Chapter VIII

Ushio lay sleeping, a damp towel on her forehead. Akio and Sanae held each other's hands as the doctor ran his examination on her. Nagisa and Tomoya sat beside their daughter, Tomoya running his fingers through Nagisa's hair. Worry was etched on all their faces. Hajime paced in the corner.

"Well, doctor?" asked Tomoya. The doctor looked up.

"I have no idea what's wrong with her," he said. Nagisa groaned and buried her head in Tomoya's shoulder.

So history repeats itself…

3 months ago

Akio threw the baseball with the speed of a falcon. The sun gleamed off of his shades. Tomoya jumped up into the air and caught the ball in his glove.

"Nice catch, kid," Akio grunted. Tomoya tch'd and tossed the ball back. It had been a long while since they played. Ushio sat with her mother and Sanae in the shade of an oak tree. They watched the two men toss the ball back and forth. Sanae looked over at Ushio.

"How is school going Shio?"

Ushio smiled.

"It's alright, I guess. I don't have very many friends but I think I prefer it that way. You know me!"

She giggled and smiled, but inside she desperately wanted to make friends. She hated that she was so shy.

…...

Ushio ate lunch alone again, this time at her seat in the classroom. She glanced outside at the courtyard. Students milled about. It had only been a few days since that strange meeting with that junior, Hajime. She had not seen him since. She wondered what he was up to. Probably busy doing whatever it was juniors did. She sighed and picked at her food. She wasn't very hungry, to be honest. She heard a scraping noise and turned her eyes upward. Yoichi.

"Um… hi," Yoichi said. "Do you mind if I eat with you?"

Ushio shook her head. She still wasn't sure of what to say when approached by others. For a while, the two girls sat in awkward silence.

"Um…"

Ushio looked up again. Yoichi was fidgeting.

"You said your dad was Tomoya Okazaki, right?"

Ushio nodded the affirmative.

"Then that means he was friends with my mom, Ryou."

Ushio glanced at her through half-lidded eyes. Yoichi looked uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry… I'll stop bothering you."

She got up to leave, but Ushio grabbed her hand.

"Stay…"

Yoichi looked at her in surprise, then sat back down. Ushio looked away, clearly embarrassed. Yoichi smiled.

"I understand. You're just nervous, right?"

Ushio nodded slightly, still looking away. Yoichi smiled again and suddenly grabbed Ushio's hand. Ushio jumped in surprise and stared at their clasped fingers.

"Ushio!"

"Y-yes?"

"Don't worry about a thing, okay?"

"W-what do you mean?"

Yoichi tilted her head and giggled.

…

Ushio slid the drama club room door shut, placing a hand on it, and sighed. Another day of being alone. Was she ever going to make any friends? She groaned to herself and slowly walked to the desk in the center of the room. The club wasn't meeting today, but she felt the strange need to be here anyway. She didn't understand it. Ushio placed her bag on the floor and sat in the desk. The silence was deafening. She turned her head to the window and watched the sunset. The entrance was filled with students ready to go home. She sighed again and laid her head down, weariness overpowering her will to stay awake.

Darkness. Overwhelming darkness.

Light. A single orb in the midst of the black sea.

She ran to it, but the distance only seemed to widen.

"Ushio, wake up!"

A hand firmly jolted her awake. She cried out in shock. Sunohara was there beside her. He was alone. The drama club door was open. She rubbed her eyes, stretching.

"W-what time is it?" she asked groggily.

Sunohara looked at his watch.

"Way past six. Ushio what are you doing here? The drama club doesn't meet until tomorrow," Sunohara asked, concern in his voice.

"I… I don't know, myself," Ushio said. She looked out the window. The sky was already darkening. What little light was left was thin behind a thick layer of purple clouds. She looked back at Sunohara. "I could ask you the same question, Takeshi."

He brought out a slip of paper.

"I had to retake an exam, and it took longer than I anticipated. I was just leaving when I noticed you through the window in the door. You were sound asleep."

He sighed and rubbed his temple.

"Geez, what am I going to do with you, Ushio? Come on, let's go."

Ushio nodded and silently followed Sunohara out of the room. The pair walked in considerable silence, Sunohara in front, Ushio behind. It was always this way. Ushio just followed the lead, never taking command. Just like her mother in high school. Sunohara stopped and Ushio nearly bumped into him.

"T-Takeshi, warn me next time!" she complained. He stood there, his hand on the front door's handle. "Takeshi?"

He looked at Ushio.

"Ushio."

"Y-yes?" Ushio started at the firmness in his voice.

"Listen, I know I am the very last person you want to hear this from, but you need to step up. You cannot let people push you around. You're too passive."

She stared at him in shock. What was this all of a sudden? Where did this fire come from?

"Takeshi, I…"

"Let me finish, Ushio." She nodded.

"I've seen you in class. You sit all alone, you don't talk to anybody. You say you want to make friends, but you never make the move. You always give in to others' demands. You need to stop. You cannot live your life as a doormat. I don't want you to get hurt. You're too important to me."

"Takeshi…"

She was taken aback at his words. They stung, but rang true. She teared up, but fought the urge to cry. Sunohara sighed and once again put a hand to his temple.

"Oh boy," he said. He stepped forward and hugged Ushio, suprising her. "Look, I'm sorry I made you cry. I just don't want you to get used. You're too sweet for that, Shio."

Ushio smiled and returned the hug.

"Thanks, Takeshi. I'll… I try to do better, okay?"

Sunohara broke the hug and smiled. He tapped Ushio on the nose and opened the main door.

"Good, now let's get out of here."