Chapter Twelve: Graduation

I had no idea where the time had gone, but I suddenly found myself at the end of the school year.

"Hurry, Tomoya-kun," Kotomi fussed. "We do not want to be late for our graduation ceremony!"

I was closer to being ready than she apparently thought, because when she came in my room, I heard her gasp. "Oh, you look so handsome!"

"Thanks," I replied as I finished adjusting the tie. "Are you about ready the-" The words caught in my throat as she came into view.

Before me stood a vision of loveliness in a purple dress, with large...ruffles, I think they were called…around the neck. The dress covered her from neck to ankles, as well as to her wrists. It wasn't form-fitting, but it hugged her body enough to remind me that she was a woman. As usual she had her hair ornaments, but instead of the bead-like decorations she usually had, she had small purple bows.

My mouth felt suddenly dry. "Wow."

She blushed attractively. "Do you like my dress?"

I slowly walked over to her and lay a hand on her cheek; she promptly pressed her face into it. "You…You're so beautiful."

Her blush intensified. "Th-Thank you, Tomoya-kun."

I suddenly felt awkward and started to pull my hand away. "Sorry; I got carried aw-"

Kotomi grabbed my hand and held it against her cheek. Her eyes slowly closed and she released what sounded like happy sigh.

After several moments her eyes opened…and widened. "Oh! I am sorry!" She quickly released my hand. "We must hurry! We must-" Without sticking around to finish her sentence she hurried from the room.

I looked at the hand that had been on her face. Who knew that a simple touch could have such an effect?

After the ceremony was over, I made my way over to the girls as they got their picture taken by Furukawa's dad. When she saw me, Kotomi's face lit up just as he snapped the photo. "Hey, nice smile, Ichinose-san!" he exclaimed.

"Tomoya-kun!' Kotomi exclaimed as she rushed over to me. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks, you too," I replied. Thanks to her tutelage I managed to pass all of my classes, as well as challenge many of my first- and second-year classes, which allowed me to improve my overall grades quite a bit. Not enough to qualify for any top-tier universities, but enough for a good recommendation from the school. Not enough for a great job, but working at a recycling shop could be considered a good start.

"Hey, get back here!" Kyou protested. "Pops still has some film left, so we're taking lots of pictures!"

Furukawa's dad looked over the top of his camera with a look of dismay.

I approached him with a smile. "Don't worry about Kyou, sir; that's just how she is."

He shifted his attention to me and seemed to be sizing me up. "So you're Nagisa's boyfriend."

My smile froze. "Come again?"

He gestured at me, and I noticed a cigarette in his hand. "She talks about you all the time, so I figured you must be her boyfriend."

"Dad!" Furukawa protested while turning scarlet. "I never said he was my b-boyfriend! Okazaki-san is just a really good friend!"

"Hmph." He gave me another once-over. "Not like I'd ever give her to you, anyway. Brat."

"And I'm Okazaki Tomoya," I countered as I bowed. "Nice to meet you."

His eyes widened for a moment before he started laughing as he returned the bow. "Ha, you got me there, brat! That's quick thinking!"

"Akio-san, are you bullying this nice young man?" A pretty brown-haired girl with a kind face appeared, and I realized from the 'antennae' that she had to be related to Furukawa somehow. "Is my husband giving you trouble?"

I blinked. "Waitaminute…are you Furu-well, Nagisa's mother?"

She smiled brightly. "Yes! I am Furukawa Sanae, Nagisa's mother!"

I shook my head in disbelief. "I'm sorry ma'am; I thought you were her cousin or someone like that."

Her eyes widened in obvious pleasure. "Well, well! Aren't you a sweet-talker! Are you Nagisa's boyfriend, perchance?"

I chuckled at the likely duplicate conversation. "No ma'am. Your daughter is a really nice girl, but…" I wrapped my arm around Kotomi, "Kotomi-chan here is my fiancée. In fact, we're getting married in June."

Sanae somehow manage to show happiness and confusion at the same time. "Well…good for the two of you! Aren't you kind of young, though?"

"We have a history together," I explained as Kotomi blushed. "We were childhood friends that found each other again in high school."

"Oh, how wonderful!" Sanae exclaimed. Could she say anything without exclamation marks? "Young love…it reminds me of us, Akio!"

At some point, the cigarette had made its way to Akio's mouth. "Kotomi, huh?" He mumbled as he studied my fiancée carefully. "If you don't mind my asking, what's your last name?"

Kotomi stuttered and stammered before looking to me; apparently she still had trouble with new people occasionally. "Her last name is Ichinose."

The cigarette dropped from his mouth. "Ichinose? As in Ichinose Koutarou and Mizue?"

"You knew my parents?" Apparently Kotomi had forgotten that she was supposed to be nervous.

Akio shook his head. "Only from what I read in the papers." He gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm really sorry about what happened to them."

"Th-Thank you." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"If you need to talk to anyone, just come to Furukawa Bakery; we'll help if we can."

"Th-Thank you," Kotomi repeated.

He glanced over at his wife briefly before leaned toward us and whispering: "A word of warning, though; Sanae likes to experiment with her bread, so be careful if she offers you some."

Kotomi paled; I think I did as well. "Th-Thank you," she repeated.

"My bread is…my bread is…"

A look of dismay appeared on Akio's face, and he turned to see Sanae standing next to him with tears in her eyes. "Sanae? How did you-"

Sanae suddenly wrapped Kotomi in an embrace. "Please come and visit us, soon." It was weird; her tears had somehow disappeared.

"I-I look forward to seeing you," Kotomi managed to reply.

"Hello? Pictures?" Kyou's annoyed voice could be clearly heard.

"Yes, yes," grumbled Akio as he turned back to the group of girls.

Kotomi and I looked at each other and smiled before returning to our friends and an afternoon of fun and photos.