Sorry for the delay; I had difficulty planning this chapter out, and I played through five routes in the original Da Capo Visual Novel (Kotori, Moe, Mako, Sakura, and Nemu) so that consumed quite a lot of time.

The usual disclaimers, yada yada. :D

/

Averting Her Eyes, Part I

As I slowly walked up the hill going to Hikarizaka Private High, I was deep in my thoughts of the plan I had to execute. For Nagisa's safety, I had to somehow convince Sanae-san and the old man to properly hide the albums from Nagisa, or, if worst comes to worst, dispose of them. The problem was:

How am I supposed to tell the old man and Sanae-san that I knew about their past careers?

Immediately, I thought of casually and subtly interrogating Nagisa about her parents' past. If she says anything, I could probably use that to argue my case with her parents, who probably don't know how dangerous it might be for Nagisa to discover the secret they had been so carefully guarding from her for the past thirteen years.

On a whim, I opened my briefcase, perusing its contents. It had nearly nothing inside, save for a used notebook, a ballpoint pen, and my atrocious English exam that was returned around two months ago. I have to get my act together, for both my sake and Kotomi's. Whereas before, Sunohara provided me with motivation to go to school, Kotomi now provided me with the motivation to do better. If I wanted to be with her, I couldn't be the weak link, the person that would hold her back from whatever she wanted to achieve.

Turning my attention back to the matter of the Furukawas' secret, I pushed my thoughts about my academics to the rear end of my mind, making a mental note to at least be more attentive in class. The sakura trees were still in bloom despite the fact that May was nearing its end; I couldn't help but wonder why that was so. I mean, it's not like Hatsune Island[1], where the sakura trees bloom all year round. I thought back to Tomoyo's mission to save the sakura trees, a mission that I helped her accomplish in part by getting her elected as the seitokaichou.

I entered the gate as the bell for first period rang and my thoughts went back to Tomoyo. Since the time she confessed to me, I hadn't seen her at all. I expected something like that; after all, I did reject her. Hopefully, she would get over it in due course and we could go back to being good friends. She did say that she still wanted to remain friends with me, but if not, then it's a loss I probably can't take back, since I'm not good at those kinds of things.

My thoughts then turned to one Ryou Fujibayashi. For some time now, I noticed that she had been at least slightly interested with me; she was even more of a shrinking violet than usual when she was talking with me.

"Jeez," I muttered softly as I opened the 3-D classroom door and proceeded calmly to my seat. "What the hell do these girls see in me anyway?"

I looked at the empty seat to my right and thought of its owner. Sunohara would be pretty pissed if he heard my comment just now. I chuckled at the idea when I was approached by none other than Fujibayashi.

"G-Good morning, Okazaki-kun. I'm g-glad to see you here on time," said Fujibayashi, her cheeks tinged with red.

Especially this one, oh boy… What in the hell does she see in me? She sees her older sister beat up on me all the time. It doesn't make sense in the slightest to me.

"Aaaarghhh!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up into the air in frustration. Fujibayashi flinched, and timidly asked,

"What's wrong, Okazaki-kun?"

"Eh? Ah, nothing, nothing at all," I said, smiling at her. "We need to talk about our location for practicing later at lunch in the clubroom. I'd like it very much if we could do it in Nagisa's house after school, so that our actress is more comfortable with practicing by being in a more familiar and comfortable place, don't you think?"

"That's a good idea Okazaki-kun," said Fujibayashi lightly. "We should confer with Nagisa-chan later, and see what she thinks."

"Alright, it's time for Trigonometry," said the teacher, who had just entered, putting his lesson plan down on the table with an audible thud.

"I'll talk to you later, Okazaki-kun," said Fujibayashi as she turned away and proceeded meekly to her seat.

/

Fourth period arrived and halfway through it, so did Sunohara. He looked at me with amusement on his face when he actually saw that I had some notes written down in relation to the lesson at hand.

"Turning over a new leaf, eh Okazaki?" whispered Sunohara as he sat down in his seat, ignoring the teacher who had stopped talking due to his unceremonious arrival in the classroom.

"Something like that, yeah," I said absentmindedly, writing down a note that explained the basics of mitosis occurring in Paramecium sp.

The teacher looked at Sunohara pointedly but gave up, and she resumed teaching the Biology lesson with a note of irritation in her voice.

"By the way, about helping you guys and Nagisa-chan, I was serious," said Sunohara. "I'll let the fact that she rejected me slide. I'll continue assisting you guys if you need me."

"We don't need you," I said airily while Sunohara planted his face on his desk.

"Don't discount my efforts just like that Okazaki!" exclaimed Sunohara in the loudest whisper he could muster without disrupting the class. "I'm serious. I know how it feels like to not have friends. I could tell that before you met Nagisa-chan, she was all alone and she didn't have friends. I easily found out that she was repeating a year and that she was basically a loner in her class."

"Are you turning over a new leaf, Sunohara?" I asked incredulously.

"Not really; I'm only following a proverb I heard from that anime about sending people to hell using that website[2]: 'If you're nice to someone, you aren't the lowest form of life around.'"

"Sure, sure," I said absentmindedly while I wrote down a note about Volvox. "I'm planning to have our practices at Nagisa's house. She should feel more comfortable here and Fujibayashi agreed that it was a good idea. What do you think? Sunohara?"

I turned to him once more and just like that, he was already dozing off.

"Idiot… He's only got fifteen more minutes to sleep before the lunch bell rings. Oh well, fifteen minutes of sleep is still better than zero minutes of sleep," I muttered to myself.

/

"Youhei…" snarled Kyou with venom in her voice, her right hand balled into a fist. "You only wanted to help Nagisa for bread! What kind of immature idiot are you! You're the lowest form of life in the universe!"

"Butbutbut Okazaki was the one who told me that Nagisa-chan's father gives free bread to people who're nice to her," whimpered Sunohara as he quailed under Kyou's gaze that seemed like it could rip through concrete.

"But Dad doesn't give people bread for being nice to me…" mused Nagisa audibly.

"Even if that idiot Tomoya tricked you—" said Kyou, looking at me dangerously, "—you still agreed to do so for the bread!"

"Don't look at me that way Kyou," I said disdainfully, munching on some tonkatsu bread that I purchased from the cafeteria.

"Tomoya-kun, would you like some of my takoyaki?" asked Kotomi who was seated beside me to my pleasure.

"Thanks," I said, using my other hand to pluck a piece of takoyaki from Kotomi's bento, shoving it into my mouth whole. "Wow, this is delicious. You make good lunches, Kotomi."

Kyou had turned away from Sunohara and instead was looking at me and Kotomi with a look that seemed to mix curiosity and skepticism.

"Would you like me to make you lunch for tomorrow, Tomoya-kun?" asked Kotomi.

Kyou suddenly leaned towards her twin sister and she began feverishly whispering into her ear. Sunohara looked immensely relieved from having Kyou's attention taken away from him, while Nagisa just continued to munch cutely at a piece of anpan.

"Sure, if it isn't too much trouble, Kotomi," I said to her in reply. "Thanks for the offer; I appreciate it."

"I'm happy, Tomoya-kun," said Kotomi with a smile on her face.

It was as if my confession to her yesterday didn't happen. I don't think she had forgotten or pretended that it never happened though; she did say she was willing to wait for me to sort out my issues. I can deal with Pops when this whole play is over and done with, since I felt that confronting him now and apologizing to him for being a shitty son would have too much of an emotional toll on me. As for my studies, she said that she would tutor me for the entrance examinations this winter, but I felt that I had to make an effort myself so that I wouldn't rely solely on her. After all, the gods only help those who help themselves.

"So anyway," I coughed, getting everyone's attention. "As you know, the school festival will take place on Sunday next week, which leaves us with nine days to practice. Nagisa here has most of the lines memorized; now all we need is the perfection of execution. Also, props. Nagisa, are you sure that Sanae-san is fine with making your costume?"

"Yes. Mom said that she'd be glad to make my costume in her spare time. She's a good seamstress in her own right, so that should be no problem at all," said Nagisa.

Here it is. Time to set my plans into motion.

"Nagisa, would you be averse to the idea of holding practices in your house?" I asked. "I think it's a good idea, so that you can feel more at home and concentrated. I remember the first time I saw you practicing for this play outside your house in the twilight; you looked perfectly at home there. Fujibayashi and I—" I looked towards Fujibayashi, who nodded, "—thought that this would be a good idea."

"I'd be happy to have our practices in my house after school," replied Nagisa happily. "I'm sure Mom and Dad would be happy to have all of you over; after all, they took very kindly to Okazaki-san the first time he came over."

Upon hearing this, Sunohara spat out the strawberry milk that he had been drinking.

"Say what? Okazaki's been to your house, Nagisa-chan?"

"Yes," replied Nagisa happily. "Mom and Dad took a liking to him straightaway."

Kyou looked at me with her eyebrows raised. I shrugged my shoulders and looked at Kotomi who was just eating her bento quietly, seemingly oblivious to everything that had been going on right now.

"In any case, Nagisa's parents are… interesting people," I said carefully, while Nagisa just chuckled at my summary of her parents. "So, that's settled then. Nagisa, starting later after class, let's hold meetings and practices at your house."

Nagisa nodded and she said,

"Once again everyone, I'd like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for making my dreams come true."

"Don't mention it Nagisa," said Kyou confidently. "We're your friends, after all. Even this idiot Sunohara," she admitted grudgingly.

"Sunohara-san is a nice person after all," said Nagisa, smiling at Sunohara. Sunohara jumped up and grabbed Nagisa's hands with his own.

"Let's elope, Nagisa-chan! Your father and mother will give us their blessing and we'll both enter music school and travel to Paris![3]" exclaimed Sunohara.

"Idiot!" shouted Kotomi, swatting Sunohara smack on the forehead with a harisen.

"That's great Kotomi, put that idiot in his place," said Kyou venomously.

"Onee-chan…," muttered Fujibayashi nervously while Kotomi continued to hit Sunohara in the face with the harisen. As this occurred, Nagisa was laughing heartily at the situation.

"I'm sure Mom and Dad would love to have everyone over," said Nagisa happily. "Oh, what is it Okazaki-san?"

I got her attention and whispered, "There's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you privately later, alright?"

Nagisa appraised me lightly and nodded uncertainly. Good, now all I have to do is to plant the question involving the secret that Sanae-san and the old man were keeping from her.

Keikaku doori[4].

/

"Oh my, so you all are Nagisa's friends?" said Sanae in wonder when I, Kotomi, Kyou, Fujibayashi, Sunohara, and Nagisa arrived at Furukawa Bread.

"I'm home!" chirped Nagisa happily.

"Good afternoon, Furukawa-san," the rest of us said. "We talked to Nagisa earlier about holding practices here for the play we wanted to do for the school festival on Sunday, nine days from now," I said.

"Nagisa told me about that; that she was finally getting things done in the drama club she established with your help, Okazaki-san," said Sanae. "Please, come in."

"Excuse us," we all intoned, and when I passed her, Sanae-san stopped me for a moment by lightly holding my uniform's sleeve.

"What is it, Sanae-san?" I inquired.

"Thank you for helping Nagisa find friends. I'm sure Akio-san will be happy for her when he sees you all here," replied Sanae-san jovially.

"Is the old man out?" I asked nonchalantly, realizing my mistake of addressing her husband as "old man" too late.

"Old man? Oh, you mean Akio-san. Yes, he's out playing baseball with the neighborhood kids," said Sanae-san gesturing to the park across the street.

I looked over at the direction where Sanae-san was pointing and I saw the old man there, pitching fastballs at the kids.

"Bully," I muttered under my breath. "Oh Sanae-san, I apologize for addressing your husband in such an informal manner."

"Don't worry about it, Okazaki-san. I'm sure Akio-san will feel flattered that you refer to him in such a friendly way," replied Sanae-san, smiling.

Friendly way…?

"Would you like to try my latest bread, Okazaki-san?" asked Sanae-san hopefully. "Today's theme is the incorporation of durian fruit. Despite its smell, the fruit itself is quite sweet and delectable."

"Hey Tomoya, stop idling around and get your ass in here. Nagisa and the rest of us are waiting," called out Kyou's voice from the guest room.

"Excuse me Sanae-san, but it seems like I'm being looked for. Please send our greeting to your husband when he returns," I said.

Saved by Kyou. Phew. I took my leave and went into the Furukawa household, and opened the first door on my right. Inside was everyone, gathered around a low table and there was a wooden chest in the corner of the room. On the table was the play's script, and Kyou was glaring at me.

"I was held up by Sanae-san. Don't kill me," I said, raising my hands in surrender, as Kyou's glare softened. I sat on the floor beside Sunohara and Kyou when Kyou began to talk.

"Good, so everyone's here. Tomoya, we had Youhei here take this wooden chest from the second floor of their house. It contains quite a few costumes, according to Nagisa, but I think she should still have one tailor-made by her mom. In any case, this is a costume chest so Nagisa can get ideas for any special costume she likes," said Kyou briskly.

"I'll do that for a bit. Ryou-chan, could you help me pick?" asked Nagisa, and Fujibayashi complied as the two of them began to sift through the chest containing old costumes.

I then realized that the existence of this chest could be used as a reason for my guessing that the old man used to be an actor. However, I turned my mind to the actual matter at hand and spoke.

"We have to divide the labor too, as Koumura said. I think Kotomi should handle sounds, while Sunohara and Kyou do the curtains and background props. I'll control the lights along with Fujibayashi. Basically, the three of us will be up in the control room in the auditorium, while Sunohara and Kyou work behind the curtain. Are there any objections?" I asked.

No one replied but Kyou spoke up suddenly,

"I'm surprised Tomoya, that you can actually be competent when depended upon."

I rolled my eyes at the comment and continued,

"No objections? Good. Nagisa, since you're the lone actress, I'll need you to draw up a plan for the lighting sequences by Thursday next week, at the latest. Fujibayashi and I will need some time to work on the lighting, assuming that we're given a dry run a day before the festival itself. Kotomi, you handle the music, alright? CDs will do, I'm sure. We should have a listening session on or before Thursday next week, and Kotomi and Nagisa can work on the BGM sequencing."

"I'll do my best, Tomoya-kun!" said Kotomi happily. "What kind of music would you like, Nagisa-chan?"

Nagisa put a finger on her lips while Fujibayashi was examining a frilly pink Victorian dress beside her.

"Something that gives off an air of fantasy and mysticism, preferably classical music. Music that mystifies and soothes the audience into empathizing with the main character of the story," said Nagisa sagely.

Fujibayashi, Kyou, myself, and even Sunohara, who was lying down on his back, gazed at Nagisa with awe.

"Wow, you do know your stuff Nagisa," said Kyou, appraising Nagisa carefully.

Nagisa blushed at the attention she was getting and she turned to Kotomi who had taken out a notepad and was scribbling intently on it.

"Are you listing songs, Kotomi-chan?" asked Nagisa.

"Yes. Nagisa-chan, the list should be ready by Monday. On Tuesday, we could have a listening session like what Tomoya-kun suggested," said Kotomi quietly.

The afternoon proceeded as we continued to prepare for the play, and nightfall soon arrived. Sanae-san stuck her head in the room and said,

"Dinner is ready everyone. I'd be happy if you all stayed for dinner!"

She smiled at us and Kyou replied,

"Thank you Furukawa-san, but Ryou and I have to go home, since I have to cook dinner for our family. Thank you for having us over today and for the next week. We'll be in your care."

Both of them bowed as they began to tidy up the things they were working on: Nagisa and Fujibayashi were packing the costumes away while Kyou filed away papers containing drawings of props and the backdrop.

"I'd like to stay Sanae-san!" piped up Sunohara excited when Kyou grabbed him by the tie.

"You're leaving Youhei; nobody likes freeloaders," snapped Kyou, dragging him out by the tie while Sanae looked on uncertainly. Fujibayashi bowed to her and they left, though I heard them greet the old man who was apparently manning the counter before they closed up for the day.

I, on the other hand, had every intention of staying for dinner. I was in no mood to buy food from the convenience store on the way home, so I decided to take Sanae-san up on her offer. I turned to Kotomi, who was silently seated across Nagisa and I on the table.

"Kotomi, what about you?" I asked, feeling concerned for her.

She shuffled slightly while sitting in a seiza pose when she said,

"I'll do whatever you do, Tomoya-kun."

I nodded at her and turned to Sanae, who was looking at us expectantly.

"Kotomi and I will be in your care, Sanae-san. Thank you for the offer," I said, bowing.

"The pleasure's all ours, isn't that right Nagisa?" asked Sanae turning to Nagisa who smiled.

"Of course! We'd be glad to have Okazaki-san and Kotomi-chan over anytime!" chirped Nagisa happily.

Sanae then smiled and said,

"Okazaki-san, Kotomi-chan, this way," leaving the room as she said so. Nagisa followed her mother leaving me and Kotomi alone in the guestroom.

I extended my hand to her while staring at the floor in embarrassment.

"Let's go, Kotomi," I said gruffly, blushing slightly.

I felt Kotomi take my hand and she smiled at me and said,

"Let's go, Tomoya-kun."

/

"It's good that my beloved daughter is finally pursuing her dream of acting," said Akio jovially, taking a sip of sake.

The five of us were seated at the Furukawas' dining table, with the old man sitting beside Sanae-san, Nagisa at the head and me and Kotomi beside each other across Nagisa's parents. Dinner was a pleasant affair, and Sanae-san's dishes were steamed fish, chop suey, and some takoyaki going along with jasmine tea and pepper fried rice.

"It's thanks to Okazaki-san here, Dad," said Nagisa, who was already finished with her meal. "If it weren't for his help, if he hadn't introduced me to everyone, none of this would have come to fruition."

"Good job brat, you made my daughter happy. Now you can beg for her from me by getting down on your knees and kissing my feet after I play baseball," said Akio smugly.

I calmly swallowed the octopus dumpling in my mouth and took a sip of tea before calmly replying.

"Not going to happen."

"Excuse me for my rudeness, but I'm feeling sweaty and dirty. I'll go take a bath first, okay Mom, Dad?" piped up Nagisa politely.

"Nagisa, can I take a bath with you?" asked Akio brusquely, chugging more of the sake. "I can check if you still have that birthmark on your butt if you want me to."

Nagisa blushed beet-red, mortified at her father's comments.

"No way Dad, that's embarrassing. I'm big now, so you can't do that!" exclaimed Nagisa, turning away and leaving hurriedly due to embarrassment.

With Nagisa gone, Akio spoke to the room at large.

"I haven't had the opportunity to poke fun at my daughter for a long time," he said nonchalantly. "It seemed like she was always sad when she started her second senior year… You two do know Nagisa's repeating, right?"

Kotomi and I both nodded and Akio continued.

"In any case, I'm pleased that she found good friends like you lot to lean on. We haven't seen her this happy in a long time, isn't that right, Sanae?"

"Yes, Akio-san. Nagisa has been doing better since Okazaki-san came over here last time," agreed Sanae heartily, her chopsticks expertly picking at the diced bits of fish on the serving platter.

"Say brat, are you and Ichinose going out?" Akio asked me bluntly. "Sanae told me she spotted you holding her hand on the way to the dining hall."

Sanae-san looked at me with an apologetic look on her face while I squared myself up in trying to answer the old man. I looked at Kotomi from the corner of my eye and saw that she was staring at her plate, her chopsticks gripping a piece of takoyaki. It was obvious that the question the old man bluntly put forward was grating on her mind. I decided to spare us both the trouble by answering truthfully.

"Nothing like that at this point in time," I said airily, gesturing with my hand as I said so. "Kotomi and I are just really good childhood friends, isn't that right Kotomi?"

Kotomi looked at me with the takoyaki still firmly clamped by her chopsticks and she nodded.

"Well there you go," I finished, scooping up the last of my pepper fried rice into my mouth and downing it with tea feeling satisfied with the meal. "Thanks for the food," I said, putting my hands together and bowing as I did so.

The old man and Sanae-san just nodded at my reply and Sanae-san then said,

"Are you both headed home now?"

I weighed my thoughts about the matter; I hadn't planted much of the hints I wanted to plant on Nagisa yet, and I wanted to address both the old man and Sanae-san about the issue of their previous careers. After a while, I turned to Kotomi and said,

"Kotomi, is it okay if I bring you up to the usual intersection?"

"Sure, Tomoya-kun," replied Kotomi as she ate the last of her steamed fish. "Thanks for the food," she said, clasping her hands together and bowing.

Both of us stood up and bowed to both Sanae-san and the old man.

"I'll be back after I bring Kotomi over; I have a few things to discuss with Nagisa."

The old man raised his eyebrow at that and both of us exited the room, then Furukawa Bread. Kotomi and I began to walk slowly towards the intersection that branched off towards her home, and I thought about why she didn't want me seeing her house. She told me that she still had issues of her own to contend with, so with the same respect she gave me, I should also not pry further. We arrived at the intersection after a few minutes where not a single word was exchanged between us both.

"Sanae-san cooks well, doesn't she?" I asked, breaking the silence as I turned to Kotomi with the question.

"She does. I want to be the same for you too, Tomoya-kun," replied Kotomi, looking at me intently.

I was lost there for a second with Kotomi's reply.

"Huh?"

"I want you to eat my food and say that my cooking is good too. Tomorrow, I'll cook a really nice lunch for the two of us, okay Tomoya-kun?" said Kotomi softly, looking at me with what appeared to be affection in her eyes.

I looked back at her warmly and said softly,

"I would love it if you cooked lunch for me, Kotomi-chan."

The feelings were surging through me and before I could control myself, I dropped my briefcase on the ground with a thud and hugged her body gently. I heard her exclaim "Ah!" softly in surprise but before long, her arms encircled around me too.

After a short while, we broke away from each other and we looked at each other warmly, our cheeks tinged with red. I picked up the briefcase I dropped on the ground with a bemused smile on my face.

"Give me some more time, Kotomi-chan… I promise, when I get this all sorted out, I'll come for you. So please wait a short while more, okay?" I said tenderly, gently touching Kotomi's cheek with my right hand.

Kotomi nodded and said,

"Tomoya-kun… I… I want you to call me Kotomi-chan when we're alone."

She stared at the ground in embarrassment, and I immediately thought: doesn't she want everyone to call her Kotomi-chan? She's being embarrassed about me doing it… I smiled inside at this thought and I replied,

"I would love to. Anyway, I'll be seeing you tomorrow; I'll be waiting for your lunch, okay? I'm headed back to Nagisa's house since I have to talk to her parents about something."

Kotomi nodded and said,

"Good night, Tomoya-kun."

"Good night… Kotomi-chan," I said softly, as though my voice was caressing her very name in its intonation.

The two of us finally turned away from each other and I went back the way I came towards Furukawa Bread. I had to talk to Nagisa first to plant the hint, then I'd talk to her parents shortly afterwards. I want this play to go as smoothly as possible and I'll do whatever it takes for that to happen.

/

[1] – Hatsune Island, the island where Da Capo takes place.

[2] – This would be Jigoku Shoujo/Hell Girl.

[3] – Slightly reminiscent of Nodame Cantabile.

[4] – Literally means "Just as planned." Used in/famously by Light Yagami in Death Note.

Since it was getting long, I decided to split this chapter into two so that it wouldn't be that unwieldy to read. Not much happened here except for fluff though…

Read and review please! :)