Chronology Note: This post is starting off the story somewhere in the early part of the Clannad storyline. Tomoya is still a third year high school student, and he's only just begun to spend time with Nagisa--his future love interest is still up for grabs, so to speak. I'm also going to make an effort to start us off with a bit less complexity this time, in hopes that we'll average more contributions on this story. ^^;
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Kyou Fujibayashi let out a disgruntled sigh. It had already been lunchtime for nearly fifteen minutes, and she knew her twin sister was waiting for her out in the courtyard.
Heh, this is really rude, isn't it? What am I doing? She couldn't help but think to herself, as she scratched her chin thoughtfully and glanced down from the window of the third floor--towards one item of interest in that same courtyard she was headed to moments ago.
Ryou probably has the blanket laid out already. Knowing her, she has the tea poured and the boxes open already. Making her wait is just....rude. S-so, so why am I...?
She sighed again, her motion changing to a gentle massage of her opposite shoulder, as she bit her lower lip. Seeing Tomoya Okazaki sitting out there on that bench every afternoon, with that red-haired girl from the drama club...she didn't want to admit it, but it bothered her. A lot.
At first, she was proud of him. The typically bored-with-life slacker that Kyou called a friend had found something of a calling, helping to re-establish that defunct club. It was good for him to find a cause. But, all the same...there he sat, every afternoon, eating lunch with that girl. Laughing with her, planning with her...being with her.
"W-why her!? She just met him--I'm his friend! I-it's not fair!" Without thinking, Kyou's fist came slamming down upon the wall next to the window, and the sudden noise drew the attention of several passing students. She blushed in spite of herself and waved the onlookers off as meekly as possible, trying to make the indicent look completely accidental.
Kyou turned back to the window, I've got to stop this. I have no right to be....I-I'm not! I'm NOT jealous! Th-that would be ridiculous! Tomoya has always just been a friend....a friend, and nothing more. There was never anything there, s-so I have no right to be jealous. A-and I'm not jealous anyway, so....yeah. He's a high school boy, right? High school boys...they want girlfriends. Not just girls who ARE friends. S-so I should be happy for him.
The longer-haired Fujibayashi sister placed her hand over her heart and sighed. She'd been wrestling with these feelings for some time now, and she felt as though she were at her breaking point. Either she had to come to terms with the situation and just deal with it, or....she had to take action.
***
Sunohara Youhei yet out a bored yawn, and continued to wait out the lunch period, munching on some melon bread he'd acquired from the cafeteria moments ago.
"Maaa, this is so damn boring." The blonde haired boy put his feet up on Tomoya Okazaki's empty seat and reclined, entirely ignoring the few students who had chosen to stay in the classroom for lunch. He stared at that seat for a moment, pondering.
What happened to me and Okazaki crashing the cafeteria? The delinquents from 3-E, bullying first-years into giving up their seats and buying us juice? Sunohara grinned, sipping on a boxed strawberry milk, as completely innacurate images of he and Tomoya, playing the parts of the 'feared upperclassmen' danced through his head.
The door to classroom 3-E flew open with a loud clatter, so suddenly that Sunohara nearly lost his balance.
"I didn't do it!! Don't dunk me in the toilet again! I'll never do it again! Honest!! I--eh?" Whirling around, Sunohara's desperate plea to the rugby team not to beat him down again was cutoff when he found himself face to face with something completely unexpected. Instead of half a dozen burly boys, reeking of sweat and bent on his destruction; Sunohara found himself staring back at a single, sweet-smelling young girl who stood before him. Her lavender hair floated in the summer breeze from an open window, and her downright dangerous looking eyes were fixated on him.
"Fujibayashi," Sunhara adopted an uninterested glance, trying to hide his fear, "you looking for Okazaki? Well, he's not here. And neither is your sister, the class rep." He glanced away, sipping on his boxed drink again. Whenever Kyou had that look on her face, it typically meant he was about to be booted into oblivion. The only safe course of action was to not look back at her, and hope that she might get bored and wander off.
"You."
"Eh?" Sunohara couldn't help but look up, and the moment he did, he was grabbed roughly by his uniform tie and wrenched to his feet by the violent and curiously strong Fujibayashi. "Ah-AHH! You'll get suspended for beating up another student in a classroom!!" The physically unimposing boy writhed pathetically in that iron grip, trying to wiggle his way to freedom.
"I like you. Go out with me."
"N-no!! No, I didn't do anyth--w-what?" Sunohara's flinch became a stare, and his jaw dropped.
"Close your mouth. You look like an idiot, and the flies don't need a new home."
"Y-you.....you want to go out with....m-m-grrrffff!"
Kyou slapped her hand over Sunohara's mouth and loosened her grip on him, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Shhh! Somebody might hear you! You heard what I said! I-I...."
Kyou cleared her throat and paused before the words came out again. Was she desperate? Was she lonely? Was she trying to spite Tomoya? She looked over Sunohara's ridiculous visage for a moment. The expression on his face was dumbfounded, and she realized she had to explain herself. Blushing deeply and furrowing her eyebrows upwards helplessly, she made herself speak.
"W-what? I-I need a reason? W-why wouldn't I want to...go out with you? You're a nice....no....you're a handsome....no...." Sunohara made an annoyed face, causing Kyou to begin to sputter.
"You're very....blonde! D-didn't you know that blonde guys are a turn-on? S-so, so....you want a girlfriend, right? All boys want a girlfriend."
"It would be bad for my health. You'll kick me into next thursday every time we meet up."
"N-no I won't! I swear! Kicking ends here! I-it was just a display of affection, anyway. Girls are complicated....right? You always hurt the ones you love, right?"
Kyou swallowed hard. Without even thinking about it, she had raised her voice when spitting out that proverb. It had the effect of her just all but announcing to the classroom that she was in love with---Youhei Sunohara. What's worse, Sunohara was gullible, and he was likely to believe anything you told him.
A few students began to whisper, and Sunohara adopted a sudden impish grin, as if he was holding a stronger poker hand. It was as if Kyou could feel the fires of rumor, coming to life in that classroom, and already beginning to fan out. |