~*Author's Note*~
Sod it! I missed updating so … well; instead of a progress update here's the new chapter! - Fun fact, this chapter has actually been released exactly a year after the story was first published. A coincidence? Sure. ^_^'
こんにちは、私の友人、クラナドへようこそ:牛尾後!
"Hello, welcome back I suppose? Here, we begin Book II: Ushi-"
"What are you doing?"
"Takeshi? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the story and not, yanno, in my little note to the readers?"
"Sorry 'Mr. Author' … biggin' yourself up a bit there, aren't ya?"
"Technically, I am an author, even if this is just a fanfi-"
"Anyway, I thought I'd contribute since you obviously can't do this right."
"Well, that's rude."
"Boohoo man, just let me do it."
"Where's Kaito? Shouldn't you be with him right now?"
"He's not available at the moment, if you'd like to leave a message I'll be su-"
"Shut up please."
"Tsk, fine."
"How is Kaito anyway? It's been about, what, three years?"
"Wow, that long? It only seems like a month or so!"
"Don't be getting all meta and self aware now boy."
"Why are you talking like that?"
"Sorry, I'm just excited for the story to start."
"Oh …"
"You didn't answer my question … how is Kaito?"
"Sure he's okay … a little miserable every now and then but sure, he's fine."
"Great. Now, get lost so I can do this."
"Le'me do it."
"No."
"Pleeeaaaase!"
"Honestly, you're a child; can't you act your age? You're 20 years old, right?"
"21."
"I rest my case …"
"Just let me."
"Fine! Go ahead!"
"Good."
"Go on then …"
"Yep."
"Well …"
"Uhuh."
"You have no idea what this is, do you?"
"Oh, just get on with it! No one cares about this crap; we just want to see what happens next!"
"Fine … without further ado, I guess, I give you Book II: Ushio After."
"I better have a big part in this."
"We'll see."
"I'm a fan favourite!"
"Since when?"
"Since Chapter 1."
"What did I say about being self aware?"
"Just tell me if I have a big part or not!"
"You do! Happy now? … Takeshi? … Takeshi?! … Honestly, he's hopeless."
~*51*~
Looking out across the vast plain of fields, the young man scrunched up his face as he attempted to focus on the figure in the distance. He felt the cool breeze blow on the back of his neck, turning; he saw several lights flying up towards the sky behind him, six to be exact. As he turned back towards the figure he noticed that it had moved closer to him. He could just make out a crop of red hair as the figure bolted away, crying. The young man tried to follow but he could not move. Tugging at his heavy legs he looked back up, the figure was gone, the light was gone. After some resistance he managed to pull one of his legs up off of the ground. Yet, beneath him the earthy soil began to loosen, he sunk down into the ground, he kept sinking. Suddenly the boy with the crop of red hair emerged in front of him, a hand stretched outwards. The young man, in a struggle, attempted to grab it, yet he simply continued to sink, all that could be heard were his muffled cries as he was all but consumed by the ground beneath him.
"Juni! Juni!" Kaito cried as he shot up from his bed. A pool of sweat lay around him as beads of it continued to drip down from his face. Breathing heavily, he brushed his hand through his, now short, locks of hair. His bedroom door burst open as his room mate came running in.
"Kaito, you okay?" The blonde haired man asked.
"Yeah, Keshi" Kaito nodded in reply. Takeshi sat down at the end of Kaito's bed; all that covered him was his dark green dressing gown.
"Was it another dream?"
"Yeah … another dream" Kaito uttered. Kaito brought his hands to his face as he rubbed his weary eyes. Takeshi gave a slight smile.
"I'll stick the kettle on, shall I?" He suggested.
"Sure" nodded Kaito.
Kaito and Takeshi were sat down at a small table in their rather small kitchen. The counters were aligned with several pieces of cooking equipment. They had a large fridge/freezer that sat at one side, a rather larger oven and a dish washer. This was Takeshi's favourite room in the house, for reasons that would of course be obvious to Kaito. Takeshi often spent hours upon hours in there, cooking from recipes and making some of his own. However, it didn't take a chef to make a cup of tea. Takeshi brought his cup up to his mouth as he took a sip, Kaito hadn't even touched his. He stared into the creamy brown liquid that swirled around in its cup, following the flowing tea that had recently been stirred. "You're coming today, right?" Kaito asked, still staring at his drink.
"Of course I am" Takeshi replied.
"It's three years to the day Keshi, I think that's why it's been getting worse" Kaito sighed, Takeshi gave a slight nod. After a moment of silence, Takeshi spoke.
"I know you hate me saying so but Kaito, you need to see someone" Takeshi said. Kaito let out a sigh.
"We've talked about this, I'm fine."
"Waking up in the early hours of the morning every few days, screaming out our friend's name … that isn't fine Kaito."
"I'm not letting a doctor or a therapist or anyone examine me. I can look after myself."
"I'm not saying you can't buddy but … we all need help sometimes, if you'd just go and se-"
"I've told you I'm not doing it!" Kaito yelled. Just then, light footsteps were heard coming from down the hallway. A woman came into view; she had yellow eyes and a green tint to her long hair. She wore one of Takeshi's shirts to cover her body.
"Takeshi, aren't you coming back to bed? Its 3:15 am" she said with a yawn.
"Y-yeah sure, I'll be there in a minute" Takeshi replied. The woman gave a slight grin as she turned and made her way back down the hallway, past the bathroom and living room, and back into Takeshi's bedroom. As they heard his bedroom door close Kaito and Takeshi both shared a confused look. "I honestly forgot she was in there" Takeshi chuckled.
"Nice" Kaito sighed.
"To tell you the truth, I don't even remember her name."
"Classy" Kaito huffed as he finally took a sip of his tea. Takeshi stood up from the table as he spoke.
"Just have a think about what I said Kaito, I think it would be good for you" Takeshi stated as he looked on a Kaito who held a gloomy look on his face. Letting out a sigh, Takeshi picked up his cup of tea and made his way down the hallway and into his bedroom, locking the door behind him.
The crisp morning air settled over Kaito and Takeshi. They stood in the town's cemetery; it was filled with tombs and head stones. Kaito wore his old, dark jacket over a shirt. Takeshi wore a blue hoodie. The both of them sported simple jeans and shoes. Kaito knelt down on his knees in front of a grave; Takeshi stood a short distance behind him. The headstone on the grave read 'Junichiro Akimoto 16/03/2006 - 20/04/2024: A beloved son & cherished friend.' Kaito stared over the grave as Takeshi took out a handkerchief. Applying his spit to it he began to wipe over the headstone, removing several spots of bird faeces. "Three years" muttered Kaito.
"It seems longer" replied Takeshi who continued to clean the stone grave.
"I-I'm sorry …" Kaito sighed.
"Huh?" Takeshi mumbled. As he looked up, his eyes settled on Kaito. "Oh, right" he nodded. This was a rather common occurrence for the two. After the death of Juni and after their friends had departed for college, Kaito and Takeshi would often visit their friend. Over the years it had gone from every week, to every month and then to Christmas and Juni's birthday. Now, they only visited on the anniversary of Juni's death. Yet, the same thing happened each time. Takeshi would clean the headstone, Kaito would kneel down and apologise to Juni.
"I can't do it … I need you Juni" stated. Takeshi let out a sigh as he finished wiping down the grave. Removing the bag that he carried on his back, Takeshi pulled out a bouquet of flowers. He squatted down as he held the flowers out to Kaito.
"Here man" he said. Kaito's eyes shifted towards Takeshi, he nodded and took the flowers from his hand. Takeshi stood back up and placed his hand on the now shining headstone. "We miss you buddy" he said with a smile, "I'll see you next year." Takeshi took a few steps back, giving Kaito some space. Kaito placed the flowers in a small vase that sat next to the grave.
"It should've been me Juni … I should be down there and you should be right here."
"Kaito don-"
"Don't Keshi, okay?" Kaito said as he looked up to his friend. "Just don't."
Kaito had his head leant on the window of the passenger seat in Takeshi's car. He looked out on the town as the streets zipped past him. Takeshi was in the driver's seat, neither one were speaking. The radio was on rather low, it only served as a distraction from the eerie atmosphere that had found its way into the car. Kaito let out a rather long sigh as they came to a set of traffic lights. Kaito pulled out his old phone as he brought a name up on it. Takeshi's eyes glanced over as he saw what Kaito was doing. Kaito was typing out a message, a message to Juni. After typing it out, he hit send, of course the number was no longer in service. Kaito's phone vibrated as a notification that read 'unable to send message' appeared. Takeshi shook his head as the traffic lights went green. Putting his foot down, he drove the car forwards and continued along the road.
"You need to go shopping today" Takeshi said as he entered the kitchen the next morning.
"Can't you go after work?" Kaito asked.
"No, I'm working late tonight" Takeshi replied. "You get off at 3 don't you?"
"Yeah" Kaito nodded.
"Okay … so you can go shopping then, right?" Takeshi wondered as he poured himself a cup of tea.
"Sure, I suppose" Kaito muttered as he poked at his plate or rice.
"I'll leave you a list before I head off, okay?"
"Yep" Kaito mumbled as he chewed his food. Takeshi took a seat opposite from Kaito.
"Kaito, it wouldn't hurt for you to be a bit more enthusiastic about helping me around here" Takeshi stated. Kaito looked up to him with a glare.
"Where did that come from?"
"I get that you're dealing with things but come on, I can't do this all by myself."
"I pay my half of the rent for this apartment. I even paid the full rent for the first three months until you got a job or have you forgotten that?" Kaito replied.
"That was three years ago, I've paid you back for that or have you forgotten that?" Takeshi retorted. Kaito went quiet as Takeshi took a sip of his tea. A queer smell entered Takeshi's nose as he screwed up his face. "Kaito, I've told you before, putting that much pepper on your rice really isn't good for you."
"… I like it like this" Kaito mumbled.
"You can't even taste it, it's that bitter."
"I don't need to taste it … I just need to eat it" Kaito sighed as he shoved another lot of rice into his mouth.
"Kaito?"
"What?"
" … Have you thought about the whole doctor thing?" Takeshi asked in a worried tone. Kaito let out a sigh. Placing down his chopsticks he looked up, meeting his friends gaze.
"Do you think I need to see a doctor?" Kaito asked in a calm tone. Takeshi gave a slight nod at Kaito.
"You've been well … I guess depressed is the word right? You've been like that for way too long Kaito … I'm just worried about you."
"I can take care of myself Ke-"
"No you can't Kaito. You're killing yourself, all the drinking and smoking, that isn't you" Takeshi let out a sigh as he rubbed his face. Letting his hand drop down he spoke. "I can't keep doing this man, I can't take it anymore. I've tried to help you before, remember that trip we went on?"
"Yeah" Kaito replied.
"After all the stuff we did, when we got back you just went back to being like this."
"I've just had stuff going o-"
"Stop" Takeshi said, putting out his hand. Kaito went quiet again. "It's been three years. I know you blame yourself for what happened. I know you regret everything with Ushio and I know you miss our friends." Kaito hung his head. "It's been three years; you have to move on Kaito."
"You want me to just forget everything? Forget Juni?!"
"Don't twist my words Kaito, that's not fair."
"I'll tell you what's not fair. Being dealt a shit hand since the moment you were born, having everything you love taken away from you, watching everyone else fly past you and make something of themselves, having good lives while you get left behind. That's not fair Keshi!"
"It's down to you to make something for yourself pal" Takeshi sighed. "Please, just do this. Not for me but for you" Takeshi suggested. Kaito looked on at his friend. Letting out a sigh, Kaito gave a nod. "Thank you."
Kaito made his way around the supermarket, pushing his trolley along, keeping his eye out for whatever items Takeshi had put on the list. He scrolled down the list with his eyes:
Carrots
Rice
Tea Leaves
Soap
Orange Juice
Apple Juice
Beer
Gi-
Wait, Beer? Kaito thought to himself, finally something good. Kaito pushed his trolley over to the fridges that lay across from him. As he came up to it he reached out and slid one of the doors open. "These are just singles" Kaito mumbled to himself. Closing the door, he turned around to look for the cases of beer. As his eyes looked over the busy shoppers he settled on them. Pushing on over to them he came to a stop. Kaito studied the shelves of beer. When he had found one he liked he reached up for it. As he grabbed the case of beer, bringing down and supporting the weight on his chest, Kaito heard a voice. It was a very familiar voice, a very gentle and sweet voice.
"Kaito?" It asked. Kaito nearly dropped the beer as he turned around. There, stood in front of him, was Nagisa Okazaki.
"N-Nagisa?" Kaito uttered. Nagisa smiled as she nodded.
"Yes, I thought it was you" she laughed. Kaito cleared his throat and placed the case of beer into his trolley. He stared at her for a moment, rather bewildered. "How are you?" She asked.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay. How are you?"
"Great thank you" she smiled. "It's been a while huh?"
"Yeah" Kaito agreed, "about 2 years or so right?" Nagisa nodded at him.
"That sounds about right, Tomoya kept going on about getting a drink with you but we started seeing less of you so …"
"Yeah, I've kind of been out of it" Kaito said with an uneasy laugh. "Sorry about that, I know I said I'd keep in touch but …"
"It's fine" Nagisa smiled.
"How is Tomoya?" Kaito wondered.
"He's fine, work has kept him a bit busy lately but other than that he's the same old Tomoya" Nagisa said in a cheery voice. Kaito smiled yet it suddenly faded.
"How's Ushio doing?" He asked. Nagisa went quiet for a moment. Kaito was about to speak, telling her that it didn't matter but Nagisa, eventually, spoke up.
"Yes, she's fine" she nodded, "she graduated a few weeks ago actually."
"Oh yeah? That's great" Kaito muttered as he rubbed the stubble on his chin. "So is she back living with you now?"
" … Not yet, she's coming back in a week or two" stated Nagisa. She studied him for a moment, then she gave another one of her usual smiles. "You should come over for dinner tonight" Nagisa suggested.
"What?"
"You really should!" She beamed as her hazel eyes lit up.
"I dunno …"
"Please? I'm making pork cutlet tonight? It'll be good" she laughed. Kaito gave a smile.
"Okay" he nodded, "I'll come, thanks."
"Great, you still have your old phone right?"
"Yeah."
"I'll call you later, we moved last year so I'll have to give you the address and I'll let you know what time as well" she smiled.
"Sure, okay."
"Alright, well it was nice seeing you again, I have to get going" she stated as she gave Kaito one last smile and walked away. Well, that was strange Kaito thought to himself.
Kaito looked at the piece of paper that lay in his hand. It had the Okazaki's address written on it. "Number 15, this must be it" he said as he approached the front garden. The house looked very nice. It had a rather large front garden with a drive than ran up to the house. The house had been painted white and looked a lot bigger than their old one. It stood just around the corner from the Furukawa bakery. Figures, Kaito thought to himself, the Okazakis and Furukawas were always a tight bunch. Kaito passed a large van as he walked up the drive. Coming to the front door, he knocked. Now, in all honesty, Kaito didn't own any nice clothes. He had fallen into the habit of wearing his usual dark jacket over anything, usually a shirt. So, he sported his usual get up. Of course, the Okazakis wouldn't mind! The door opened and there stood Tomoya, his blue hair shone from the light inside the house.
"Kaito!" He smiled.
"Hey Tomoya" Kaito replied. Tomoya placed out his hand as Kaito shook it, giving him a nod.
"Come on kid, come on in" Tomoya said as he gestured with his arm. Kaito walked past him and entered. "You're looking good" Tomoya laughed.
"Yeah, you too" Kaito replied.
"Thanks" Tomoya chuckled. "Nagisa is just in the kitchen." Kaito studied the entrance of the house. It was a small room, full of shoes and coats, off to the left; through a little archway was a hallway. "Just down there, right at the end" Tomoya said as he pointed with his finger.
"Okay" Kaito nodded as he made his way through the hallway, scanning several doors as went through. At the end of the hallway was a set of stair that led to the rest of the house, opposite that was the kitchen. As Kaito approached the entrance, he heard a familiar song being sung.
"Dango, Dango, Dango, Dango, Dango, Dango, Dango daikazoku." Kaito saw Nagisa at the hob of the oven, cooking something in a saucepan. Tomoya approached him from behind as he placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Nagisa, look who I found wandering the streets!" His wife turned around as she smiled.
"Kaito, you came!"
"Yeah … I said I would" Kaito laughed.
"You did" Nagisa nodded. She wore an apron over her clothes; it read 'Dango' with a small dumpling sat underneath.
"Well Kaito, d'you want a beer?" Tomoya offered. Kaito nodded as Tomoya made his way over to the fridge.
"I hope you're hungry" Nagisa said.
"Well, living with Keshi I'm never short of food … but sure I can eat" he jested in an attempt to make a joke.
"Oh yes, how is Takeshi?" Nagisa asked.
"Yeah he's doing well, he's going to be a head chef one of these days" Kaito said, giving a weak smile. Tomoya approached him, handing him a bottle of beer.
"And what about you?" Tomoya asked. Kaito went quiet as he traced the tip of his finger around the neck of his beer.
"I work for the council" Kaito uttered, taking a rather large swig of his beer.
"Doing what?" Nagisa asked, smiling as she always did. Kaito spent a few minutes, swilling the beer around inside his mouth. Finally he swallowed.
"I clean the streets … litter and that."
"Oh, I see" Nagisa said.
"I know it sound like community service but it's not. I mean, I do pick up dog sh-er, faeces but it's not that bad."
"It's a job kid" Tomoya smiled, taking a sip of his beer.
"Right" Kaito nodded.
"Well" Nagisa said, letting out a sigh. "Dinner will be a little while."
"Why don't you go in the living room Kaito? I'll join you a few minutes" Tomoya suggested. Kaito nodded.
"Sure and where is the living room exactly?" He asked with a laugh.
"First door on your left" Tomoya replied. Kaito gave a nod as he exited the kitchen. Tomoya turned to Nagisa as he spoke. "You're sure this was a good idea?" He asked.
"I really do" Nagisa smiled.
Kaito came to the door as he placed his fingers on the handle. He slowly slid the door open as he entered. The living room was very tidy, a coffee table lay in the middle of two sofas, a television sat in the corner of the room. On the monitor Kaito saw a video game of some sort as his eyes settled on the person playing the game. It was a young woman. She had brunette hair which flowed down her back. From what he could see, she had hazel eyes, much like Nagisa. Kaito came closer; the woman was unaware of his presence. Kaito's heart skipped a beat as he couldn't believe who was sat in front of him, eyes fixed on the television. He swallowed his breath as he spoke. "U-Ushio?"
~*51*~
