Clannad
The Lost Girl
Note: Kind of short, since I did regular paragraphs (I usually do line-by-line paragraphs. :I)
Chapter Two
Encounters
The night passed by quick, and I found myself walking off to school once more, my backpack heavy with some of the books I had been given the day before. It definitely wasn't helping with my aching back. That damned Risha... I think with a sigh.
I hear a buzzing noise from behind, and I turn to see something coming at me on the sidewalk at a high speed. "Look out!" someone yells, and, before I can move out of the way, I find myself being toppled over by a scooter, and a girl falls over on top of me.
"O-Ouch..." I mutter, moving my head to the side to get some air. From the corner of my eye, I can see the girl's purple-colored hair hanging down as she lifts her head and says, "Ow..." Suddenly, she moves back and stands up. "H-Hey, watch where you're going next time!" she shouts at me.
As I stand and brush my uniform off, I tell her, "Wait, wasn't I the victim here?" After a few moments of silence, I see her blush as she turns her head away. "Well, you shouldn't be..." she begins to say, before trailing off. "...I shouldn't be walking on the sidewalk?" I finish for her, and she turns and glares at me, still blushing heavily.
"I-I..." she starts to say, before turning around, picking up her scooter, and starting it up. I sigh as I move out of the way and watch her ride off. What was that about? I think as I rest for a few moments before walking again. After a short walk, I arrived at the gates of the school, and I simply stood there, watching the students walking and talking amongst each other.
After looking around for a few moments, I notice a familiar girl standing beneath one of the large trees in front of the school. Ushio? I think, looking at the girl, who was simply looking down at the ground, seemingly unmoving. I finally decide to go through the gates and walk up to her.
"Hey." I say, but she doesn't look up. "I wish you didn't have to go..." she mumbles, still looking down at the ground, "Irisa-chan..." I stand there for a few moments, trying to figure out if she was talking to herself or not. "Um..." I begin to say, and she looks up at me suddenly, as if just noticing I was there.
"O-Oh...Tokoi." she says, pausing to think of what my name was. I try to give her a warm smile, but she turns her head, a slight blush appearing on her face. I sigh. Definitely shy, I think. "So...What were you talking about just now?" I decide to ask, and she tilts her head in confusion. "Somebody by the name of...Irisa?"
Ushio's blush becomes even more apparent on her face, and she stumbles with her words as she explains, "Irisa-chan was my friend in my first junior year..." I nod. "Wait, your first junior year?" I say, confused, and she gives a small nod. "I-I got sick and was gone for a long period of time..." she tells me, "So I watched as my friends moved on, and forgot about me..."
I can see a wave of sadness seem to envelop her. That is a pretty sad thing to happen... I think. "Well, hey, how about this?" I say, taking a step towards Ushio and extending my hand, making sure to give a warm smile along with it. "Let's be friends."
Ushio looks down at my hand for a few moments, before a small smile appears on her face. She shakes my hand and looks up at me, "Thank you, Tokoi-san." she says, and I can't help myself from smiling a little more. As we put our hands down, we find ourselves in a sort of awkward silence.
Suddenly, I hear a bell chime. "Oh, we should get to our class." I say, and Ushio nods. We talk together into the school, but find ourselves splitting up in the hall when we get to the classroom 2-D. Before she walks in, she gives me a small smile and says, "Thank you, Tokoi-kun."
After making my way to my first class, the day seemed like it was going to go by quick. The lessons were fairly easy, since I had studied most of it at my other school. When lunch came, I decided that I'd go onto the rooftop to each lunch, since I had been doing that ever since junior high-school.
Once on the rooftop, I began to eat, having sudden memories about Yurino and I back throughout the long time we had known each other. I haven't heard anything about him since I moved here... I think, Hopefully he's able to recover...
While lost in my thoughts, I see a lone figure down below walk out of the school building and go to the large tree, sitting down beside it. Squinting my eyes in the sunlight, I can make out the figure of Ushio, who had taken out a circular loaf of bread and was starting to take small bites out of it.
I guess she eats alone like this every day... I think, taking another bite of my rice. After a few moments of thinking, I decide to make my way downstairs and out the front doors to join Ushio. She doesn't appear to notice me, until I sit down nearby.
"Oh, h-hi Tokoi-kun." she says, and I give an acknowledging nod to her. For a few moments, we are eating in silence. "What is that?" I decide to ask, pointing at the bread in her hands. She takes another bite out of it before telling me, "Sweet bean bread..." I nod, and we continue to eat in a sort of awkward silence. I sigh. I'm not really sure what to say...
"My grandmother made it." Ushio says suddenly, and I look up at her. "Oh, is your grandmother a baker?" I ask, and she nods. "She owns a bakery not too far from the school..." Ushio tells me. "Although my father and grandfather don't particularly like her bread..." she begins to say, taking another bite out of it, then smiling, "I love it."
I smile. Her smile is contagious, I think, taking a last bite of rice from my bento. I stand up, just in time to hear the bell chime. "Well, I'd like to go there sometime." I say, giving a slight stretch. I hear Ushio take a sip out of her juice box, before she stands and gives a slight bow towards me.
"T-Thank you for keeping me company..." she tells me shyly. "Any time." I tell her, giving her as warm a smile as I could put on. We began to walk into the school together, once again parting ways when we reach her classroom. I say goodbye to her, and begin to walk away.
I take a last look back, and I see Ushio standing there at the door, simply staring at it. "What's wrong?" I ask her, and she turns her head and looks at me. "N-Nothing..." she tells me, before sliding the door open and walking inside.
I sigh, and I begin to walk to my classroom. Maybe this school isn't so bad... I begin to think, when, suddenly, I find myself being propelled forward by a powerful kick from behind. Staggering, then recovering and turning around, I see none other than Risha standing there, glaring at me.
"Did you do something to that girl out there?" she asks, and I tilt my head in confusion. "Uh..I don't believe I did." I tell her, but she doesn't look convinced. She walks up to me and grabs me by my collar, glaring up at me for a few moments. "I'll be watching you, Tokoi." she mutters, before letting go of me and walking into the classroom.
I watch as she walks away. What's her problem? I think, becoming slightly irritated. A sudden flash of memory comes into my head...of the day my father and I had had our last argument. I see his face glaring down at me, grabbing me by the collar. I shake my head. "I'll never forgive him..." I mutter under my breath, before making my way into the classroom.
The rest of the day went by fast, and I decided to avoid Risha at all costs. The last bell finally chimed, and I began to make my way to the front. I give a sigh of relief. Thank god this day is over... I think as I walk out of the building.
At least there's one sane person here... I think, an image of Ushio appearing in my head. I look up, and I see her standing over at the gate. Is she...Waiting for me? I wonder as I make my way towards her.
When she notices me walking up to her, she smiles.
To Be Continued...
Next Chapter: Bread
So, was that good for a second chapter? Let me know what you think with a review, and stay tuned for more! :D Also, just a heads up, there are some small, less obvious things that I included in this story(And will continue to include) that are small indications of similarities between the anime and my story. Such as, Nagisa was actually in class 3-B, while Tomoya was in class 3-D. (Whereas they are switched in here. ^^) Just some small things like that, if anybody actually cares besides me. xD