Chapter 6

I looked out the window of my classroom toward the yellow-orange sky. The sense of waiting was killing me. I continued to wait for my girlfriend, soon to be ex-girlfriend, Ryou Fujibayashi. It was nerve wracking, just waiting here looking out at the sunset. From behind me, I heard the door to the classroom slide open. I turned around to meet her. The look on her face told me that she knew exactly what was going to happen.
"What did you want to talk about? Usually in a manga, when there's two people alone in a classroom, you'd see a kiss scene wouldn't you?"
"Fujibayashi…" I began.
"Why are you calling me by my last name?" The pain on her face was clear. However, she spoke again before I could respond. "I always wanted to beat Onee-chan. I didn't want to lose to her. I knew who Onee-chan always had her eye on. I asked her for advice, knowing her feelings. I told her I wanted to get close with Tomoya-kun. She was surprised, but smiled right after that. She said, 'Leave it to me.' I knew she'd say that. I knew I was playing dirty too. Even then… Even then, I wanted to be near you. Can't I replace Onee-chan? I'll become more outgoing like Onee-chan. I'll grow out my hair and practice cooking too." Ryou stepped closer to me. "I will become the girl you wish for."
"No." My reply came out of me instantly. "It's not like that. I don't want you to do something like that."
"I want to be close to you." Her words hurt me. I tried to look away as I said my next words.
"I-" Before I could get them out, Ryou ran up to me and kissed me. It didn't last long, but it was effective enough to tell me what she wanted to say. I was unable to see her face as she ran off. And as for myself, I stood there shocked and angry. Not at her, but at myself. I kicked a desk to the right of me, making it slide across the classroom a meter or so.

In class, I sat there empty. Doing nothing, just sitting there. The teacher was in the middle of teaching the class, calling people to answer the questions.
"Fujibayashi. I guess she's not here." Just hearing her name hurt. "Then Suzuki." I raised my head a little so I could see the desk where she would usually sit. It was empty and untouched. I cursed at myself for doing this to her. I should be the one to be missing school, not her.

"You're not going home?" I heard Sunohara ask me. He waited a moment, but I gave him no answer. Not even so much a movement. He didn't wait around any longer and turned around and left.
"The days I spent with you were a lot of fun." My voice began to lighten as I spoke. "I realized for the first time that it makes me so happy to be needed by others. I thought I'd get along well with you like this." My head turned to the girl standing there. Fujibayashi. "But I can't." I rose from my seat. Confronting her directly as she listened. "I was being a jerk. While I was with you, I was looking at someone else. I kept it to myself even after realizing that. I was taking advantage of your kindness…" Fujibayashi was still there, head down, listening to every word I had to say to her. "I… The person I love is… Is your sister. I'm sorry." I lowered my head. I could no longer look at her as I ended saying what I wanted to say.
"Tomoya." The voice that come out of Fujibayashi was not hers. The girl who I thought was Fujibayashi ran towards me and grabbed me before looking up at me. Her face, although similar to Fujibayashi's, was not her. There, where blue eyes normally resided, were purple eyes replacing them. Tears flowed down her face as I realised who I had let out my feelings to.
"Kyou!" She continued to cry, letting out louder sobs at my realization. "Why did you… Your hair!" Through her sobs, I could hear her what sounded like a laugh before turning back into tears.
"She yelled at me. Ryou told me not to run away. I didn't mind if it stayed this way. I didn't want to choose you if it meant hurting Ryou. But she said it. 'That's impossible. It's too late. If you really love Tomoya, you can't run away anymore. There's no other choice but for both of us to get hurt. We ended up loving the same person.'" I could imagine Fujibayashi saying those exact words to her. It seemed so, her. "I bet she's crying right now." Kyou paused and compelled herself. "Really, we're so late. Realizing, acting as though not realizing, and facing each other too. But I'll make this the last time we get hurt. Her, me, and you too."
"Yeah." Everything Kyou said spun around in my head. I knew exactly what was about to be said next though as she stopped crying entirely.
"I love you, Tomoya. I've… I've… Always loved you."

"Huh…" I was brought back to reality as I heard a quiet voice from behind us as Kyou kissed me on the cheek. "Tomoya-kun… Onee-chan… Um…" Ryou ran off. I could hear the front door of the house opening, and then being slammed shut.
"Ryou!" Kyou rose off the couch in an instant. But she wasn't fast enough to catch Ryou. She had left before Kyou even got to the entry to the room. "Ryou…" I could hear her voice coming from the foyer.
"You're not going to go after her?" I had stood up myself, but I didn't leave the room, still dazed by what Kyou had just done.
"It'll be useless at this point… It's… It's… All my fault…" As her sentence trailed off, she started to fall. Fortunately, she had been coming back to the room.
"Kyou!" I managed to catch her quickly. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"
"It's all my… It's all my…" Kyou's eyes slowly closed.
"Kyou! Kyou!" What do I do? Call the ambulance? First, I should get her laying down somewhere.
Between Ryou running off and Kyou suddenly collapsing, I had no clue what to do. Nor a way to contact Ryou to inform her of this. Luckily, she hadn't fallen far before I had caught her. With no way to bring her to her room, I slowly brought her to the couch where we had been sitting and lay her down. For how much of a punch she packed, she was surprisingly light, given my bad right shoulder.
"Right, now to call-" I was cut off by the door to house opening. I immediately ran out thinking that Ryou had returned.
"Ryou, Kyou! We had to cancel tonight's- Oh, who are you?" In front of me was not Ryou, but instead, their mother. The expression on her face was not one I'd usually expect from having a stranger in your home. She looked surprised, but calm. "Are you a friend of one of the girls? Your uniform gives it away."
"Y-yes ma'am. Look, something's happen-" Once again I was cut off, this time by the father.
"Not even in the door and it's this loud? Who's this?" He sharpened his eyes towards me. Almost as if I was being studied.
"He was just about to introduce himself before you interrupted." She weakly hit him across the chest to tell him off.
"Listen, Kyou's collapsed and is-"
"What did you do to my daughter?!" His eyes flared with rage, and he took a step towards me, reaching out his hand.
"Fujio Fujibayashi!" He stopped immediately after hearing her yell.
"Yes… Sorry." Fujio retracted his hand and stepped back to where he had been. His face full of regret. "Please, continue."
I nodded in response, and started to explain everything, beginning from when I yelled at Kyou the other day, and up to where Ryou ran off – leaving out Kyou kissing me of course.
"So that's how we're here." I collapsed back onto the other couch, letting out a deep sigh of exhaustion.
"I see… Ryou will be home soon, I'm sure." She looked up towards me, giving me reassurance. "Oh, forgive me. I have not properly introduced myself. I am Meiko, and this is my husband Fujio."
"Okazaki Tomoya. Nice to meet you ma'am." I bowed my head in respect. Fujio was over by Kyou as she lay there on the couch. "Fujibayashi, sir." I turned my attention towards him. At my calling he looked up from Kyou.
"You can just call me Fujio." His tone was light and quiet, which was to be expecting with what just happened with his daughters.
"Then, Fujio-san." He nodded. "I can go out to go look for Ryou if that's all right with you. You can stay here with Kyou after all." Fujio shook his head at my request.
"No, I'll go. Meiko is here in case she wakes up." His expression lit up, turning his sullen gaze to a determined stare. "Okazaki, let's go find my daughter."