Clannad
The Lost Girl
Note: Hello hello! The story has five chapters left and counting! As it nears the end, I want to(again) thank all the fans, and want to tell you guys that the BEST HAS YET TO COME! :D
Also: There will be a lot of skipping forward, due to a lot of time needing to pass for the following events to occur!
Please Read, REVIEW, and please, do Enjoy! :)
Chapter Sixteen – Revelations
After Tomoya left, I figured that things would go back to normal...And for a while, they did.
The remainder of our Winter Break passed by in a flash, and we returned to school. The School Festival began to grow close, and the whole school became busy with the clubs and classrooms all getting ready for the happening.
Ushio had grown ill during that week, but still insisted to go up on stage. I didn't let her, so we had a change of part, and Risha and Yurino went up and did a comical skit(Which mostly involved Yurino getting pummeled around).
After the festival, there was only a few weeks left until the end of the year. We decided to have our own sort of 'graduation' party of our own, to reflect on what had happened in the past year, and celebrate that we made it...
But, as Akio made sure to remind us, our year as Seniors will be our hardest. But nobody really listened to him, seeing as though we were all in a cheery mood, but I secretly hoped that it wouldn't be true...
And so, the end of the year came, and we officially became Seniors.
As I stepped up to the school, a gust of wind swooshed by, and I took a deep breath...
Here I was, once again. At a new school, that wasn't really that new to me anymore, in a town about a hundred miles away where my grandmother lived. Looking up at the school, I could see the brand-new look beginning to fade. It just looked that way in the beginning, I thought to myself...
And, walking into the building, I passed by that door which I remembered to be the counselor's office. After that were more plain-looking doors that probably led to places such as the Principle's Office, which, luckily for me, I had never had to go to.
Then, I ascended the stairs up towards the second floor, where the Senior classes were going to be held. I had received my classroom in the mail, which was odd, since most schools would post them in front of the school...But I guess they just didn't want the rush.
3B, I thought, scanning the hallway, until I found it, almost directly in the middle of it. Once at the door, I hesitated. I'm here a bit early, I thought, And I don't even know who's going to be in my class... I had forgotten to ask anyone else where they were going to be...
So I put my hand on the door, and slowly slid it open...
The room appeared to be soulless, until I stepped in and looked towards the back...
And there she was. Her amber-eyes glowing from the sunlight that was pouring in through the windows.
Ushio...The girl that I love.
Knowing that I could always be with Ushio for this last year was all that mattered to me. Even though, to my surprise, Risha, Yurino, and Nyou were in the same class as well, being with Ushio was what I had secretly wanted...
And so, the year began. But it still passed by quickly.
Summer came, and summer went. We had spent our time on a trip that Dr. Chaan had arranged for Nyou and all of us to go on, to a private residence with its own beach area and spas and...Well, you can imagine lots of neat things there. I'm still unsure as to how Dr. Chaan came across such money, but that thought fades while you're actually there...
Then, we returned to classes for a few months, until the clouds began to form overhead, and the temperature dropped, signaling that Winter Break was here.
I spent the whole time with Ushio while she was sick, as usual. She got better near the end of the break, which made me relieved, but something happened at that time that made me anxious of the outcome...
Something I'm sure Akio would kill me for.
We were sitting inside of Ushio's room, watching the snowflakes fall softly down from the dark sky. There was a sort of silence, but it was a calming one. I was holding Ushio's hand, and we seemed to speak through our touch...
Then, my stomach growled loudly, breaking the silence. My face flushed, and I rubbed the back of my head. "Uh...I guess I'm kinda hungry." I said. Ushio smiled, then told me, "W-Well...grandma and grandpa are out right now, and I don't know what we have..."
My face instantly turned redder, and Ushio gave me a confused look. No, stop it! I told myself, Don't think about being in an empty house, alone with Ushio... After a few moments, Ushio seemed to have realized what I was thinking, and looked around, blushing.
"I-I-I...Um..." she tried to say, but didn't really know what would make the thought go away. I grinned as I watched Ushio wildly look around, trying to get the thought out of her head...
Then I squeezed her hand, and she stopped and looked at me. Maybe I'll do something I regret, I thought to myself, But... I leaned in closer to Ushio, and kissed her...But it wasn't like one of our usual kisses. This was long and drawn-out, passionate to say the least...
And something overcame me. I eased Ushio down onto her back, and continued the kiss. One voice seemed to cry in my head, W-Wait, stop! While the other told me, Don't worry about it...This is your decision!...
Maybe I should've stopped at that moment...But I couldn't.
Love always triumphs over common sense, I guess.
Surely enough, two weeks later, I got an 'urgent' call from Akio that I need to come down to the bakery, immediately. I gulped, and put on my jacket and scarf. Well, this'll be interesting, I thought, as I left my grandmother's house and made my way down to the bakery...
Once I stepped inside, Akio was waiting there behind the counter, and instantly gave me a look of disgust, which had me taken aback. "Tokoi..." he said through clenched teeth, "Maybe... you could go back there and see what Ushio has to show you."
I could tell he was restraining the urge to attack me, so I hastily moved towards the back, and past the living room. Sanae was standing outside of the bathroom in the hallway, and she motioned for me to come over, a look on her face that wasn't anger, but more of surprise...
And once there, I looked in on Ushio, who seemed to be hanging her head, and was looking down at the sink. "Ush-" I began to say, but Sanae raised a hand to stop me, and pointed towards the sink...
I moved closer and leaned in to look...I gulped as I saw three small, white sticks...
Positive, Positive, Positive...
Ushio looked up at me, and I saw for the first time that she was crying. She quickly hugged me, and I put my arms around her, my breathing becoming heavy with a realization that I thought I was ready to handle...
"You're going to be a father, Tokoi." Sanae said from behind. I felt Ushio hold onto my tighter, and I took a deep breath...
"It'll be okay." I whispered into Ushio's ear as she began to sob...
But will it really? I suddenly thought, thinking of Nagisa, and Tomoya's grief...
I don't want that to happen to you...If something is going to happen, it should happen to me.
To be continued...
Next Chapter – Graduation