Chapter 9: Self Help

Yukine had just taught him the special charm, the one that would tell him if a girl liked him, and as Youhei ran down the hall for the third time, even when the charm told him to do it only once, his face found itself embracing a very unpleasant thing.

A dictionary.

"What the hell are you doing, loitering around the place? I've been watching you for about fifteen minutes now, and you've been running across campus, along the same route. I never thought your fat, lazy arse would actually be doing something productive, like exercising. Oh, I get it, you're running from a teacher, aren't you?" She laughed at him.

"Damn you, Kyou! Don't bother me, since you're not worth my time."

"Oh, that's so rude! Come back here and say that to my face!"

"I, um, gotta go!" He ran off into the distance, and she shook her fist at him.

"Sis... We should get going.." Ryou mumbled, seeing her sister getting so fired up again.

"You're right, he isn't worth our time either." Kyou sighed as she and Ryou headed back home. (1.)

Youhei smirked as he sat alone. "Maybe I should have figured it out then." He thought... But Kyou wasn't one to be honest with her feelings, so it probably wouldn't have worked then either.

But he heaved a sigh. This was probably the toughest part, trying to figure out how they were going to overcome the barrier that seemed to ensure that they'd be doomed to an unhappy life. How could he possibly fight such a dilemma off?

"So you want me to fortify and secure the love between the two of them, is that it?" Yusuke asked over a cup of tea.

"That's right." Tomoya nodded.

"If they truly love each other, then that love should survive even through such hardships. In fact, this period of great cruelty from the outside world towards their union is God's test to see if they truly deserve each other. If Kyou truly loves Youhei, and Youhei loves her, then together they should be strong enough to shrug aside these misgivings and put their faith in one another. If they let their immature selves crush them from the inside, and let these thrusts from the outside world stab them, then they weren't truly meant for each other after all, and a divorce would be the best thing for them." Yusuke sighed.

"And now you're mumbling something that would have made our trip pointless if it were possible." Tomoya groaned.

"Then that must mean that Kyou only married Youhei because she was desperate, or that they cannot get over their inner insecurities and immaturity. Their love cannot survive, and there is nothing I can do." Yusuke sighed, staring up forlornly at the ceiling.

"Does everything have to get so extreme?" Tomoya growled. This was getting on his nerves.

"Love... Can be so fragile... The swift wind of lust can easily shatter even strong threads... When the binding fibers of marriage lock two souls together, too often those threads are loosed by other influences. Perhaps that's what's happening to Kyou and Youhei."

"Don't say that!" Tomoyo suddenly protested.

"The truth can hurt..." Yusuke sighed.

"Like I said, is everything so extreme? Are they really going to break up like this? Why aren't you putting any faith in them? Isn't that the point of faith and hope in the first place? We believe something good will happen, or we hope that it will come true, and at times it does happen, simply because by wishing for it we helped it come to us. Isn't there a high chance that their marriage will stay strong even though all this crap?" Tomoya demanded.

"That I do not know. That must be answered by the two of them. If they can't get over these pains of life, then they cannot be known as 'true lovers.' There is nothing you, nor I, nor even Tomoyo can do to help them. This trial must be overcome by the two of them, and no matter what we try to do for them, it will have no effect if they personally cannot overcome such hardships. Both of you should stand down and let them call the shots." Yusuke replied calmly.

Tomoyo and Tomoya stared at each other. Was this trip a waste of everyone's time after all?

I don't know what to say to him, or how we can get rid of this damn drama.

Ryou's fortune telling was quite accurate, and vague to a fault. She mentioned something about 'support,' and 'assistance,' but does that mean that Tomoya's few words of encouragement were meant to affect us deeply? For some reason, it seems like something's missing...

Youhei's nowhere to be found. I can't reach him by phone, and he hasn't shown up in any of his typical haunts. Where could he be...? Don't tell me he's truly decided to go with the flow... That idiot! I'll never forgive him if he finally gave up!

Youhei parked his car at a gas station miles away from the city where he now lived. After all, he had to be in a place where no one would know him, and far enough so that none of the people he cared about could find him. Yes, Sunohara realized that he had to think deeply about this, since trying to get help from his friends would do nothing for him and Kyou.

But, when it came to it, what would he say to her? Was it really necessary to worry about what everyone else thought about their marriage? Kaito Fujibayashi wanted what was best for his daughter, no matter what. He had eyes like any other person, so as long as he saw how Kyou was happy with Youhei, and how they lived so well together, he would definitely support their union eventually.

Youhei's own parents, too, did not want to see their son remain so worthless and they really didn't want a daughter-in-law who would end up hating them for a foolish mistake she made. If he and Kyou could prove that their wedding was no mistake, that they could truly live happily together as lovers, Youhei's parents and Mei would back off.

Once the parents backed off, well, who gave a care about those shallow 'friends' Kyou once had? Misae and Komura knew Tomoya and Tomoyo, and they knew who Youhei was. If they saw the success of their weddinig, Komura and Misae would also support them. There was no doubt in Youhei's mind that as long as he and Kyou could move on, they'd quickly shake off all those hard feelings that were surrounding them.

So Youhei gulped down on his spit. He was going to talk to Kyou personally. They didn't need anyone else, because they had each other. That was what mattered most now, so Tomoya, Tomoyo, and everyone else had no meaningful involvement in this.

And talk to her Youhei did, in the privacy of their home.

"Youhei! Where were you?! I ran all over town looking for you, but you weren't in any of the places you typically hang around at. What have you been doing this whole time?!" She growled, as usual, demanding an answer with a savage face.

"Kyou, where I was and all that isn't important. We need to talk, about our future." Sunohara responded with an equally tough face, his eyes burning with a fire that caught Kyou completely off guard. She never saw such conviction in him since, well, since the day he declared that he would always be with her till the day they died.

"Y... Youhei?" She mumbled, shocked at those eyes.

She watched his eyes soften. "Come on, Kyou." He spoke a little lighter this time, and he grabbed her hand, forcing her awake.

"So... What is it?" She blinked, wondering what he thought they should do from now on.

"You used to yell at me for being unable to stand up for myself, for being so lenient with my future. Well, since you seem to want to beg for outside help because of that tarot reading, you're being the same way now, and we both know how stupid that is. Kyou, instead of asking friends to help us, why don't we help ourselves?"

"But how will we accomplish that, exactly?"

"Simple. We don't have to give a damn about those idiot's opinions, right? Whatever we end up doing, they'll find some kind of fault with us. We can let that get into our heads... After all, who knows us better than ourselves?"

"You... You're not worried?"

"No. I've thought about this, and I've realized that I shouldn't give a damn. It's not like their opinions will help us, anyway..."

"You're not worried that we'll end up like Tomoya and Tomoyo before graduation, and that we'll have to separate because of their barrages of insults?"

"Should I?"

For a second Kyou seemed stunned, unable to believe what Youhei was saying. "No... No, you won't have to..." She replied meekly.

Youhei sighed and put his hand on her shoulder. "We'll be fine. Don't let them get to you. We'll just live our lives the way we want, and we'll pull through this."

Kyou nodded as she buried her head in his shoulder. Maybe this was the 'support' the card was referring to.

A few months passed, and many eyes still glared down Kyou and Youhei's backs as they went about in their daily lives.

With a sigh, Kyou walked about the aisles of the supermarket, dropping her goods in the basket. Even here, she recognized some of the people who she used to call "friends," but now they found her ridiculous, having chosen Youhei over all other guys.

But she didn't want to talk to or even think about them right now. Now she could just calmly get whatever she needed for dinner tonight.

As she walked around, she saw a familiar face in the dairy section.

"Tomoya?"

"Kyou!"

"Hah! Never thought I'd find you here. So Tomoyo asked you to do the work for her, right?"

"Well... It's our anniversary, so I thought I'd make her my signature fried rice."

"Oh, that's right..." Kyou blushed a little, embarrassed. "I'm sorry about that." She gave him a light bow. "Happy anniversary."

Tomoya smiled. "Don't worry about such little things, Kyou. You're just busy with your own life too."

"Heh... And with getting those idiots off our backs."

"You still have to deal with them? When will they realize that you aren't going to change your decision?" Tomoya facepalmed.

"Is that Sunhohara Kyou and Okazaki Tomoya? What is she doing with him?" The two heard some muttering nearby as they were checking out.

"I heard that Kyou once had a thing for Okazaki in high school... Maybe now that they're older, they can sneak around in other places, even if both are married to other people." Another person chuckled.

"Does that mean that Youhei truly is pathetic enough to lose his wife to someone else?" A third voice laughed.

Tomoya gave Kyou a worried glance, but she only closed her eyes and sighed.

"Let them say what they want. Both Tomoyo and Youhei are smart enough to trust the truth. Why would they listen to the people who have been bothering us this whole time?" Kyou turned to Tomoya with tired eyes.

"You've really given up worrying, haven't you?" Tomoya blinked.

Later that day, Tomoya told Tomoyo how he met Kyou all of a sudden at the market. Tomoyo laughed, remembering how Kyou told her about that market and how it was cheaper than the others. It shouldn't have been a surprise to find Kyou there.

And a few more weeks passed, but rumors spread pretty quickly.

As Tomoyo left her house and found herself heading off to work, she found Yusuke and Kouko taking a stroll.

"Hey! How's it been?" Tomoyo called, surprised to see them.

"Tomoyo, long time no see." Kouko smiled. Yusuke also nodded politely.

"Why the long face?" Tomoyo asked Yusuke, finding it strange that a family friend would be so cold.

"The love between the two of you might have waned, or so I've heard."

"What do you mean?"

"People have been saying that Tomoya has been spending a lot of time with Kyou, without you around."

"And why is that something alarming or even amazing? Kyou is our sister. Can't a man spend time with his sister?"

"But you're not biologically sisters, right?"

"Your point?"

Yusuke sighed. "Tomoya might be cheating on you."

Tomoyo's eyes narrowed. "Thank you for your concern, but I know who Tomoya and Kyou are, and I have no reason to believe that they could possibly do such things to Youhei and I."

"You... Have faith in your love? Youhei said something similar... Does this mean that there are no longer any barriers blocking the strength of your love?"

"Yes..." Tomoyo blinked.

Yusuke bowed low. "Congratulations, Okazaki Tomoyo. May you and your husband continue to love each other for the rest of your days." With that, Yusuke and Kouko exchanged goodbyes with Tomoyo and left.

1. Now if I were Youhei, I'd still feel depressed even if this happened during my five runs. A talk like this is far from a girl liking you, no, for I don't think a potential girlfriend would greet you by sending a dictionary headed for your face, so, well, poor poor Youhei, eh? This wouldn't count as an indication that Kyou likes him. At least, not to Youhei, unless he truly is pathetic. Kyou might be a Tsundere, but at that time she was purely tsun-tsun to him and gave him no dere, and thus he wouldn't know that she liked him in the first place. Heck, even she didn't know, let alone him.

Spoiler for Yukine Route in Game:

However, if she still talks to him after he's pulled his trousers down in front of her for apparently no reason at all, that shows something, doesn't it?... Even if she threw a dictionary at him first.