow I knew-

I saw a hand waving in front of my face. "Yo, Okazaki! Earth to Okazaki!" Yohei said.

"Tomoya?" Mei's voice sounded concerned.

I shook my head to try to clear it. That dream seemed so real… "S-Sorry, I guess I'm tired." I chuckled awkwardly. "I'm sleeping standing up, I guess."

"L-Let's go home," Mei prompted.

"S-Sure." I was still a little rattled by what I had seen, so as Mei and I left I took hold of Yohei's arm. "Take good care of Nagisa, okay?"

He gave me an understandably puzzled look. "Um, sure thing."