Kyou/Tomoya FF

Author: Grimbt

A note on how to read this One-shot: This is intended to be accompanied by tracks from the Clannad soundtrack. The tracks suggested for each section are indicated in brackets immediately preceding the corresponding section. If there is intended to be no music for that section, the directive is written as [None]. If none is listed, continue listening to the one from the previous section. Of course, feel free to listen to whichever tracks you enjoy, or don't listen at all if that is better for your reading experience. The best videos on Youtube for the soundtrack that I've found are these:

Part 1) Clannad Complete Soundtrack (All albums) Part 1 / 2.

Part 2) Clannad Complete Soundtrack (All albums) Part 2 / 2.

Both have a list of the tracks and you can skip to the right one from the video details.

Kyou and her Bike.

[Part 1) Country Lane]

It was another early morning for Tomoya Okazaki. Tomoyo Sakagami had shown up at his house an hour ago to wake him up, but then said she couldn't walk with him to school because she had an early meeting to attend as Student Council President. Tomoya silently smirked as he relived the events of the morning.

He had almost ignored her. It was very early in the morning for a delinquent like him. Right as he was about to roll over though, Tomoyo forcefully pulled him out of his bed. He yelled out to her to stop, but she kept pulling. He ended up sprawled on the floor in front of her, wearing nothing but his undershirt and boxer shorts. The shock in Tomoyo's face was hilarious, but Tomoya couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed. She quickly averted her eyes and Tomoya could see her cheeks reddening in a blush.

"How indecent, Okazaki. You shouldn't show a girl such things… I'm your underclassmen as well…"

Tomoya's eyes had lit up in mock anger. He jumped to his feet and yelled at her.

"You were the one who pulled me out of bed! So if anything, this is your fault!"

The blush on Tomoyo's face disappeared, this time replaced with a look of dissatisfied indignation.

"Well, yeah, but… Anyway! You need to get dressed or you're going to be late, and I won't stand for that!"

She left a small while later. Looking up at the sunny sky above the town, Tomoya thought to himself. What a crazy girl she is. I can't believe she's coming to my house every morning to wake me up! And even into my room! I just don't get it… Why is a girl like that worrying about a delinquent like me? He was so engrossed by his thoughts, he failed to hear the sound of a rumbling motor catching up to him. While he was still lost in his thoughts, he heard a scream that was just a second too late.

[None]

"Tomoya! LOOK OUT!"

Tomoya spun around just in time to see a flash of purple before he was hit. He was sent flying a small distance down the road. He landed on his bad shoulder and pain shot through his torso. He moved to get up and held his re-injured shoulder, hoping to immobilize it. Damn it! Why did it have to be that shoulder! She's going to pay for this! He raised his voice in anger before looking around to find her.

"Oi! Kyou! Stop running me over! I'm going to start thinking you're doing it on purpose!"

There was no response. No witty comeback, no timely jab. Nothing. He snapped his head around to find her. What he saw made his breath catch.

[Part 1) Roaring Tide]

Close to him was the remnants of her motorized scooter, crumpled and broken. It looked like it had smashed into something other than him, and a bent up piece of a guard rail confirmed that suspicion. He hurriedly looked beyond the totaled motorbike and found Kyou Fujibayashi lying motionless in the middle of the road.

"Kyou!"

His body could not move fast enough as he scrambled over the debris of the crash. Immense pain surged through his body as he ran, but he didn't feel it. He fell to his knees by her side, and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Kyou! Kyou! Are you okay?! Kyou, answer me!"

She didn't respond.

Anxiously, Tomoya turned her head to look at her face and breathed a sigh of relief. She was bruised and scratched, but breathing. The crash had knocked her unconscious. He pulled her up to rest on his lap. When he let go of her left arm, he found blood on his hand. He looked to her arm and found a large tear in the sleeve of her school jacket. Blood was seeping from the wound at an amazing rate. Frantically, he removed her jacket and pulled her sleeve up, revealing a wound worse than he had seen in a long time.

"Kyou, you idiot! Why did you have to go and hurt yourself?!"

He ripped off his uniform's red necktie and wrapped it as tightly as he could around her injury. His mind was jumping around, desperately trying to think of everything and anything he could do. When he cinched the knot of the tie taught around her arm, he decided. It wasn't a great option, but she needed help he couldn't give her.

He slipped his head under her shoulder and hoisted her onto his back. When she was situated, he moved his hands behind his back to support her. He could only imagine what Kyou would have said if she knew his hands were that close to her butt. His bemusement didn't last long, however, as the pain in his shoulder shot to the forefront of his consciousness. AH! Well I guess the adrenaline has worn off…

He took one last look at the destroyed motorbike lying in the road before starting on down the road. It was going to be a long walk to the school. He cocked his head to see Kyou's face resting on his shoulder.

"You idiot. You really scared me there." Even as beaten up as she was, her face was still peaceful in her sleep. "Don't worry, Kyou. I'll take care of you."

[None]

Kyou woke in a daze. There were white walls and a curtain hanging above her head. Giving her eyes time to adjust, she looked to the side and found she was lying on a cot. She recognized it as the Nurse's infirmary at the school. What? Why am I here? And what am I doing in this bed? She tried to prop herself up on her left arm, but as soon as she tried to put weight on it, incredible pain shot up her arm. She cried out in pain and collapsed back onto the cot. She screwed her eyes shut and reached out to feel her arm. What she found was a heavy medical dressing covering her left elbow from mid-forearm to mid-bicep.

"What happened to my arm?"

Before she could even finish the question, she felt a hand grab her shoulder and push her back to rest against the pillow. She opened her eyes to see Tomoya standing over her with his arm against her shoulder. She gasped in shock.

"Tomoya, what are you doing here? Why aren't you in class?"

Tomoya scoffed at her and threw his head to the side, casting a smirk on his face. "I couldn't go to class if I wanted to. I'm suspended."

Nothing was making sense to Kyou. First I wake up in the school's infirmary with no idea how I got there or why I'm hurt, and then out of the blue, Tomoya shows up and says he's suspended? She reached out with her good arm and grabbed him by the wrist.

"Tomoya, what's going on?"

Tomoya held her gaze for a second, then his blue-grey eyes trembled a moment before he let his head fall.

[Part 1) Existence]

"You don't remember, do you?" There was seriousness in his voice. It was a tone that carried sadness, and weight. He paused for a moment before continuing. "You were riding your bike to school this morning, remember? Well, you ran into me just before we reached the hill up to the school. You got thrown from the bike and injured your arm. You even lost consciousness."

In an instant, everything from the morning came flooding back into her mind like a burst dam. She remembered saying goodbye to her sister Ryou before hopping on her bike and zooming down the street. She remembered daydreaming during the ride—it was something silly. She remembered an object approaching that snapped her back to reality. She remembered recognizing that object as Tomoya. She remembered shouting for him to move right before she hit him. She remembered flying off her bike, and then…

She snapped back to the present and realized what she had failed to ask.

"Tomoya, are you okay? Are you hurt? I… I—."

Tomoya raised his head in a confused look before shaking it off with a smirk. "I'm fine. You're the one that's been injured. You hurt your arm and the crash knocked you unconscious." Kyou watched him as he motioned to something hanging from an IV pole next to her bed. She didn't recognize it as anything medical. It took her a small while to realize it was Tomoya's red necktie, now stained beyond fixing with dried blood. He continued. "I had to carry you here to the infirmary."

There was a long silence between them. Kyou didn't know what to say. She had deliberately disobeyed school rules by riding her bike to class. Then she had hit one of her friends with that same bike. And now that same friend had to carry her unconscious body all the way to the school to get help for her. One thought ran through her head. What a terrible friend I turned out to be.

[None]

Suddenly the door to the infirmary opened and the two of them looked to see who it was. The man who entered was one of the senior teachers. He was also a member of the disciplinary committee. He looked to Kyou, probably assessing her injuries, then laid his eyes hard on Tomoya.

"Okazaki, I thought I told you to leave campus. Was I not clear?"

Kyou shifted her eyes to watch Tomoya's face. Had he really been told to go home? Then why didn't the idiot do it! He knows he could get an even worse suspension, and he's already a delinquent as it is! But she saw fire in Tomoya's eyes. Fire that told her he was planning on speaking up, fighting back. She knew no matter what he said, it was going to make his situation worse. She grabbed his hand and gave it a tight squeeze to stop him from doing anything he was going to regret. As soon as she touched his hand the fire in his eyes died, replaced with a look that Kyou didn't really understand. It almost looked like he was sad. Finally, he dropped his head into a bow.

"I'm sorry, Sensei. I'll go now."

As he got up to leave, the teacher stopped him with a halting sign.

"No, it is good that you stayed. I need to talk with both you and Fujibayashi." He held his gaze on Tomoya a few moments longer before shifting his focus back to Kyou. "Fujibayashi, are you well enough to stand?"

Without hesitation Kyou nodded.

"Then the both of you will follow me to my office."

Tomoya's emotions were nearly boiling over as he walked down the hallway after the stern-looking teacher. His name was Tosaka. Tomoya had had more than one run-in with him over the years. He was usually getting disciplined with Youhei though. He doubted Kyou even knew who he was other than one of the teachers of the senior class. He glanced over at the purple-haired girl walking next to him. He could see a twinge of pain cross her face with every other step. She must have hurt her leg in the crash too. Tomoya decided. He really hated Tosaka.

The three of them came to Tosaka's office and they took their respective places with little ceremony: Tosaka in his rigid armchair, and Tomoya and Kyou next to each other on the hard couch. Tomoya instinctively reclined against the back of the couch—he was used to getting in trouble. Kyou, however, sat on the very edge of the cushion, bolt-upright. When he saw her posture, he straightened back up, even though he wasn't sure why.

Tosaka looked to Tomoya. "Okazaki, have you told her?"

He had hoped that question would never come. He could feel Kyou shift beside him—he could feel her usually stalwart presence waver in confusion, but he couldn't look at her. His voice sounded hollow. "How could I?"

[Part 2) Spring Breeze Piano]

Tosaka studied the two of them silently. "I see. Fujibayashi: This morning Okazaki brought you to the school's infirmary. He said you had sustained significant injuries." Tosaka paused momentarily. "When you were bandaged up and recovering, we received a report from the police. They said that they had found the remnants of a motorized scooter, crashed and destroyed. They said it had likely been involved in an accident that morning. And that it was registered as belonging to Kyou Fujibayashi."

Heaviness filled the room. Tomoya could feel Kyou tremble in her seat beside him. Tosaka continued in his pointed tone.

"As you know, riding any sort of motorized vehicle to school is strictly forbidden at Hikarizaka. You have been disobeying this rule. Beyond that, you caused an accident this morning that could have put lives in danger, including your own" His tone was serious, but there was a fatherly forgiveness in it that Tomoya could only barely perceive. "The disciplinary committee has met about this issue. We have decided. In light of your recent actions, Kyou Fujibayashi, both you and Tomoya Okazaki are suspended from attending Hikarizaka Private High School. The duration of the suspension will be two weeks, effective immediately."

Hearing the words was difficult. Not because Tomoya didn't like, or was afraid of getting suspended, but because he knew what it would do to Kyou. She had never been in trouble before—not since he had known her. He could only imagine what she was going through inside her mind. So he was surprised when she blurted out suddenly, with plea in her voice.

"Sensei, what I did… What I have been doing is wrong. I accept my punishment, but why is Tomoya getting suspended? He has nothing to do with this!" Her hand cut through the air in a slash of negation.

Tosaka sighed and straightened in his armchair, erecting his carriage. "Fujibayashi, Okazaki is certainly involved. When he brought you to the nurse, she asked him what had happened to you. Okazaki said that you had fallen down a staircase when you both were walking to class. After he had been sent on to class, the school got the call from the police. The simple truth is that Okazaki was deliberately dishonest to the nurse about how your injuries happened. That is why he is being suspended."

[None]

The meeting ended without another word from the students. Tosaka instructed them that they were allowed back in two weeks' time and encouraged them to reflect on their actions.

[Part 2) Existence]

They walked down the halls side-by-side in silence. Eventually they made it to the entrance of the building, then to the wall at the top of the cherry-tree-lined hill that signified the edge of campus. Tomoya stepped past the threshold of campus onto the pavement of that long, long hill, knowing it wasn't going to be part of his life for the next two weeks. A few steps later he realized that something had changed. He looked to his side and found Kyou missing. He looked back to find her standing immobilized at that threshold with her head downcast. Her bangs were covering her eyes, and strands of long purple hair hung limp, away from her chest. He called out to her but she didn't respond.

Suddenly, she fell to her knees in tears. She brought her good arm up to hold her face with her hand. Her shoulders shook in loud, violent sobs. A shadow came over Tomoya. He couldn't comfort her. He couldn't make it right. He couldn't even get up the courage to continue looking at her. He snarled at himself and threw his head away from her. For the first time in a long time he was truly disgusted with himself. Anger and despair laid bare against a backdrop of tears and sobs.

[Part 1) Town, Flow of Time, People]

Tomoya woke up the next morning to sun streaming through his window. He tossed his head away from the light and cleared the sleep from his eyes. He wondered to himself why Tomoyo hadn't come to wake him up. Actually, it should be obvious right? She must have heard I was suspended again and didn't want to associate with me anymore. It is the second time I've been suspended in a month after all. He looked over the covers of his bed at his empty, colorless room. He couldn't stay in bed longer. He had something important to do.

The name plate on the wall surrounding the house said Fujibayashi in two neat Kanji. Tomoya walked up to the door and knocked on it shortly. He waited, not really knowing what he was going to do. All he knew was that he needed to be there. His heart jumped a beat when he heard the bolt unlocking. The door opened and Kyou stood there in the doorway, still in her red pajamas, looking tired and depressed. She had her bad arm in a sling hanging from her neck. Their eyes met for a second and then hers fell away from his.

"Why are you here, idiot?" The sting that was usually in her voice was gone. This isn't the right Kyou. Tomoya forced a laugh.

"Why am I here? I'm here to take care of you, you idiot! There's no way you can cook lunch with your arm in that sling. Now are you going to let me in, or do I have to stand here all day?"

Kyou looked at him with unreadable eyes before giving him a small, uncharacteristically distant smile. She stepped aside and gestured for him to enter. Tomoya passed her and slipped off his shoes. As he expected of the Fujibayashi family, there were pure white slippers lined up on the step up to the main floor from the landing level. Moving into the house without Kyou he took a look around.

The house was a far cry from Tomoya's dump of a house. Everything had a place and every place was neatly arranged. On top of that, nothing seemed messy or dirty. The most amazing part was that Tomoya felt strangely at home. For all the unnatural-seeming cleanness, the house felt welcoming. Cozy, even.

"Are you just going to stand there gawking all day?" That was better, Tomoya thought. Definitely more of her usual spunk.

He turned around with a smile on his face. "So what if I do? Anyway, have you had breakfast yet?"

Kyou was obviously flustered. She shifted her gaze away from his eyes and fidgeted with the hem of her pajama sleeve.

"Well… Ryou got up early and made me something, but…" Her sentence trailed off prematurely. Tomoya waited for her to finish the thought, but she didn't.

[None]

"But what?" He asked.

Her fidgeting instantly turned into pulling at the sleeve's hem, almost in an exasperated stretching motion. "It was pretty bad. I couldn't eat much of it. You know Ryou is not a very good cook when I'm not helping her."

This time, Tomoya didn't have to force his laughter. He belted out in a laugh that filled the room. The next moment Kyou grabbed at his collar with her free hand and nearly hoisted him in the air.

"But I still won't let you make fun of her!"

That's it. The old Kyou is back. Thank God.

Tomoya's laugh died into a warm smile and he reached out to her. His hand came to rest softly on top of her head. Her eyes widened in response, but he spoke before she could react.

"Let me make you breakfast then." Before she could refuse, he grabbed her wrist and gently forced her to let him go. Then without waiting for a response he moved past her to where he thought the kitchen would be.

When he found the kitchen he immediately got to work, easily finding the pans and ingredients he would need. He started working on a small but appetizing meal for the two of them. It wasn't until he had started heating the vegetables that her heard Kyou enter the room. He spoke to her without looking back.

"Take a seat Kyou. Breakfast won't be ready for a little while."

Tomoya heard her move quietly to the low table and seat herself at it. She's probably not going to want to talk. I guess it's up to me.

He spent the next twenty minutes talking at her, mainly about what their friends might be doing without them. Sunohara was probably just waking up himself, planning on showing up around lunchtime, if at all. He was seriously going nowhere with his life if he kept it up that way. Kotomi must be in the library, reading those difficult books she always reads. He really hoped she wasn't cutting the pages out still. He joked that even that though, was better than having to hear her play the violin. Tomoyo would either be diligently working in class, or pulled to attend to Student Council President business. Tomoya wondered aloud how she ever got any sleep, with all of her responsibilities. He was so caught up in his talk that when he got to Ryou, he spoke without thinking.

"And of course Ryou must be worried sick about the both of us."

[Part 1) Distant Years]

Instantly Tomoya felt the weight of an anvil slam down on his shoulders. His hand froze in the middle of stirring. He couldn't believe he had said that without thinking. The silence was deafening. The tension palpable. Maybe not surprisingly, Kyou didn't say a word. Instead of risking digging his grave any deeper, Tomoya focused on finishing cooking breakfast. There was silence until he plated the food for them both and set it on the table. Kyou had a blank look on her face. Her eyes were distant.

Tomoya knelt down at the table across from her and clasped his hands together above his plate.

"Itadakimasu."

Kyou answered feebly and picked up her chopsticks. He didn't wait for her before taking a bite, but he kept an eye on her while he was chewing. She caught a small portion with her chopsticks and brought it up to her mouth to take a bite. He watched her mouth close around the food he had cooked, feeling anxious, even though he didn't fully understand why. Her mouth worked the food slowly, and finally, she swallowed. A moment or two passed with no reaction. Then suddenly, Kyou burst into tears. Caught extremely off guard, Tomoya almost dropped his chopsticks.

"What's the matter? Is the food terrible?"

Kyou shook her head violently and continued to sob. Tomoya could barely understand her through the tears.

"No…idiot. Your…stupid breakfast…isn't terrible. It tastes…delicious!"

Okay…? So she's not crying because of my cooking. Then why is she crying?! I just don't get girls sometimes!

"It's just…" She tried to wipe the tears from her cheeks, but the move was in vain as new tears spilled from her lower lids. "I've been terrible." Kyou looked up to meet Tomoya's eyes. He was struck by how much pain was flooding through her purple eyes. Her words reached Tomoya in power. "I ran you over with my bike Tomoya! I could have killed you! As it was, I ended up getting hurt and was a burden to you as you had to carry me to the school." Her voice trailed off to an end.

[None]

Tomoya didn't know how to respond. He had done what he needed to do. It was true Kyou had had a lapse of judgment, but what he did for her wasn't anything special. Anyone else would have done the exact same thing. He tried to tell her that but she stopped him with a look.

"Tomoya, you're an idiot."

Okay… What? He was totally confused now. His mouth hung open in bewilderment. Kyou sighed heavily and broke her eyes away from his.

[Part 1) Same Height Piano]

"You didn't have to cover for me. You hadn't done a single thing wrong. You should have let me take the fall by myself. You don't deserve to be suspended! You don't deserve this Tomoya. You don't…" She started crying again with her head hung low.

He finally got it. She wasn't really worried about the food, or about getting in trouble, or even about how her accident had affected her sister. She was distraught because she felt bad that he got in trouble with her. What an idiot.

Tomoya got up from the table and moved around to sit beside the crying girl. He reached around behind her back and placed his left hand gently on her shoulder. His right hand moved up to pivot her face to his. Her eyes were watery, and all of her crying had made her cheeks and nose redden slightly. He was struck by her vulnerability. Kyou Fujibayashi was not a girl who made herself vulnerable. Ever. For the first time he saw behind the jabbing, sarcastic front. She was confident, outgoing, driven. Even aggressive. But he saw beyond that. He was seeing the defenseless, weak side of her. No, not weak. He thought. Even now she is strong. He looked straight into the deep purple of her eyes.

"Kyou, I covered for you because I didn't want you getting in trouble. It's okay if I get in trouble, I'm known as a delinquent at school. By the students, by the teachers, everyone. But you're a class representative. Your classmates look to you for leadership. Even the underclassmen adore you. You getting suspended… Nothing good could come out of that. But me? No one cares how poorly I do in school. My future doesn't matter compared to yours. It's probably a good thing that I'm suspended."

The moment his words died on the air, Kyou slapped his hand away from her face. "Don't say that! Don't ever say that. It isn't a good thing you're suspended because…" Tomoya drew back his hand from the slap and searched her face for the cause of her outburst. There wasn't any anger in her expression. There was something he didn't recognize. Her words carried a pleading weight to them. "Because I care about how you do in school. I care about your future. I can't accept that you getting suspended because of me is a good thing!"

[Part 1) Ana]

Tomoya's heart beat loudly in his chest. He was drawn in by Kyou's presence. He didn't understand the rationale she had behind her words, but he understood the sentiment behind them clearly. Her eyes sparkled with emotion and the world around them seemed to slow to a stop. All he saw was the girl in front of him. Nothing else existed. He found himself stumbling over words he didn't know he was saying.

"Why would you care about me?"

But the words were lost in the space between them. The space that was slowly vanishing as Kyou leaned her head toward Tomoya's. They lost themselves in each other's eyes. Any question of what was happening left Tomoya's mind as he watched Kyou's eyes close. His heart skipped into his throat as he did the same. He felt her warm breath on his face before their lips met. They touched gently, hesitantly at first, but after a moment of anticipation, they embraced the kiss, letting their emotions speak through the intimacy of kissing. A surge of emotion rushed through Tomoya's very being. The feeling of his first kiss filled his soul. A deeper connection to the girl resonated through his existence. He felt right. He felt at home.

When Kyou finally pulled away from his lips, a pang of longing skipped through Tomoya's mind. Even though it had only lasted a few seconds in reality, to Tomoya it felt as if an eternity spent held in the delicate arms of grace. He would give anything to go back to that place. Away from the stress of his deadbeat of a father. Away from the judgmental classmates. Away from the teachers who looked down on him. Far away from everything unpleasant. All of that, in a single kiss. He vowed to never forget that moment, those feelings.

He opened his eyes to find Kyou looking at him with tears in her eyes. Not tears of pain or suffering, but tears of joy. Tears of love. A small smile had broken out across her face and her cheeks were bright red from blushing. She sniffed back her tears and spoke clearly and beautifully.

"Thank you Tomoya. For everything."

The surface of Tomoya's usually contained emotion cracked upon hearing those words. He had only done what he did because he would have done it for anyone, right?

No. That's not true. After the accident, when she didn't respond to my call, I thought I might have lost the one person in my life that makes every day interesting. That makes it worth getting up for. That makes it okay to come to class. With tears forming in the corners of his eyes he reached his arm around to hold Kyou around the waist. She leaned against him and gently rested her head against his shoulder. He was at a loss for words, but it felt right to simply hold her. To protect her from the world. And to protect her from her own doubts.

They sat there for minutes on end, letting the food get cold, before finally Kyou spoke up once more.

"Tomoya, don't get in trouble anymore. It would look bad if the class representative's boyfriend was in trouble too often."

Fin.

Author's Note: And that concludes my first ever story based on Clannad! I really hope you liked it! It was a lot of fun to write. I love Kyou as a character and I was sad they didn't have more of her. So this was my way to make things a little interesting. Let me know what you thought in a review, or a PM. The soundtrack something I tried out; I've never tried that before, and I was hoping it would add to the story. If you hated it, please let me know. I'd like to get a sense of the temperature around that point. Anyway, thanks for reading, and in the words of Glyph, "Have a pleasant day."

-Grimbt

P.S. There might just be an epilogue if the reception is favorable!