Fuuko After Story: Devotion
A Tomoya /Fuuko fanfiction

Chapter One: Lost & Found

Female Student: There's a request for you. If you could…

For her, it's going to start…from here.

But this time, she's going to have to summon her courage.

Female Student: Please become Fuuko's friends!

…In order to have a joyous school life with us.

I shuffled into the classroom and fell into my desk chair in time for first period. Adopting my usual posture for the school day, I rested my chin in my hand and stared out the window to let my thoughts fly free.

I was still in a bit of shock after meeting up with Fuuko again. Thinking about her had become something of a ritual after her disappearance at the end of her sister's wedding. When I saw that the other students were starting to forget about her, including Furukawa-san and Sunohara-san, I panicked. I didn't want to forget her, so I tried to find ways to make myself remember her.

At first, I was afraid that I would forget her if I slept. So I ended up not sleeping for a couple of days before Sunohara and Furukawa helped me to see that I wouldn't forget her just from sleeping. In the end I chose to write her name on pieces of paper (along with my best starfish drawings) and stick them to the walls of my room and locker. I also wrote her name on the back of my hand for good measure.

Her last visit shortly after the wedding still managed to catch me by surprise, though. When she appeared while I was talking with Furukawa and Sunohara, she gave us each a carved starfish and asked us to be her friends. When I reached out to take the carving, I saw her name on the back of my hand. Between the name on my hand and a sudden feeling of loss, I remembered her again.

Since then I tried to consciously remember everything I could about her. Every memory of her I could find I would relive over and over again.

"…Okazaki?"

"Mmm?" I looked to my right at Sunohara's smug face as he looked down at me while leaning against his desk. It must have been a break since the others students were leaving the classroom. "What?"

"You look different than your usual spacing out. Which girl are you thinking about?"

I decided not to play his game and answer straight. "Fuuko."

"Ahh, Fuuko…" he said with his eyes closed, deep in thought. "I see…Fuuko…"

Wait for it…wait for it…

"WHO THE HELL IS FUUKO?! WHERE ARE YOU FINDING THESE GIRLS?! AND WHY DOES MY HEART SUDDENLY FEEL SO HEAVY?!" He sat back down at his desk.

I sighed. Apparently I really was the only one to actually remember Fuuko. I felt really sad about that, when I thought about it. What if I did something special for lots of people, but no one remembered not just what I did, but my very existence as well? If I hadn't written her name down on all those places, would I have completely forgotten her, too? The very idea made me nauseous. After all, hadn't I accepted that I liked her?

I couldn't even bear the idea of forgetting her.

"Hey, Okazaki," Apparently Sunohara had cooled off. "Summer break's coming up. Got any plans? Maybe one girl a week? Or two weeks?"

"Shut up."

"Which one should you start with?" As usual, he was ignoring any answer that didn't match his train of thought. "You've had a rough start, so maybe Fujibayashi?"

"Which one?" I decided to humor him.

"Ryou-san, of course. Kyou-san would simply use you as a punching…bag…" he trailed off as he saw me looking behind him. "She's right behind me, isn't she?"

I nodded solemnly and he cautiously looked over his shoulder to the elder twin.

Kyou had the look of death in her eyes. This was probably going to be another of her overblown reactions. "Punching bag, huh?" She grabbed his arm and started dragging him to the classroom exit. "Works for me, but maybe I should warm up on something else first."

After that, it was the usual routine: Sunohara resisting, protesting, crying out to me for help, then being dragged out to meet his fate.

I yawned and thought about his question. I had to admit that having a couple of girls vying for my attention was nice in its own way, but it caused a lot of stress. After all, I could only choose one in the end, right? It's not like one of those visual novels where the guy can "marry them all". I snorted at the thought of a 'harem'. How disrespectful.

My mind had been made up, though…no, not my mind, but my heart. I felt stupid thinking this way, but it was true; somewhere along the way, the little starfish girl had stolen my heart, and I wanted her to keep it.

My mood fell as I realized that it had been a long time since that last time I had seen her. I'd been to the room next to the Drama Club several times, but she hadn't appeared. I remember Kouko telling me that she had stopped breathing, and…a sick feeling entered my stomach as I thought of the implications.

I looked up as Sunohara returned to his seat. "I won't be coming to your place after school on Saturday." I smiled at him lopsidedly. "I'm giving you the weekend off."

"Well, what am I supposed to do, then?" Sunohara whined.

"You could always go on a date with Kyou-san," I quipped.

I could feel him glaring at me as I looked back out the window and started to plan my weekend trip.