Hello every-nyan, and welcome to one of two special 'non-edit' chapters from Azumanga Daioh: Higher Education. These chapters will consist of the two parts I wrote before I actually started this fanfiction. They have not been changed at all; they are completely original (or as original as I still have... I think this one actually had an even earlier version that I just saved the first rewrite over), spelling errors, stupid intro, and everything. It's hard to post these, because they're pretty bad, lol. But I just figured somebody in the world has to be interested in it. Get some insight into what started this great adventure we've all been on together. I'll also talk a little bit at the end of each, about the chapters and the ideas behind them, as well as two FAQ (Fricken Awesome Questions) sections (one has spoilers, one does not). So, without further ado, let's begin. Everything Azumanga Daioh belongs to it's respective owners. Happy Reading :)
Azumanga Daioh DX: ZaXo's Story
What if the story of Azumanga Daioh was different?
What if there was an extra person in the group of girls?
This is an alternate version of Azumanga written as if there was a boy in the mix... a boy named ZaXo Ken'Ichi. Even though this is not his real last name (he was born outside of Japan), he adopted it as to fit in a little better. Here is his story.
Chapter 24
The sky was a gentle, vibrant blue this morning as ZaXo walked to school. While walking, ZaXo just stared at it, knowing that this was a rare occurence in Tokyo because of pollution. He was going to remember this day forever, not just because of the sky. He just didn't know why yet. Of course, he had remembered most of his "adventures" in Japan so far. Almost every day was a new and exciting one because of the friends he had made.
As ZaXo got about half way to the school, he met up with most of the gang. Tomo, Yomi, Osaka, and Kagura were there. The only two that were missing were Sakaki, and Chiyo-Chan. This struck ZaXo as odd, since they both lived in the same neighborhood as him, and they usually walked all the way to school together. Actually, recently Sakaki had been spending the night at Chiyo's house a lot. She had Maya to look after, but she of course couldn't do it at her house. Usually, ZaXo would meet them at Chiyo's house, and they would talk all the way to school. But when he got to her house today, they weren't outside. When he rang the buzzer, nobody answered. So he figured they were in a hurry this morning for some reason and continued without them.
Nontheless, he enjoyed talking with the rest of the girls. When they arrived at the school, they were having a great time making fun of Tomo's shoes. She had overslept, and in her hurry to catch her friends, she put on two shoes from completely different pairs. But the conversation changed when Osaka started on another one of her
conspiracies, this time about the teachers actually being part cat. ZaXo knew that Sakaki would have loved to hear about this one. As he took off his outdoor shoes, he decided he would tell her about it later. When they were all done getting what they needed, and putting there shoes away, they began to walk up to the classroom.
They slowly walked up the three flights of stairs, Osaka heaving from talking and climbing at the same time. She really needs to exercise more, ZaXo thought with at little chuckle. When they approached the door to Class 3, everyone stopped at the doorway to finish listening to Osaka. When she was done, ZaXo turned to enter the classroom. He immediately noticed Sakaki in her seat in the back of the room, tears streaming down her face. He looked back to see if the others had noticed. They had, and he could tell they were planning on all bombarding her with questions. As Kagura began to move into the class towards Sakaki, ZaXo held his hand up. She stopped and looked at him for an explanation.
"Listen," ZaXo said quietly, "I don't want everyone attacking her when something is wrong like this. I think since she talks to me a lot, I should go talk to her alone. She is likely to just get more upset if we all go up at once. I am sure she will fill you in later today. Just go easy on her when she does."
They all gave a nod to say they understood, which surprised ZaXo for a second. He had half expected, Tomo especially, to tell him to forget it, and run up there anyway. But he figured that all that happened last month gained him massive respect and trust from the others. So ZaXo turned and began to walk towards Sakaki. She now had her face in her hands, and didn't notice him approach until he was right beside her.
He pulled up the desk next to hers, and sat down.
"Sakaki. What's wrong? What happened?", ZaXo asked her as politely as possible. She said nothing, but just gave a slight jump as she let out a sob.
"Sakaki, please talk to me. Is it something else wrong with Chiyo? Where is she?"
Finally Sakaki choked out, "Sh-She's f-fine. She said she wanted t-to go get me a gl-glass of water, and some ti-tissues. It's Maya. Maya is s-sick."
"What? But Maya just recovered from coming all the way here.", ZaXo
exclaimed.
"I know. But h-he won't eat at all. Then all of a sudden, h-he got sick and fainted this morning. So Chiyo and I rushed him to th-the vetranarian. He said he couldn't t-tell what was wrong. Still, he assured m-me that Maya would be fine. But...", Sakaki stopped mid-sentence and her eyes widened.
"But what Sakaki?", ZaXo asked softly.
"BUT WHAT IF HE'S NOT *sob, sob, sob*", Sakaki cried. Her tears were once again renewed, and she buried her face in ZaXo's chest, crying more heavily than ever before.
She continued, "I finally got a cat, something real to love, that loved me back! Now he may die, and I don't know why! He's so young, it's not FAIR!"
She once again began crying into his chest, which was still in much pain from being stabbed saving Chiyo. But he overlooked it to comfort her. ZaXo lifted his hand, and began slowly stroking the top of her head hoping this would make her feel better. He glanced over at the others who were still in the doorway, talking amongst eachother, most likely about what was going on. They kept occasionally glancing over at him and then down at Sakaki.
"Don't worry, I am sure he will be alright.", said ZaXo in comfort. "Maya is a wildcat after all. He can handle much more than any normal cat. The vet wouldn't say he would be alright if it wasn't true."
"You really think so?", sobbed Sakaki.
"I know so. Don't worry about it. We will all go with you to check on him directly after school. You'll see, Maya will be fine."
"Ok, I trust you ZaXo.", Sakaki said softly, and she lifted her head to look in his eyes.
ZaXo wished this moment could last forever, but as Sakaki began wiping the tears off of her face, the solitude was broken by Chiyo walking up with tissues and water. The others weren't far behind. But ZaXo looked at them as to say, 'I'll explain later, don't ask now.' Everyone seemed to once again understand, and said nothing. Chiyo finally broke the silence by attempting to ask Sakaki if she was feeling any better. This wasn't the only reason why ZaXo would remember this day forever. Much more was to come, and potentially change a few lives in the process.
Chapter 25
Throughout the rest of the day, everything went fairly smooth with
Sakaki. She slowly began to act more like herself, and even laughed when ZaXo told her about Osaka's new conspiracy. This made her excited to see Maya after school. They had decided they would all meet right outside the school next to the big tree. And they would all go see Maya together. But the happiness didn't last forever. Tomo made sure of that. With only five or so minutes until school got over she began to talk about what would happen if Maya had passed away while they were at school. It would have just been normal Tomo-ness and could have been overlooked had Sakaki not been nearby when she said it. This threw Sakaki back into tears, and she ran out of the room crying. Chiyo said she would go check on her and meet them outside by the tree.
Class ended minutes later and they all began to walk out towards their shoe cubbies, scolding Tomo along the way. ZaXo really felt like checking on Sakaki, so he told the others that he was going to go on ahead. Immediately after he left they began talking about him and Sakaki.
"So, do you think they are going out yet? We all know they both like eachother.", said Kagura.
"No, I don't think so. I don't think that ZaXo wants to ask because he fears Sakaki might feel pressured into saying yes whether she wants to or not." , replied Yomi.
"But we know she would want to. I see her staring at him in class all the time. And he does it to her too. Why doesn't she ask him?", wondered Tomo aloud.
"Tomo, you idiot. You know that Sakaki isn't brave enough to ask him out. We've all known her for three years now, and she still doesn't even talk to us that much. Come to think about it, we only recently found out that she likes animals a lot when we went on the school trip.", exclaimed Yomi.
"Wait... does that mean she didn't like it when I was scaring cats away from her all the time?", asked Kagura.
"Yeah, I am pretty sure that is exactly what that means. But I don't think she cares now. She is smart enough to know she can't be mad at you if you didn't know.", said Yomi matter of factly.
"It doesn't make sense though. If she was brave enough to go with ZaXo to help Chiyo out last month, then asking someone out should be cake.", Tomo said.
"Those are two different things Tomo. She told me she felt she had to help Chiyo. Asking a guy out is different entirely. But I don't expect you to know that Tomo.", wispered Yomi slyly.
"HEY, JUST BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A BOYFRIEND DOESN'T MEAN I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ASK A GUY OUT!", yelled Tomo, stopping in her tracks.
She continued, "And besides, I bet I could get a boyfriend before you
Yomi. Your too fat. No guy would want to date you."
Tomo had just went one step two far and the two began to yell so loud that the whole floor could hear them. Kagura cheered them both on, trying to be on both sides at once, while Osaka just stared at them all with a blank face, clearly thinking something strange.
Down on the bottom floor of the school, ZaXo had just gotten all his stuff, and put his shoes back on. He began to jog through the halls, and out the front doors. He made it to the tree where Chiyo was waiting. She told him that Sakaki had been crying in the restroom right inside the front doors, and was trying to compose herself before she came out. Chiyo told her she would wait outside.
They began to wait, however, when almost five minutes had went by, and nobody was showing up, ZaXo's concern got the best of him. He decided they should go see what was taking everyone so long.
"They should have met up with us by now" ZaXo told Chiyo, as they walked back into the school, just in time to see it.
Some length down the hall Sakaki, had just left the restroom, and was walking quickly towards them, when she bumped into another student. This student was a tall, thin boy, and looked furious when she bumped him. She had accidentaly knocked the books out of his hands, and bent down to pick them up. She began to appologize profusely, and stood up to hand him his books. The boy, who had clearly blown a
gasket, grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her against the wall. Then he kicked the books Sakaki had dropped in shock out of his way, and walked towards her, eyes glowing with rage. Immediately, and without warning he slapped her across the right side of her face, but didn't utter a single word.
ZaXo heard Chiyo gasp, far behind him. He hadn't even noticed that he was now in a sprint toward the two, and didn't know what he was going to do next. All he knew was that the boy must pay for what he had done to Sakaki. ZaXo lunged out, grabbed the boy in mid stride, and threw his whole weight on the boy, who smashed into the wall behind him. He heard Sakaki cry out behind him in surprise. The boy retaliated by punching ZaXo across the face. ZaXo lost his balance and the boy took that chance to tackle him to the ground.
But ZaXo countered the next punch thrown at him, grabbing it in mid swing, and twisting the boys arm. He then threw him off, and jumped on top. ZaXo started to pound punch after punch into the boys face, not knowing he was even doing it, or that he was making a huge spectacle. But he suddenly stopped, becoming concious in his
surroundings. He felt Sakaki pulling on his arm, and heard her tearfully asking him to stop. ZaXo got up, and stepped around the now bleeding boy. He looked around, and saw that his friends were all surrounding him and the boy, wide-eyed in surprise, along with what was apparently some of the boys friends. Nobody else was in the entire hallway.
Realizing that he had gone too far, he offered an appologetic hand out to his injured schoolmate. The boy was hesitant, but when ZaXo said that he was very sorry, the boy reluctantly took his hand, and stood up. He was unbalanced for a second, obviously dizzy from getting hit so many times. He began to run away when ZaXo grabbed his arm and stopped him. The boy continued to try and escape, but eventually gave up. They both took a second to calm down before saying anything. Everyone just stared at them, expecting someone to throw another punch.
Chapter 26
"Hey, listen, are you ok? I am REALLY sorry that I did that. I just kind of lost it. Do you want me to help you to the infirmary?", asked ZaXo appologeticly.
"No, ib ok. Ib de one dat should abbologize.", the boy sighed, through a clearly broken nose that was steadily bleeding. "I kind ob deserbed dat. But did you hab to hit be so hard?"
"I'm really sorry. Like I said, I just lost it, and didn't know what I was doing. How many times did I hit you?"
"Oh, at least twelb. It's hard to tell bwhen you are getting pummeled into the ground.", joked the boy. His eyes were beginning to swell and bruise, much like the rest of his face. He continued on in a more serious tone, "Well, anyway, I kind ob lost it too. I really shouldn't have hit you Biss.. uhh..."
"Sa-Sakaki." Sakaki said, still shaking and in shock.
"Yeah, I ab sorry Biss Sakaki. I shouldn't hab hit you. I just... you see, by girlfriend broke up with me today, and I failed by math exab. And my parents are bad at be for accidentaly ruining the dishwasher. All this, abong other things just kind of caused be to snap on you. I probise I will never do anything like that again to anyone. Is there anything I can do to bake it up to you?", the boy finished.
"N-no, it's ok. I understand.", Sakaki wispered.
ZaXo could tell she didn't think it was ok, and neither did he, but if she was willing to overlook it, he didn't want to push it. So he cautiously buried the anger that was once again welling up inside him. He decided that he should just be stern with the boy.
ZaXo began, "Ok, now, like I said, I didn't mean to go off like that this time. But, as with Sakaki, you also have to promise me that you won't do that again to anyone either. I am not trying to be mean here, but if I EVER catch you doing anything like that to anyone again, I WILL mean it, next time, and I won't let up or appologize."
The boys friends glared at ZaXo angrily on that note, but the boy
spoke right as one of them was about to speak up about it. "I understand, and I know I would deserb it. You can count on be. I probise that I won't do anything like that again. And I also will bake sure that the teachers don't hear about this."
"What about your parents? What will they say when you get home? I don't exactly want to get in trouble with them either.", stated ZaXo.
"Don't worry. I will explain to theb that it was all by fault. I cobpletely accept that, and I ab sure they will too. Well, i'd better get home to fix by face.", said the boy.
They all started laughing, and said goodbye. The boy stopped, and turned back after taking a few steps. He looked at Sakaki and said, "I will bake it up to you Biss Sakaki. Eben if you don't want be to, you deserve it, and I feel entitled to do so." He gave one last smile, and continued on with his friends, who were clearly ranting and raving over how ZaXo had reacted.
ZaXo looked at all of his friends, and they just stared back at him for a second. Then Tomo suddenly yelled, "THAT WAS AWESOME!"
"NO IT WASN'T TOMO!", Yomi yelled back.
"Did you guys see it all? Like, all of it from the start?", asked ZaXo, looking for a way to explain himself. He was suddenly not feeling like the big respected man he had felt like earlier. He felt like an outcast, but when they nodded, he felt a little better.
"Yeah, we saw it all, but I still don't believe it. Sakaki is so nice, polite and quiet. Why would anyone want to hit her, even if she bumps into them on a bad day?", asked Kagura.
Sakaki blushed, turned her head away, and hid her face in her hands. ZaXo guessed that Sakaki was probably mad at him for everything that happened. But before he could say anything. Everyone began to walk down the hall, and started talking loudly about everything that had just happened. They walked and talked with ZaXo in silence, and Chiyo consoling Sakaki quietly until they reached the Vetranary office.
Inside they spent almost two hours playing with the newly healthy Maya. The doctor said that the problem was with Maya being alone during the school days. "He really needs companionship throughout the day. But since I know you can't do that, as you have school, feel free to bring him here everyday on your way to school. He loves playing with the other animals... well, except for the birds, who he tries to eat. Are you sure that he is just a mixed breed cat Miss Sakaki?", asked the vet.
"Oh, um, yes I am sure he is just a mix.", lied Sakaki quickly.
"Well, alright then, is it alright that you bring him here? It's not out of your way is it?"
"No, of course not. It's perfectly fine doctor.", Chiyo chimed in.
They all spent a while longer together before Yomi and Tomo left. "I've gotta go do my homework, so I'll see you all tommorow.", said Yomi.
"Yeah, and I've got to go copy that homework.", Tomo spouted out.
Then Kagura got up. "I need to go get in some excercise and
ATTEMPT to do my homework. I'll see you later Sakaki. See you ZaXo, see you Chiyo, bye Osaka."
They all said goodbye to her, and she left. It took a while for Osaka to leave. She spent most of her time asking the vet about wierd things
different animals did, and usually ended up assuming most of them may have come from another planet on a meteor. When she finally left, the last three decided it would be best to walk home as well. As they began to walk, ZaXo felt it was finally time to talk to Sakaki. He stopped walking, and Sakaki and Chiyo followed his lead, curious to see why he had done so.
"Listen Sakaki, I know you don't think violence is ever the answer, but I want you to know that I didn't mean to hit him. I just lost control. I can't stand to see good people in danger, and the last month has made me edgy. I promise that is the only time I have ever gotten into a fight before. It's not a regular thing with me, and it never was before I moved here. And it never will be. However, I did mean what I said to him. If he tries anything with anyone again, I will stop him. Same goes for if anyone else tries to start anything with someone who doesn't deserve it. I just can't stand there and not defend those that need it. But I will never hurt anyone unjustly, and I will try my best not to lose control again. I hope you understand that, and accept it. I don't want you to think I am some maniac, and I don't want to ruin our friendship.", ZaXo said carefully.
Sakaki and Chiyo just looked at him for a while. So he continued, "Do you understand Sakaki? Can we still be frie-"
Sakaki interrupted him by softly saying, "No, I don't want to be your friend anymore." ZaXo was shocked by what he had just heard, but what happened next blew that out of the water. Sakaki then wrapped her arms around him an began to kiss him. They continued to kiss for a couple more seconds, while Chiyo's eyes widened, until Sakaki pulled away. "I don't wanna JUST be your friend, ZaXo. I... I think I love you.", Sakaki wispered, blushing profusely.
She started again, "I have liked you since you first came here. I just couldn't admit it, because I was afraid you wouldn't like me back. But then when you saved Chiyo, I started to feel more. I love you ZaXo. Do you... like me too?"
Taken aback, ZaXo just stared at her wide-eyed for a second. Then he suddenly said, "I love you too. I have liked you as well since I got here. You are always so quiet, and polite. You are adorable, and cute, and beautiful all at the same time. Ever since the day I met you, everything about you has always been perfect. I was also afraid you didn't like me back either."
"Oh, ZaXo!", Sakaki cried, once again wrapping her arms around him, in a warm, blissfull hug. Again he wished this moment would last forever.
Chiyo had been quiet until now, and they didn't notice that she was crying. "Oh, I knew you two liked eachother! I wish I could have something like that when I get older! You two are sooooo cute together!"
Chiyo yelled, happily.
They broke apart, and looked at her smiling, and both blushing gave her a big hug too. When they stopped, ZaXo looked down at Chiyo.
"How long did you know we both liked eachother?", he asked her, unable to stem the happiness pouring out of him.
"Oh, I have known for a while now. Since about half way through second year! I was wondering when this would happen. I was about to just do it myself.", Chiyo stated.
"Hey, do you think the others know we like eachother?", Sakaki asked.
"No, I don't think so Miss Sakaki, though they don't talk about stuff like that around me. Not since Nyamo gave that speech at my summer home when she had too much to drink.", said Chiyo.
"In that case, then we should keep this a secret from them for now. I wanna wait to see thier reactions. Can you promise not to tell them Chiyo?", said Sakaki quietly.
"Oh, yes, I promise Miss Sakaki. I won't tell them anything."
"Oh yeah, I remember that speech that Nyamo gave. Ha ha ha, that was great!", shouted ZaXo.
"I still don't understand most of what she said. Everyone just blushes and won't tell me anything when I ask them about it.", Chiyo said, slightly sour.
They all laughed, and continued walking, ZaXo with his arm wrapped around Sakaki's shoulders, who was now holding Maya, sleeping soundly. They all three were positively beaming, as if nobody could ruin the day. And indeed nothing would. They all walked on in silence, enjoying the still clear and vibrant sky, though now it was a
beautiful orange and yellow mix, for the sun had begun to set. ZaXo knew from that moment on, that this was a day he would remember for a long, long time.
Wow... that's pretty bad, and very different. As you can see (for those that came in a bit later especially), the title was originally DX: ZaXo's Story. It went on like that for nearly ten or so chapter I think, before I changed it. Obviously, by that point I realized that it made the whole thing seem too much like a self-insert (for prospective readers), or some lame story that was all about some Gary-Stu 'getting some' from the Azu girls. When I first started writing the fanfic, I was actually writing a novelized version of the anime. I got through around thirty thousand words, and four episodes in just three days! So this was planned to fit in to that. Obviously, I quickly realized that wasn't an idea that would keep me interested. Playing and pausing the DVD's for hours, writing down all the lines, and describing the scenes just became too tedious, not to mention it just wasn't that creative (plus, if you prefer the subbed version, the lines wouldn't match anyway).
Because of this, I was left stranded. I didn't know what to do, but it had to be something original, and I HAD to be able to fit in the two original pieces I'd already written. I almost instantly knew I wanted to do something about them in college (it seemed like the obvious next step). Therefore, I began... and I had no clue where I was going to go with it, lol. However, by the time I'd written the prologue, I started to feel ideas rushing in.
One thing you'll notice about this part, is the fact that the person who becomes Yuu Takeshi in the final version, actually ends up apologizing. I actually didn't intend him to have the role he does in the final version until later on (somewhere around chapter fifteen or so). But the idea made so much sense, I just went for it. However, that meant that this version needed a LOT of modifying (including grammatical of course). I also changed the fight setting to the park while it's raining. The only other big change was in the fact that Yuu has friends here. I felt he needed them at that point, but once he became an evil mastermind, that seemed stupid; particularly because he rants and raves about how being close to someone (Sakaki) is a bad idea. I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't want to be friends with a guy who doesn't really like being close to people at all.
Fricken Awesome Questions (FAQ Section) Part 1:
Q. Where did my inspiration for this fic come from?
A. As I explained above, it was partially from my original idea of novelizing the Azumanga series. However, there's one thing I've only told a select few people about how I came across the need to write a novel size fanfiction about Azumanga. The chapter above... was actually a dream I had. I had been watching a LOT of Azu recently, and just loved it. I couldn't get enough. When I went to sleep one night, I had a dream that matched this chapter fairly closely. The part that made it impossible for me not to write it down was the fact that it wasn't ME in the dream. I'd never really experienced that before. I didn't know who it was, as I couldn't tell, but it wasn't me (that also gave me the idea of blurring ZaXo out in all the prologue dreams). The second I woke up (in the middle of the night), I had to write it down. Seven hours and four thousand words later, I had my first chapter. At this time, I didn't even know FanFiction existed (the website). But I had to find some place to post it. Good thing I thought that through a little more, and made it a whole story, right?
Q. Where in the HECK does the name ZaXo come from, and how do you even say it?
A. Everyone seems to want to know this one. First off, it's pronounced Zack-So. Pretty easy right? It actually doesn't mean anything, and isn't from any particular culture (I've looked that up again and again to make sure). I found the name when I was much younger while playing Super Smash Bros. Melee. I was making a player name (to keep my records), and couldn't think of something cool that was only four letters (the max length). So I just hit the randomize button... over and over and over. Suddenly, that popped up, and it stuck like glue. It was originally going to be used as Cloud Strife's son's name (Final Fantasy 7), in a sequel me and a friend were planning. Then I decided it deserved something all it's own. It will also be the name of the main character of my first manga series (including his last name; Ken'Ichi), so look out for that.
Q. What about the other names you came up with? Any rhyme or reason to those?
A. Personally, I don't like using normal names at all. In my original stories on FictionPress, I always try to use strange names or names that mean something that matches the character. If I absolutely can't think of anything, I'll take a normal name, and change it, so that it is strange. So when using Japanese names for everyone else in my fanfiction, I didn't know where to go. I couldn't make them up, or I'd sound stupid. But everyone HAD to be Japanese, or it would be weird. Then I found a website that has tons of names, from tons of cultures on it. The best part is that it tells you what they mean as well. So I found names that fit the characters (for the most part).
Q. Did you actually plan this fanfiction to go this long?
A. Yes, I did. It was actually supposed to be even longer. I cut out and combine several chapters that would have otherwise just become filler. Every chapter had to be at least three thousand words as well. It was going to end up at about 180k words in the very beginning. And the craziest part? I had set up a deadline of about six months to finish! You see, I was writing around a chapter a night at first (as well as other fanfictions and short stories on the side). But that burnt me out. Truthfully, I'm surprised I even got it done at all. There were a few times where I almost decided to give up. But almost always right as I was about to throw in the towel, I would get a great idea, or someone would leave a great review or PM.
Q. How do you come up with the comedic bits?
A. Lol, really I just come up with most of them on the spot. My favorite styles to write are romance and tragedy, so while I LOVE comedy, it's hard for me to plan out and execute. So I would plan the main section of the chapter, and then just wing everything else. Seriously, I'm surprised at how funny (I think) some of the things I've come up with are. Though none of it would have been possible without Kiyohiko Azuma, and his great series to pull from. Now that I can successfully do comedy though, it will be part of my manga, which will feel like this fanfic, in the sense that it will have tons of comedy, character evolution, romance, and maybe some darker bits. I think that's what makes a great story, is a lot of well rounded styles (I learned that from reading Harry Potter... yes, Harry Potter).
Q. So if you didn't plan any of the comedy, what did you plan?
A. I planned all of the serious bits, and slowly connected them together. Whenever I was feeling like writing a particularly dark part, I would shove one in a later chapter, but only if it was a good idea. Then my mind would eventually start connecting them to the bigger picture in the story.
Q. What are your inspirations, other than Azumanga, that helped you write this?
A. Well, when I first found this website, I started reading. I would read anything that sounded sad, because I'd already had my current fill of Azu comedy. I wanted something different. The characters in Azu are so dynamic that they themselves become the story. They didn't need a set plot. So I wanted to see how people could use them in other styles. My favorite one has to be Forevergreen, by Brandon Payne (I hope he doesn't mind me saying so). Definitely read it. It's got a very, sort of... analytical approach to the writing style. It's very detailed in a way that isn't necessarily poetic most of the time, but is definitely interesting. Not to mention, the plot is fantastic. Some of the ideas in that fanfiction... are just... wow.
Other things that inspired me were various video games, like Lost Odyssey, and Final Fantasy (the series as a whole). But my biggest inspiration would have to be music. I am mainly a metal-head, but I'm far from cliché. I don't listen to Metallica, I don't only think heavier is better; nothing like that. I look at it as music, not a movement (unlike most people). My primary genre is power metal (Kamelot, Angra, Nocturnal Rites, etc.), which has a lot of emotion, and very epic vocals, which get ideas flowing for me. However, I do listen to many other genres, and even sometimes a few off-hand artists in genres I don't like. I listen to Hoobastank (Alternative Rock), Chuck Loeb (Smooth Jazz), City And Colour (Acoustic), Demi Lovato (yes, the girl from Disney), Katherine McPhee (only one album), Jyukai (J-Pop), Killswitch Engage ('metalcore'... which isn't a real genre title IMO), Isaac Shepard (Solo Piano), Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy music composer), and tons of other things. I feel the music in my very soul, and without it, I literally CAN'T write. It's so bad that it's to the point where my style gets extremely muddied and lazy without something emotionally engaging to listen to.
Q. Do you have more plans for these characters (and this storyline) after this?
A. As of now, no. And I probably won't ever do another fic this big. HOWEVER... that doesn't mean it's completely out of the question. If people want it, I'd love to try and deliver. It would allow me to explore different avenues and styles further anyway. So if you have any ideas, or are just dying to get more, then PM me, or leave it in a review of this chapter. I've got other things I want to work on, but if you guys want it enough, I'll be glad to try and do more. NOTE: There is however (as stated in the authors notes of the prologue) a prequel to this on my FictionPress account; link on my profile.
In the same vein as what I just stated, if anyone wants to continue this story-line themselves, or do spinoffs of this, or whatever, all they need to do is ask. Tell me the idea, and we'll try to work something out. I'm pretty much gonna be okay with anything that doesn't have lime/lemon, intense gore, too much cursing, is written lazily, or has WAY OOC actions from the characters (mine, or Kiyohiko's). I would like it if you asked me first though, as it's the nice thing to do :) I wouldn't have added this little paragraph, except for the fact that surprisingly enough (to me anyway), people do actually like to create spinoffs of other fics... fan-fanfictions if you will.
Q. Do you have other ideas in mind for other fandoms, or anything like that?
A. I have quite a few ideas, but most likely I'll never make anything out of them. I'll probably do the odd one-shot here and there, but nothing much else unless it's something fans demand (and I have an interesting idea of course). As for other things, I'll probably be writing (under the same pen-name) on FictionPress for quite a while. I've already got quite a few things put up (that are much more poetic in writing style), so check 'em out. And then there's my manga, but I can't tell you what that's about ;)