Monday morning, January5 – Train Station
Both Kyou and Kotomi had only a single carry-on bag each for the long flight from Japan to America. The rest of their things had been shipped ahead and would be at the house waiting for them when they got there. Such foresight had been the gift of Kobayashi Jun who had made long trips like this many times in his life. Gathered at the train station to send them off were several of their friends.
"Are you sure you don't want us to see you off at the airport?" Tomoya asked Kotomi.
"Thank you but no, Tomoya-kun." Kotomi smiled, "We will be all right from here."
"I can't believe I'm not going to see you for two months." Tomoya said as he hugged his wife to his chest. "I'm missing you already."
"But I'm right here." A confused Kotomi said from the comfort of Tomoya's chest. Tomoya laughed but held her tight.
"I am going to miss your cooking." Kyou said to Tomoyo.
"Just my cooking?" Tomoyo's eyebrow raised as a challenge to Kyou's comment.
"Well, I'll miss the workouts and doing the morning run with you." Kyou looked like she was trying to remember something, "Chatting over coffee. Doing homework together. Shopping…" Kyou stopped and, turning her face away from Tomoyo, said, "But that's it. If I admitted to missing anything else, people would start to think we were friends."
"Gods forbid." Tomoyo answered Kyou's silliness with a knowing smile.
"Now, promise me you'll take good care of Tomoya-kun while we're…" Kyou tapered off. She had been trying not to think about how far away she would be from Tomoya… from home… from Ryou.
"Oh yes," Tomoyo smiled so much she appeared to be baring her teeth, "I'll be taking good care of Tomoya while you're… not around."
"Eh… what?" Kyou looked at the feral grin on the powder blond's face as she turned away. "What does that mean?"
"Sorry," Tomoyo waved merrily as she walked away, "I have to say my farewells to Kotomi now."
"What?" Kyou turned her eyes from the departing Tomoyo to her sister and asked, "What did that mean?"
"I'm not sure." Ryou was also watching the departing Tomoyo, "She doesn't usually joke like that. Has she been learning how to tease from Tomoya-kun?"
"Yeah… that's what that was." Kyou was having second thoughts about leaving now. She shook her head and smiled at her sister. She had planned on telling her sister how much she was going to miss her too, but she found herself unable to bring up the words. Ryou too seemed speechless. One moment they were looking into each other's watery eyes – then they were embracing and crying.
"I don't want you to go!" Ryou cried into her twin sister's shoulder.
"I'll be back next winter, I promise!" Kyou tried to appease the sadness and guilt of leaving her sister behind like this, but not much remained to be said. Over the last several months, everything had been considered, discussed, and planned for. All of this was just emotion now. Still, emotion is a powerful thing. "Promise me you'll do well at your college!"
"I will!" Ryou vowed. She had easily been accepted into the Furukawa's alma mater in the pre-med program. Nagisa would be studying theatrics and political science at the same university. Both of them would be moving out of the area as well since the college was in another prefecture. To their great happiness, Akio had managed to get them in the same dorm room. Ryou then demanded of Kyou, "And, you have to do your best at your college too!"
"I will!" Kyou felt confident that she would do well. Kotomi had made out a study program to prepare her, and she would be there to help both Kyou and Tomoya if they needed it. "I know you'll be looking after Nagisa-chan, but will you look in on Tomoya and make sure… everything is okay there?"
"Onee-chan, you worry too much!" Ryou chastised her older sister, "Tomoya-kun wouldn't cheat on Kotomi-chan."
"Yeah… you're right." Kyou smiled but bit her lip from saying any more. She still hadn't told her sister just how close she had become to Tomoya. Of course, that was all with Kotomi's blessing… indeed, it had even been with Kotomi's encouragement. So… it wasn't really cheating then… was it? The question she had asked herself a thousand times, she found that she was still asking herself. Whether it was cheating or not, the flames of her love for Tomoya had only ever been fanned by Kotomi and Kyou was no longer willing or able to let him go. Oh Kotomi, I don't know why you're doing this but I don't care anymore. I just hope you never change your mind and throw me out in the cold.
Everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard the call for the train that would take the two girls away on their next great adventure. Final hugs were made, there was a flurry of waving hands and… they were gone.
As Tomoya and his friends left the train station, Youhei suggested they all go to a family restaurant and have breakfast together. Several of them had already eaten, but they were willing to have some coffee and stay for the camaraderie. Tomoyo walked next to Tomoya and looked at the folded note that Kotomi had thrust into her hand when they had said their goodbyes. It was sealed and had Tomoyo's name in Kotomi's elegant handwriting.
.
At the family restaurant, Tomoyo sat with her legs drawn up and sipped at her coffee while opening Kotomi's note. There was a lively conversation going on at the table, but Tomoyo's curiosity got the better of her as she withdrew from the conversation and quietly read the note in her hand.
.
Greetings Tomoyo-chan,
Thank you very much for agreeing to stay at my house and watch over Tomoya-kun until he has graduated and is able to join us. As we had previously discussed, you are welcome to stay in the Ichinose house during your final High School year if it is convenient for you.
A few notes on Tomoya-kun:
1. When you sleep with him, there are two positions that he seems to favor. If he lies on his back, rest your head on his shoulder, lay your arm across his chest, and throw your leg across his legs. If he lays on his side, he will want to pull you in close and wrap you in his arms. I find both positions to be very comforting and I am able to sleep restfully either way.
2. Also, no matter what Sunohara-san says, Tomoya-kun does not like his underwear starched and ironed. Youhei-kun may be adamant on this point, but I assure you he is quite mistaken. I experimented for some time do determine the correct amount of starch and the answer was: none at all.
Thank you again,
Kotomi-chan
.
Tomoyo had just taken a sip of her coffee when she got to the 'notes' section. Some of the coffee sprayed out of her mouth and nose onto Youhei who was sitting across from her. Unfortunately, her own gasping and choking meant she was not able to enjoy Youhei's surprise and discomfort.
.
Monday afternoon, January5 – From Boarding to 12 kilometers over the Pacific Ocean
This was not the first time on and airplane for either of the girls, but it was the first time on something this big. When viewing them far up in the sky, they all have the familiar shape and don't look so different, but this plane was monstrous compared to the aircraft they had been on for their Okinawan vacation.
Then again, it makes sense that it would be larger since it is flying half way around the world. Kyou was able to still think rationally – unlike her purple haired friend who was only able to take one step after another because she was clinging to Kyou's hand. I hope Kotomi will be okay. She is already more frightened than I thought she would be and we haven't even got to our seats yet. Kyou was worried. Tomoya wasn't here so it would be entirely up to her to calm Kotomi down when the plane started moving. She believed that she understood why Kotomi would be more frightened this time than their previous flight. It was, after all, on a long distance international flight when her parents had died.
When the stewardess looked at their tickets, she escorted them into the first class section. Kyou didn't know they had first class tickets until that moment and was pleasantly surprised until she saw the seats. Her pleasant surprise turned into despair as she realized the problem with the seats. Although they were incredibly luxurious and able to recline into a small bed for this long flight, there was a partition wall between each seat for privacy… Kyou wouldn't be able to hold Kotomi's hand. Kotomi would be alone!
"Miss?" Kyou called out to the stewardess, "There must be a mistake! We have to sit together." Kyou rolled her eyes back to Kotomi who was almost completely unresponsive behind her. She was considering asking if they could trade their seats with someone that was not in first class.
"I see." The stewardess smiled as she looked at the two young girls. She could tell that the petrified girl relied entirely on her friend for courage. Reviewing the tickets to remember their names, she noticed the special symbol on the ticket for Ichinose Kotomi that indicated a VIP. "Don't worry, I can fix this. Just have your friend sit here and wait next to her. I will be right back."
A few minutes later, some men in airline jumpsuits appeared with some tools and in only seconds they had removed the partition wall and carried it away. Kotomi looked terrified that part of the seat that she was sitting in seemed to be coming apart.
"Kotomi, look at me!" Kyou could feel her friends building fear by the way her hand was being painfully squeezed. Kotomi did as Kyou told her and soon her fearful gaze was turned toward her lone beacon of courage. Kyou said as softly and calmly as she could, "It's okay. They took that part away so we could hold hands during the flight. You want to hold my hand, don't you?"
Kotomi tried to speak but nothing would come out. She nodded her head so hard that her hair was flying around like a purple maelstrom.
Much to the stewardesses chagrin, instead of letting go of Kotomi's hand and walking around to the proper entrance to her seat, Kyou climbed over Kotomi and the console area. She was able to get into her seat and even get her seat-belt on with one hand, all the while never letting go of her friend's hand. Considering how terrified the young VIP seemed to be, she decided that the lavender haired girl had probably come to the only real option. The stewardess knew that these two were too young for alcoholic drinks, so she decided to get them reclined for sleep as soon as they were at cruising altitude.
.
Kyou heard the chime and saw the light go off that indicated that they were leveling off and it was safe to unfasten their seat belts and move about the cabin. Unfortunately, that was not an option for her at the moment. Kyou grunted at the relentless shooting pain in her hand.
"Kotomi." Kyou called out to her friend sitting next to her. Kotomi's eyes were open, but she was as rigid as a statue.
"Kotomi!" Kyou called out a bit louder. Then she remembered the key to getting through to the purple haired girl when she was like this.
"Kotomi-chan!" Kyou was thrilled to see a reaction on her friend's previously inanimate features.
"Kyou-chan?" Kotomi said softly as if she were afraid a louder voice would break something.
"Kotomi-chan, you are crushing my hand." Kyou couldn't free her hand from Kotomi's death-grip without causing permanent damage to herself or to Kotomi. As Kotomi turned to look at Kyou, a single tear could be seen running down the face of the petrified girl genius.
"I'm sorry Kyou-chan." Kotomi asked, "What can I do?"
"Let go of my hand!" Kyou pleaded.
Kotomi said nothing but kept looking at Kyou as if she might suddenly disappear if Kotomi turned her head or blinked. Unfortunately, she didn't loosen her vice-like grip on Kyou's hand.
"Try talking about something." Kyou winced at the pain.
"About what?" Kotomi asked.
"Teach me something. Tell me something new. Tell me something I don't know." Kyou was so desperate, she would even listen to Kotomi's dissertation on string theory if that would help.
"Something you don't know, Kyou-chan?" Kotomi asked.
"Yes." Kyou tried to flex her throbbing fingers but it just felt like they were crushed again, but from different angles.
"Promise you won't get mad at me, Kyou-chan?" Kotomi's demeanor seemed to change and her grip relaxed a bit.
"Yes, yes I promise!" Kyou could feel the blood going back into her hand, "I promise I won't get mad at you. Please… tell me something I don't know."
"Kyou-chan… I'm pregnant." Kotomi said evenly.
"That's nice… WHAT!" Kyou shouted loudly enough that nearby passengers were turning to see what the commotion was all about. Whether it was the revelation or the shout, Kotomi finally let go of Kyou's hand and covered her face.
"You promised you wouldn't get mad at me!" Kotomi bawled from behind her hands.
"I'm not mad! I'm not mad." Kyou said emphatically as she flexed her hand to get the feeling back into her fingers. As soon as she was able to, Kyou reached out and took Kotomi's hands down from her face. "I'm just very shocked. I had no idea. When… I mean, how far along are you?"
"Four months." Kotomi answered.
"Four months?" Kyou was in disbelief.
"Yes." Kotomi looked down at where Kyou was holding her hands, "Kyou-chan, did I do something wrong?"
"No." Kyou made Kotomi look her in the eyes, "You did nothing wrong, Kotomi-chan. You are his wife and he is your husband. If a married couple can't have a child, then who can?"
"Thank you, Kyou-chan!" Kotomi leaned into Kyou's shoulder and finally started to relax.
"Kotomi-chan, have you told Tomoya-kun yet?" Kyou asked.
"No," Kotomi seemed to think about it and said, "I was afraid to. I am worried that he might not be pleased with me."
"Kotomi-chan, do you trust my intuition regarding Tomoya?" Kyou spoke seriously as she looked deep into Kotomi's purple eyes.
"Yes, Kyou-chan," Kotomi seemed like she was about to cry as she answered, "It is one of the many reasons that I rely on you so much."
"Then trust me on this," Kyou said plainly, "Tomoya-kun will NOT be upset when you tell him. He may be shocked, but he will not be upset."
"Thank you, Kyou-chan! That makes me so happy!" Kotomi hugged Kyou for a moment then asked her friend, "I suppose I should tell him as soon as we land, right?"
"Ye… no." Kyou looked down. She hated the lie-of-omission that she was about to recommend to Kotomi, but…
"I should not tell him?" Kotomi was a bit surprised that Kyou-chan wouldn't want her to be truthful with her husband at the next opportunity. It did seem like the logical and ethical thing to do. She was eager to learn what Kyou-chan's justification would be for this aberrant advice.
"I am worried that if you tell him now, he will suddenly feel the weight of responsibility and…" Kyou took a deep breath as she thought through the flash of insight that she got when she changed her mind from answering 'Yes' to answering 'No.' "I am worried that the responsibility will weigh heavily on him and make him do something stupid." When Kotomi gave her a curious look, Kyou was more specific as she said, "He might give up on going to college and run off to get a job and immediately start working. He would ruin his future."
"Oh my, I hadn't considered that possibility." Kotomi took Kyou-chan's concern and used what she knew of Tomoya-kun's personality to see if she thought there was a chance that he might do what Kyou-chan was suggesting. In moments, she had come to a conclusion… and a decision. "I believe the probability of that scenario is low, but… not low enough that it can be discounted. I believe Tomoya will be upset with both of us when he arrives in two months and I am then six months along, but that can't be helped, can it?"
"Kotomi-chan," Kyou bit her lip for a moment then told her friend, "I will not let him get mad at you. I'll tell him that I am to blame for the secrecy, and he can be mad at me."
"No, Kyou-chan." Kotomi understood what her friend was willing to do for her, but she couldn't allow that, "It was your recommendation, but it is my decision. Besides, he must not hate you. He must continue to love you as you love him. That much is certain."
"Certain?" Kyou was dumbstruck by Kotomi's last argument, "Why Kotomi-chan? Why is it so important for Tomoya-kun to love me?" Even as Kyou asked the question, she could see that Kotomi's adrenaline was running out and she looked like she might pass out at any moment.
"The data set may be incomplete, but the probability is high." Kotomi's voice was so low that Kyou had to strain to make out the words over the background noise of the airplane's engines. "You are the key, Kyou-chan. All our futures… all our happiness… lost without you."
"What?" Kotomi was now asleep in Kyou's arms, but that left Kyou with a lot to think about. Kotomi, what weird conclusion have you come up with? What did you mean by all that? I'm not anything special… how can I be the key to… to… anything? Kyou was looking for the controls to recline Kotomi's seat when the stewardess reappeared with pillows and blankets. She keyed the controls to make both seats recline into adjoining beds and covered both of the girls with blankets. Resting her head on the soft pillow, Kyou watched the girl genius sleep peacefully on the airplane that she feared so much when she was awake. Kotomi-chan, what on Earth are you planning to do? Kyou wondered as she fell asleep herself.
.
You are a very important part of me already, Kyou-chan. I would be so lost without you.
All our futures… lost without you.
All our happiness… lost without you.
… lost without you.
Greatest Curse.
That much is certain.
Romance.
He must continue to love you…
You are the key.
… as you love him.
So, if I were not around, you would marry Tomoya-kun?
If something were to happen to me…
A good friend's tragedy will requite your greatest desire.
Kyou slept fitfully as the jumbo-jet moved farther and farther away from Japan.
.
Monday evening, January5 – Ichinose residence
Tomoya and Tomoyo were seated at the kitchen table in their gym clothes. They had just finished a workout session in the dojo with Youhei, Yukine, and Fuko - and had seen them off before sitting down for a drink of Tomoyo's relaxing tea blend.
"You did really well today." Tomoyo complemented Tomoya.
"Thanks." Tomoya chuckled, "Ordinarily, I'd want to celebrate if you complemented someone like me. But, I'm too exhausted. All I can think of now is bath and bed."
"Someone like you…" Tomoyo narrowed her eyes and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"Well," Tomoya explained, "I never did any martial arts training before last summer and I'm not as healthy as you are. So, to hear you say that..."
"Ah," Tomoyo's expression relaxed and she took a sip of tea as she said, "I guess that's okay then."
"What's okay?" Tomoya figured out that something was going on and was curious.
"Kyou told me to hit you hard if you started calling yourself a delinquent or said things like someone like me in a depreciating manner." Tomoyo explained.
"Heh," Tomoya laughed, "Please don't do that. In fact, you don't need to follow any of Kyou's weird instructions at all."
"Oh?" Tomoyo thought of the note up in her room and asked, "What about Kotomi's weird instructions?"
"Eh?" Tomoya couldn't imagine his darling and violence-averse wife leaving any instructions for Tomoyo to beat on him for any reason.
"Meet me upstairs on the landing," Tomoyo took her mug of tea with her and headed for the stairs. A few minutes later, Tomoya was at the top of the stairs and Tomoyo handed him a folded note. "That is what Kotomi gave me just before she left on the train."
Tomoya read through the note twice and, to his credit, was able to restrain any reaction to what he read. After all, Kotomi had come up with some pretty weird ideas in the last year so this wasn't so uncharacteristic. He passed the note back to her and said only, "It's true."
"Eh?" Tomoyo had been expecting more of a reaction to what was on the note and had certainly not expected that reply. She asked, "What's true?"
"I do not like my underwear starched… not even a little bit." Tomoya was able to say with a straight face.
"Tomoya," Tomoyo took a deep breath, "you should know that I am strongly considering taking some of Kyou's advice right now."
"I'm sorry!" Tomoya threw both hands up in appeasement. He didn't know what Kyou's advice might be, but he could bet it would be painful for him.
"What do you want to do about this?" Tomoyo held up the note as she asked him.
"That is completely up to you." Tomoya told her, "I think you know how Kotomi feels on the matter so there should be no issue of impropriety or guilt. On the other hand, if you find the idea repellent, you shouldn't force yourself."
"How do you feel about it?" Tomoyo demanded an answer.
"I believe that I am now used to sleeping with someone to cuddle up to." Tomoya admitted, "I don't sleep as well when I am alone… but I would only do that with someone I like."
"Then, you do not wish to sleep with me?" Tomoyo asked.
"No, that's not what I mean. I remember the night we slept together during Kotomi's sleeping experiments and for my part," Although blushing from what he had to say, Tomoya answered truthfully, "I slept quite well. I felt very comfortable with you."
"I did too." Now Tomoyo was also blushing. She had been struggling to keep the emotion out of the conversation so this wouldn't happen, but when she saw his blush – she couldn't help herself.
.
Both of them had worried that they would not be able to sleep, but it had been a very exhausting day both physically and emotionally. Tomoya was on his side with Tomoyo pulled in and his arms protectively around her just as Kotomi had predicted. Both of them were soundly asleep several hours before Kotomi and Kyou's plane would land.
.
Wednesday morning, January7 – Houston residence
This place is huge! Kyou had been too exhausted to look around on the day they arrived, but she had her energy back now. The master bedroom where she and Kotomi had collapsed had it's own attached bathroom just like the Ichinose residence in Japan, but everything was larger. There were two walk-in closets attached to the bathroom area that were each as large as her own bedroom back home at her parents' house.
The rooms were decorated in a mix of western and Japanese styles, but there were a few bedrooms that were unfurnished and a few other things that made Kyou wonder. "Kotomi-chan…"
"In English." Kotomi reminded her friend.
"Eh? I was speaking in English." Kyou put her hands on her hips and challenged her genius friend, "Isn't 'Kotomi-chan' the same in both English and Japanese?"
"English does not have any familial suffixes." Kotomi looked up from where she was putting clothes away in a drawer.
"That may be a problem." Kyou said, "Sometimes you do not respond to Kotomi without the chan."
"I don't?" Kotomi seemed stunned to hear this.
"You didn't know?" Kyou asked.
"I had no idea." Kotomi's eyes opened wide, "What will I do?"
"I don't think it will be a problem to ask everyone to call you Kotomi-chan." Kyou dismissed the issue, "If they're not familiar with Japanese culture, they'll just think it's part of you name. If they are familiar, they'll think it's cute."
"Do you really think so?" Kotomi was still a little concerned but would trust Kyou-chan's advice.
"Yeah, it's not that big a deal." Kyou tried to sound as certain as she could. They would be visiting Kotomi's campus tomorrow and she didn't want her friend to be worrying about the little things.
"Oh yeah," Kyou launched into a subject change before Kotomi could start worrying too much, "I was going to ask you who else is living here."
"No-one else is living here." Kotomi cocked her head to one side and told Kyou what should have been obvious to her, "We are the only ones here now."
"No." Kyou covered her face with her hand. "I can see that we are the only ones here now but there are bedrooms that look like they are waiting for someone to arrive, and there are a couple of cars and a motorcycle in the garage."
"Oh, I see." Kotomi felt better about Kyou's cognitive abilities as she explained, "We will be expecting Tomoya-ku…" Kotomi corrected herself, "We will be expecting Tomoya to arrive in two months and the arrival of two children in a little over four months."
"Two children?" Kyou asked.
"Yes." Kotomi answered as she placed a hand on her belly.
"What?" Kyou gasped, "You're having twins?"
"That is the belief at this time." Kotomi said, "But it is unlikely that they will be as identical as you and Ryou. There is evidence of placental walls between the fetuses."
"Eh?" Kyou didn't know anything about placental walls and twins but that was a subject for another day. Kyou flopped down in a nearby chair and put her head in her hands. "Kotomi… raising children is a lot of work. I don't see how all three of us are going to be able to go to school and be able to keep up with two infants."
"Don't worry, Kyou." Kotomi walked on her knees, over to where Kyou was sitting. Putting her head in Kyou's lap and hugging her around the waist, Kotomi told her, "I was concerned too, but Professor Kobayashi said he would be sending help."
"Really?" it took a minute for Kyou to realize that the Japanese form of 'Kobayashi-hakase' was 'Professor Kobayashi' in English. Once she had that figured out, she looked down at the head in her lap and gently stroked the mass of purple hair. She felt more confident now, but there were still questions. "What about the vehicles? Is someone coming to pick them up?"
"No," Kotomi seemed so relaxed that she was on the verge of sleep as she told Kyou, "those are for us. This area does not have a mass transit system as developed as what we are used to in Japan. The convertible is mine. The sedan is for Tomoya. The motorcycle is for you."
"EH!" Kyou gasped, "What?" Kyou remembered admiring the motorcycle in the garage but also noticing how much larger it was than the little scooter that she used to ride to school and back.
"Tomoya explained that the rumors at the school about you being bisexual were his fault, when he tried to hide his blunder of mentioning your motorbike to the class." Kotomi was looking up at Kyou from where she had been resting her head, "Did I not understand the story correctly?"
"No, you understood correctly." Kyou blushed as she remembered that day when Tomoya had embarrassed her in front of her sister and a class full of students. "It's just that… the motorbike I had was a scooter and that thing is… huge!"
"It will be okay, Kyou-cha… Kyou." Kotomi told her, "I have signed you up for lessons this weekend. It was at Professor Kobayashi's recommendation. He said that the laws are a little different here and they drive on the right side of the road, so you should take the classes even if you already know how to drive."
"Ugh… driving school." Kyou couldn't help groaning about it. The driving school her father had demanded that she attend before being able to ride her scooter had been so terribly boring.
"It is only a three day class for you." Kotomi smiled, "Tomoya and I will have to go to classes that will take several weeks."
"Wow," Kyou leaned her head back and looked at the slowly spinning ceiling fan, "we really are adults now, aren't we?"
"Huh?" Kotomi didn't see how Kyou had got to that observation.
"Here we are talking about having children, college classes, and driving." Kyou closed her eyes and could easily see the familiar high school in her mind, "Every time I wake up, find myself looking around for my high school uniform…"
"Do you regret coming here with me, Kyou?" a concerned Kotomi asked.
"Baka!" Kyou looked down into Kotomi's worried eyes and smiled, "This is going to be a great adventure and I can't think of anyone that I would rather be on an adventure with than you and Tomoya."
"Thank you, Kyou!" Kotomi threw her arms around Kyou and hugged her again.
"There there," Kyou smiled as she soothed Kotomi's worries away. Still, she wondered what she might be missing in the last few months of high school. Not much, I'm guessing. The third years that have their college acceptance usually skip the last few months anyway. If anything, I am escaping the boredom. An idea suddenly came to her that made her smile. As soon as Kotomi let her up, she would take a picture of her new 'bike' and send it to Ryou… and her father.
.
Thursday afternoon, February12 – Student Council Office
More than a month had passed since Kotomi and Kyou had left for America and Tomoya found himself counting the weeks until he too could board that big airliner that would reunite him with them. At the same time, there would be the sadness of leaving so many dear friends behind. He now had many people that he called friends and saying goodbye to them would not be easy. And then, of course, there was Tomoyo – who had become closer than a friend in these last five weeks. With the other two girls gone, she had been his sole study and exercise partner. Not to mention, she was a particularly comfortable fit when they cuddled together at night.
Other students and the school didn't know that they were sleeping in the same bed, but they did know that they were living at the same house and appeared to be getting quite close. Unfortunately, such closeness between them was not without its consequences.
Tomoyo was behind her desk in the Student Council Office with the Vice President and the Secretary flanking her. Across the table from them were members of the Disciplinary Committee. Although Youhei was not the head of the committee, he was in the center position to face off against his own friend. Youhei didn't like having to do this, but he didn't like the reason he was here even more.
"Tomoyo," Youhei wanted to try to appeal to her as a friend despite the environment and avoided titles and honorifics in the same way that she did, "there have been some rumors about the morals of the Student Council President… about you."
"Really?" Tomoyo sounded surprised.
"Yes," Youhei took a deep breath and continued, "Since it is my job to hunt down rumors and since it was about you… I handled this myself."
"Good, so it is taken care of then?" Tomoyo sounded positive but she noticed that the two committee members flanking Youhei didn't seem to match her positivity.
"No. No it's not." Youhei closed his eyes and told her, "my investigation showed that the rumors turned out to be true."
"Eh?" Tomoyo thought she had misheard Youhei for a moment.
"There are pictures of you and Tomoya." Youhei said as he spread the pictures out on the table, "You are eating together, here you are leaning into him and laughing, there are a few pictures of the two of you holding hands…"
"I don't see any pictures of us kissing." Tomoyo pointed out.
"Should there be?" Youhei glanced up at Tomoyo's eyes but she only smiled back.
"Of course not." Tomoyo had wanted to kiss him so desperately, but could not cross that line after all. At first she had thought that sleeping in his embrace would be a satisfactory substitute for not being able to kiss him. In the beginning it had been… but now she wanted that kiss all the more because of the closeness they now shared. Glancing back down at the pictures, she commented, "I don't remember walking around holding hands with Tomoya either… are you sure these pictures aren't faked?"
"I am sure." Youhei said it as if there was no room for doubt at all.
"How can you be so sure?" the Vice President asked.
"I took those pictures myself." Youhei admitted.
"I see." Tomoyo wondered when that had happened. They had tried to not be too affectionate in public, but they had obviously failed. She wondered how out of it she must have been to be in public and holding hands without her realizing it.
"Do you know why we are here, Tomoyo?" Youhei asked.
"No." Tomoyo fought what she knew they were about to suggest, "I don't see a problem here. So what if we were holding hands. We are very good friends. Youhei… you know that we are good friends!"
"Yes, I realize that Tomoyo." Youhei hated saying this, but when Tomoyo put him on the Disciplinary Committee, she had made it impossible for him to avoid such a responsibility. "You are the Student Council President and you are living in the same house with a married man and the wife is not around."
"I have permission…"Tomoyo was cut off by Youhei.
"You were seen holding hands with him! You were seen… all but kissing him!" Youhei hoped she would get the message he was trying to get across to her as he asked, "Are you going to tell us that you have permission from the wife… from Ichinose Kotomi, to hold hands with her husband, to kiss him, to do anything you want?"
"I… I have permission to live with him in her house." Tomoyo looked down. She did actually have permission to do quite a bit more than that, but she had understood what it was that Youhei was trying to tell her. By revealing everything, she would only muddy Kotomi's name and it wouldn't save her anyway.
"That's not enough." Youhei shook his head.
"Why isn't it enough?" Tomoyo sounded upset, but not yet angry, "Why is it anybodys business but my own?"
If you were anyone else, that might be okay, but you are on the Student Council. You aren't just expected to live by the established standards, you are expected to represent them." Youhei tried to appeal to Tomoyo on a personal level. "Do you remember… This is just like what you told me when you put me on the Disciplinary Committee. I could no longer be a delinquent. I could no longer do as I liked. I had to represent."
"I remember." Tomoyo took a deep breath and admitted to herself that the situation was very similar.
"You know what you have to do." Youhei said. He was expecting her to volunteer to move out of the Ichinose residence and leave Tomoya alone for the last three weeks of school. No-one in the room was prepared for the solution she came up with.
"I do." Tomoyo sighed and told them, "Tomorrow, I will announce that I am resigning from the Student Council and the Vice President will be taking over my responsibilities."
"What?" everyone gaped.
"The following day will be Valentines day." Tomoyo continued, "On that day, I will present Tomoya with the very best, hand made chocolates that I have ever made. I will also confess my love to him. He will, of course, turn me down. But I will not accept the path of cowardice!" Tomoyo stared down each of the present members of the Disciplinary Committee in turn. Then, for the first time Youhei could remember, tears came to her eyes as she told them, "It is Tomoya – so I already know what will happen. He will accept my chocolates, then he will gracefully turn me down because he is already in love with someone else."
"Tomoyo," Youhei reached across the table and took Tomoyo's hand, "Are you sure this is what you want to do?"
"Youhei, I've fallen in love with him." Tomoyo felt a weight lifted from her as she admitted to the feelings she had been trying so hard to keep hidden, "He is so wonderful and I have fallen so… so hard. What else can I do? I refuse to give up these last few weeks that I have to be with him."
"Tomoyo..." Youhei started to suggest reconsidering.
"I refuse!" Tomoyo shouted and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Well then," Youhei looked to the senior member of the Disciplinary Committee to his right and said, "since Sakagami Tomoyo will then be an ordinary student, I see no reason to pursue this."
.
Saturday morning, February14 – Hikarizaka High School
When the alarm went off, Tomoya awoke to find himself alone in the bed. It was not that unusual after all the mornings that Tomoyo left early to help out at the Furukawa Bakery. Still, waking up alone on Valentines day was disappointing.
.
Youhei and Yukine were waiting for him at the gate as he left the house. Youhei looked like he was worried about something but Yukine seemed cheerful.
"Tomoya-senpai," Yukine called out to him as he joined them, "has anyone else given you chocolates yet?"
"Anyone else?" Tomoya thought the phrasing a bit odd. Come to think of it, he hadn't got anything in the mail from America… then again, he wasn't sure if married people were supposed to give each other chocolate on Valentines day and White day. "No, nobody has given me any chocolate."
"Good!" Yukine reached into her bag and pulled out a sizable gift wrapped box and handed it to him, "I'm glad that I get to be the first."
"Eh?" Youhei cried out, "Why are you giving Okazaki chocolates?" He cried out again when he saw the size of the box, "That's… that's too much for obligation chocolates!"
"No, these are not obligation chocolates, but neither are they something to indicate romantic feelings. This for Tomoya-senpai because he is someone I respect and hold very dear." Yukine could see that Youhei wasn't feeling any better at this reasoning, so she added, "I could think of many reasons to give him chocolates, but the most important reason would be: if it were not for him, I would never have met the person I fell in love with."
"I…" Youhei stewed as he walked along with Tomoya and Yukine for a few minutes then finally agreed, "All right, that's a pretty good reason. But why is his box bigger than mine?"
"Oh, the box I gave you was just for taking to school." Yukine purred as she leaned into him, "The rest of your present waits for when we get home."
"Eh!" Youhei felt as if an electric current had just passed through his nervous system. Suddenly, he was very much looking forward to the end of the school day.
.
Yukine did not seem surprised but Youhei was flabbergasted when Tomoya opened his shoe locker and a combination of cards and chocolates came pouring out.
"What's this?" Tomoya looked at Youhei and was about to blame him for trying some king of weird joke, but one look at the shocked expression on his friend's face convinced him that Youhei knew nothing of this.
"Hmm." Yukine had picked up the cards and a few of the chocolates that had spilled onto the ground and was looking through the cards, "As I suspected, it looks like these are mostly from first and second years."
"What?" both Tomoya and Youhei gaped.
"Tomoya-senpai, did you not know?" Yukine explained, "This is what happens when you inspire people. I would not be overly concerned. Like the chocolates I gave you, this is a sign of appreciation for you being who you are. No-one is seriously trying to steal you away from Kotomi-senpai."
"Um… Yu-chan?" Youhei called her over when he opened his own locker and found several cards and chocolates waiting for him as well, "Are these appreciation chocolates too?"
Yukine's demeanor changed as she reached for the cards in her boyfriend's shoe locker and quickly scanned them. Yukine had anticipated that this would happen to Tomoya, but it had completely escaped her that there might be similar feelings for Youhei as well. And why not? Surely he has acquitted himself of the delinquent title, his grades and attendance have improved, and he has even been accepted into the famous Law Enforcement College in Tokyo. Of course he would have inspired people along the way and of course they would want to show their appreciation. Yukine prided herself on being able to remain calm when others could not, and now she couldn't help herself as the anger and jealousy built within her. Why would they do this? Doesn't everyone know he is mine? It's insulting and I will not… Her eyes fell on the last card. There was a drawing of a starfish on it. It was addressed to The Nice Guy With The Weird Hair.
"Youhei-kun," Yukine held up the starfish card, "I am pretty sure all of these, like Tomoya-kun's, are in appreciation… except this one." She gave all the cards back to Youhei and made sure he looked at the special envelope.
Youhei smiled when he saw the starfish design. Closing his eyes, he remembered all the time he had spent with Fuko. Time in the resource room learning to remember Fuko. Time taking her to see Nagisa, to birthday parties, and to see her beloved sister. Time alone in his dormitory room when she would watch him fall asleep as she faded out of his memory. When he opened his eyes again, Fuko was there – next to Yukine and looking frightened. Youhei said nothing but smiled warmly and opened his arms to her. The small girl was in his arms in an instant and holding onto him with all of her might.
"Fuko does not want you to go!" Fuko cried.
"Go?" Youhei patted her head, "I'm not the one that is leaving. That's Okazaki."
"You will graduate soon. Then you will leave." Fuko said defiantly, "Yu-chan told me so!"
"Oh, well that's different." Youhei lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "I will still be coming back to see Yu-chan and I will want to see you too."
"Really?" Fuko asked hopefully, "You will want to see Fuko?"
"Of course I will!" Youhei held his arm out for Yukine to join him in the hug. In the blink of an eye, she was joined into the small group hug. "Fuko is very important to me. I want Fuko to be there when Yukine and I get married."
"Fuko is very important to me too." Yukine said, "I also want Fuko to be there when we get married and I want Fuko to know our children too."
"Fuko will like that! Fuko believes your children will be so cute!" Fuko's sadness seemed to have been instantly replaced by happiness at the idea of meeting Youhei and Yukine's children. "Fuko can't wait!"
"Umm..." Youhei was about to caution Fuko that the wedding wouldn't be for ten months and any children might be several years away.
"I can't either!" Yukine hugged Fuko back amidst their growing excitement.
"Ulp." Youhei looked up to Tomoya for help but only found him grinning back.
"It looks like you're future is planned out already, Mr. Family-man." Tomoya chuckled.
"Oh yeah, what about you?" Youhei fired back, "Kotomi seems like the type to want a family too."
"Sure, sure..." Tomoya waved him off, "but she'll want to at least finish college first so that's probably five or six years down the road."
"Yeah, you're probably right." Youhei agreed. Then he looked at his happy girlfriend and realized that thinking about starting a family with her was not a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all. Caressing her head until she looked up at him, Youhei told his fiancé, "Fuko is right. We are going to have beautiful children."
.
When Tomoya got to his classroom, he found his desk filled with cards and chocolate. Something Yukine had said down at the shoe lockers made him anticipate this. These would be the presents from his fellow third year students. Nagisa came over from her classroom and, together with Ryou, presented Tomoya with an exceptionally nice arrangement of handmade chocolates.
"Thank you for everything, Tomoya-kun! If it hadn't been for you, I might never have met Nagisa." Ryou started to cry, "Without you, I would have lost… lost…" Her face began to dissemble into tears and sobs at the though of how it might have turned out with Nagisa on that terrible night at the Furukawa residence.
"Hey!" Tomoya reached out and pushed Ryou and Nagisa together, "Hug now! She is here, so you don't need to cry. This chocolate looks incredible but just seeing the love between you two is enough for me."
"Thank you, Okazaki-sama." Nagisa bowed to the guy she once had a crush on. In her mind, she was thanking him for so many things. Because of him she had friends, she got to perform her play, she was alive, and – perhaps most of all, she met the love of her life.
"Whoa, stop that!" Tomoya held up his hands, "I'm not Okazaki-sama. I'm Tomoya-kun to you guys, okay?"
Ryou and Nagisa gave Tomoya a hug before Ryou left to escort Nagisa back to her classroom.
.
At lunch time, Tomoya left his classroom as usual to head for the Performance Club room to join his friends for lunch. Strangely, he found his usual walk to the old wing was blocked by a lot of students in the courtyard.
"What's going on?" he asked a student near the entryway.
"Oh, Okazaki-san!" the student was another third year that recognized him, but Tomoya couldn't remember his name. The student said, "Sakagami Tomoyo is waiting for you by the big tree."
"Eh?" Tomoya was surprised. Tomoyo usually met up for lunch in the Performance Room with everyone else. "Thanks!" He smacked the student on the shoulder and made his way through the crowd toward the big tree. At first, it was slow going, but when everyone found out he was trying to make his way there, they parted to let him through. When he got to the tree, he could see Tomoyo looking downcast. In her hands she held the bag with their bento boxes in it, and a delicately wrapped gift in Valentine red and white. It suddenly became very quiet as he approached her under the tree. The sudden quiet made Tomoyo look up and she saw that Tomoya was right in front of her.
"Tomoya, I started to think that you wouldn't come." she sounded normal but Tomoya had lived with her long enough to know when she was covering up her nervousness.
"Huh?" Tomoya was confused, "I was just on my way to the Performance Club room… was I supposed to meet you here for something?"
"I left a note in your desk." Tomoyo looked back down at hearing that Tomoya was not here for her.
"Ah, that explains it." Tomoya told her, "When I got to my desk, it was stuffed with chocolates and cards. I haven't had a chance to read them all yet." Tomoya had become adept at reading situations by now. Since Kotomi had essentially relied on him for over half a year to be her weather-vane for sympathy and empathy, and since Kotomi had taught him how to apply logic and analysis to observed data, he had become pretty good at figuring out the atmosphere. In only a few heartbeats he knew that the atmosphere was not good. He had made all the observations, but how would he apply them? How would Kotomi do this…
The note she referred to means she called me out. But why? I need more answers...
Tomoyo is looking depressed. That means emotional, and that means it is a matter of love or hate.
Tomoyo stepped down from being the Student Council President yesterday.
Tomoyo was waiting for me. That means that I might be the target of the emotion.
Tomoyo is holding a valentines gift that is certainly not obligational. Not hate… it is a matter of love.
So, putting it all together: Tomoyo loves me and is planning to confess in front of all these people. Knowing that I must refuse because I am married to Kotomi… she is anticipating the humiliation and fallout to her reputation. I'm leaving soon but she has another year here; I must stop her from doing this!
Tomoyo was just about to speak when she heard Tomoya blurt out her name.
"Sakagami Tomoyo, please hear me out!" Tomoya was slightly bowed and had his eyes closed as he called out to her.
"Yes?" Tomoyo was stunned. She thought she had anticipated every way that Tomoya would refuse her confession, but Tomoya now sounded like the one making the confession. That Tomoya might do something like this had not occurred to her.
"I'm sorry I did not see your note, but by now you should know me well enough. You should know that if you ever need me, I will be there for you." Tomoya said this without looking up at the surprised platinum blond, "No matter where the paths of our lives take us, I will always be there for you."
"I… yes." Tomoyo knew that she could count on Tomoya, but she wondered if that was only because of his overdeveloped sense of obligation to his friends, or if he too felt…
"As you know, I am already married." Tomoya stood and said clearly enough that the crowd around them could hear, "But I cannot easily dismiss the feelings that I have for you."
"Eh?" Tomoyo had certainly not anticipated this. Feelings you have for me?
"Before she left, Kotomi anticipated that I might develop strong feelings for you and told me that I should immediately ask you to be my girlfriend until the end of school." Tomoya could hear the gasps from the people in the courtyard even as he could see the shock in Tomoyo's eyes. "I didn't do it because I thought it would be too cruel to ask you to be my girlfriend for a few months and then watch me leave."
"Tomoya… I" Tomoyo couldn't believe what she was hearing. Had Kotomi really said something like that? Was it really okay to let the rest of her guard down and love Tomoya after all… even if it was only for a little while?
"Forgive me, Tomoyo but I can't..." the crowd was silent again as they listened for his next words. Was he about to refuse her after all? "I can't deny my feelings any longer. You have been for some time, a good friend. But, you are now, more than a friend to me. Will you be my girlfriend until the end of school?" The crowd was confused and that was just the way Tomoya wanted it. On the one hand Tomoya was asking her to be his girlfriend, but he was already married, but his wife told him to do it, so was it cheating or not? And if it wasn't cheating, what the hell was it? In all this confusion, Tomoyo could only come out looking good when she refused such an audacious request.
"Is that Kotomi's stipulation?" Tomoyo asked.
"Huh?" Tomoya was confused at her question. Tomoyo, what are you doing? All you have to do is refuse me now and...
"Did she say that I could only be your girlfriend until the end of school?" Tomoyo demanded.
"Um no," Tomoya considered, "but you know that I am leaving for America the day after graduation."
"Then, I will be your girlfriend until Kotomi says I cannot." Tomoyo stepped up to Tomoya and handed him the bento bag and the chocolates. After he took them in each hand, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close. Looking up, she whispered to him, "Did Kotomi say if it is okay for us to kiss?"
"Um…" Actually, Kotomi had been very surprised to find out that he hadn't already kissed her. He hesitantly admitted, "Yes."
"WHOOOOOOO!" the crowd in the courtyard had been fairly quiet until that moment. When Tomoyo pulled his head down and passionately kissed him on the lips, it was as if it was a cue for everyone to start cheering.
.
"Do you believe this crap?" a Disciplinary Committee member said aloud as they watched the spectacle in the courtyard through the windows.
"What crap?" Youhei raised an eyebrow as he asked.
"That line about his wife agreeing to this." the DC member scoffed.
"Oh that," Youhei laughed, "have you met Ichinose Kotomi?"
"No," the DC member shivered at the excruciating memory, "but I sat through one of her violin performances once."
"Heh… well as brilliant as she is, a lot of people think that her social skills are on par with her violin playing." Youhei unclasped and removed the braided rope from his shoulder that identified him as a member of the Disciplinary Committee and handed it to the other member. "To tell you the truth, I'll bet she set this up from the beginning. She probably planned for this to happen way back last summer when she invited Tomoyo to live at her house."
"Why… why would she do that?"
"Because in her mind, she wanted someone capable, and someone she liked and could trust, to be there to take care of Tomoya when she couldn't be there for him. So she picked Tomoyo." Youhei said.
"But surely she knew they would end up cheating on her?"
"The concept of cheating is as alien to her as her dimensional theory is to you or me." Youhei explained. "To her way of thinking, a person who likes you will take better care of you than a person that doesn't care one way or the other. And a person that loves you, will care of you better than someone that just likes you."
"So?"
"So, to Kotomi, it is all about what is best for Tomoya." Youhei started to walk out of the empty classroom to go join his friends for lunch, "She found the most capable person available, had her fall in love with Tomoya, and now she can sleep easy knowing that he is well taken care of."
"You can't be serious!"
"I'm only speculating, of course." Youhei answered with a disclaimer, but he was pretty sure of himself on this.
"Where are you going?" the DC member asked as Youhei got to the door.
"I gave you back the rope. I'm done with the Disciplinary Committee now." Youhei smiled.
"But the agreement..."
"The agreement… was with President Sakagami." Youhei let the door close on the shocked DC member.
.
Sitting on the front porch of the Ichinose house was a package that had been left by a delivery driver. The contents of the box included chocolates that had been shipped all the way from America. After they got home that evening and opened the shipping box, Tomoya posed for a picture with the chocolates he got from Kotomi, Kyou, and Tomoyo. Then, after Tomoya's insistence, Tomoyo posed for a picture with the chocolates she got from Kotomi. The pictures were sent to their far-away friends along with their thanks.