Last Chance

Disclaimer: I don't own Azumanga Daioh

Warning: Shoujo-ai

Story Notes: This story takes place 8 years after the girls graduate high school.

It was all over the news, early that Tuesday morning. Ayumu Kasuga let out a strangled noise and dropped the tray of donuts she had been carrying to the front when she heard the train number. Her customers all looked up, concerned for the normally cheery donut shop owner.

Is it possible for two people to have been riding the same train for 2 years without running into each other, ever? Koyomi Mizuhara was on her way to work when her world came crashing down upon her. Tomo Takino was 4 cars behind her old friend oblivious to the imminent catastrophe as she drank down her energy drink still not recovered from her 14 hour shift the day before.

The last thing Yomi remembered before she lost consciousness was a loud explosion followed by a searing pain that coursed through her body. She didn't even have time to scream. Tomo had been standing in the crowded car one hand holding her drink and the other holding the handrail. She was just raising her can for another gulp when she heard a loud explosion and felt her feet leave the floor as she was thrown violently forward.

Tomo sat on the ground in a daze surrounded by the chaos. Her broken left arm had a splint and she had a bandage around her head. Somewhere deep down on the inside she was happy to be alive but her heart wished that her life could've been taken to spare another as she watched stretchers bearing the dead and injured carried past her. Some of them were obviously children. A vibration on her hip told her that her cell phone was still working. No doubt, it would be someone from her work who knew she took this train every morning. She answered it without checking the number.

"Takino."

"Tomo?" a scared voice spoke in return.

"Who is this?"

"Tomo, its Ayumu…Osaka…I know we haven't spoken in awhile…" the voice at the other end choked back a sob.

"Ayumu! What's wrong?" Tomo was finding it hard to concentrate. Her head was throbbing.

"The…the train, this morning…" Ayumu was finding it difficult to not break down from fear.

"Yes? I was on it, I'm here at the crash…but I'm okay so don't worry." Tomo tried to sound upbeat.

"Oh God! Tomo!" Ayumu was crying on the other end.

"Ayumu, are you here too? Calm down. I can help. Tell me where you're at."

"It's not me, Tomo…" Ayumu's voice got very distant.

Tomo's hand began to shake uncontrollably as she slowly realized who Ayumu was talking about. She knew that Yomi and Ayumu saw each other regularly…for whatever reason. She didn't really like thinking about it.

"No. It's not true."

"She might be okay…"

"No. I take this train every day. I've never seen her!"

"Tomo, please!"

"No! I don't believe you!" Tomo was shouting at this point as she heard Ayumu beg her to find Yomi.

"Please find her, Tomo! You're right there…please! She might need you!"

"There are hundreds of people here…"

"Sometimes I meet her at the station, Tomo; she always sits in the fifth car from the front."

"You know which car she's in?" Tomo was shaken out of her grief by this revelation.

"Um, yes."

"How…"

"Tomo, please don't be upset. It's not what you think. Just find Yomi."

"Okay. Uh, I'll call you back in a bit. Bye."

"Bye."

The phone call had lasted less than 10 minutes. Tomo's heart beat accelerated as she thought about the task she had been given. Find her best friend. Find the one person she cherished the most. Find Yomi.

While looking for Yomi, Tomo stopped and talked to a couple of officers at the scene. They answered all her questions after she showed them her badge. She found out that the police suspected that a bomb had been planted in the fourth car from the front. So far, 20 people dead, 30 people severely injured and who knows how many people with minor injuries. Tomo briefly wondered which category she fit in as she fought back the darkness that threatened to envelop her. Must've got more than a minor concussion, she thought. Well, that combined with emotions and just being very exhausted from her work schedule.

Tomo threw up onto the ground when she finally got a clear view of the area where she hoped to find Yomi. The car where the bomb was placed was completely obliterated. The adjacent cars themselves were tore up and mangled. What were the chances of Yomi sitting in a different car that morning?

"Sergeant Takino!" A sharp voice called to her.

Tearing her eyes from the devastation, Tomo looked for the person who had called out to her. A tall, dark haired man in an ICPO uniform was quickly walking towards her.

"Captain Koga." Tomo saluted her superior.

"Are you okay, Takino? It looks like you were on the train, too."

Tomo nodded.

"We have reports that there were at least 12 ICPO officers on this train. We have heard from 4 of them, well 5, now that I've found you." Captain Koga placed a comforting hand on Tomo's shoulder. Tomo started shaking and slowly backed away from the captain. How dare this man touch her! Tomo wanted to pull her gun out and shoot Koga right between his miserable eyes. The thought of Yomi needing her help kept Tomo from losing control as she turned her back on the captain and continued to search for her friend. Captain Koga watched Tomo walk quickly away; he would deal with her later.

Ayumu was sitting in the back of her donut shop by the phone. She was grateful for the two employees that helped her every morning. They had continued helping the customers after Ayumu had spoken to Tomo. They were so good. Didn't even ask for an explanation. She would bake them a special cake later to thank them. Ayumu's thoughts drifted back to Yomi and Tomo after she had mentally planned what cake she would prepare for her employees.

The best friends had a falling out about 4 years ago and although they lived in the same city they seldom saw each other. Communicating only by e-mail about every other week. Ayumu wasn't sure what happened exactly except that it maybe had to do with their careers; Tomo joining the ICPO and Yomi pursuing a career as a lawyer. Or maybe it didn't… The phone rang…

"Kasuga Donuts." She answered hesitantly.

"Ayumu, it's me. I found her."

"Is she okay, Tomo?" Ayumu started crying again.

"She isn't dead but…it's really bad Ayumu, she's hurt…" Tomo couldn't finish the sentence.

"Thank you, Tomo, for finding her. I' m sure she'll be alright." Ayumu tried to sound positive.

"What'll I do if she dies?" Tomo quietly whispered.

"She won't die. Yomi would never give up without a fight."

"Will you please call the others, Ayumu? They're calling me into work. This is a real mess."

"Of course, Tomo."

"Um, okay…uh, can I call you after work?"

"Of course, I'll call you if anything changes."

"Alright, bye."

"Bye."

Tomo wiped away the tears that were streaming down her face. She couldn't believe that they were still making her go into work. She'd have to get checked out by the in-house doctor and then maybe they would let her leave for the day. With a heavy heart, Tomo got into the ICPO car that had been sent for her.

She had found Yomi just as they were hastily loading her into an ambulance. Surprisingly, Yomi was semi-conscious and looked relieved when she recognized her best friend. It had taken every ounce of Tomo's police training to keep her from completely losing her composure when she saw the bloody mess that was her dearest friend. Tomo had promised Yomi that she would visit her in the hospital and demanded that she get well immediately. Yomi didn't want to let her go. Tomo had given her a light kiss as she was pulled out of the ambulance by the paramedics. When she could no longer see the ambulance she had called Ayumu.

After careful deliberation, Ayumu decided to call Kagura first. Following Yomi, she was the next friend she saw the most of from high school. Ayumu liked all her friends but Kagura was the one she admired the most. The athlete wasn't the smartest but she had a big heart and was willing to work hard for what she wanted. She had also helped install a lot of the large appliances in Ayumu's donut shop. So Ayumu wasn't opposed to giving her free donuts whenever she came in, even if it was against her sports diet.

Kagura was in the pool coaching the women's water polo team at Tokyo University when one of the assistant coaches ran up to her.

"Coach, you've got an urgent phone call!"

"How urgent is it? I'm kinda busy."

"There's an Ayumu Kasuga on the phone, she sounds upset."

The assistant almost fell in as Kagura swiftly got out of the pool and started running for the main office without even grabbing a towel.

"Ayumu? What's wrong?" Kagura had taken the call in her office.

"Hi Kagura. I'm sorry to disturb you at work but it's really important."

"Don't even worry about it, tell me what's up." Kagura could tell that Ayumu had been crying. She could feel anger building at the thought that someone may have hurt her.

"Did you see the news about the train wreck this morning?" Ayumu began to cry softly.

"Sorry, Ayumu, I didn't see it. I've been in the pool since 5:00am. Who got hurt?" Kagura prepared herself for the bad news.

"Ayumu?" Kagura grew uneasy as she listened to her good friend cry. "Please tell me. It's okay."

"Yomi was on the train."

"Yomi! She's okay right? Tell me she's okay!" Kagura suddenly found it hard to breathe.

"Tomo found her. She's at the hospital. It's really bad, Kagura."

"Who else have you called?"

"Just you…"

"Okay, I think Chiyo has a class today. I can look her up in the rosters. I'm going to get her and then we'll meet you at the shop, okay?"

"Thanks Kagura. I'll call Sakaki." The relief in Ayumu's voice made Kagura's heart feel lighter.

"Alright, I'll see you in 30 minutes. Hang in there."

Chiyo Mihama was in the middle of a lab experiment when she saw Kagura talking to her professor. As she watched, her professor pointed in her direction. Chiyo dropped the test tube she had removed from the rack when she saw Kagura's face. Five minutes later, she was in Kagura's car racing towards Ayumu's donut shop.

Kagura glanced over at the 21-year old in the passenger seat. Chiyo was busy talking to her father who was some kind of doctor at the hospital where Yomi had been taken. She still couldn't make up her mind if she liked the grown-up Chiyo that had returned from America 3 years ago. It was mostly the same Chiyo but there was something else. Something had happened to Chiyo but none of them, not even Sakaki, had been able to learn what it was. Yomi had called it apathy and had tried to explain what that meant but Kagura was still confused. She missed the sweet little girl they had known in high school.

Sakaki was sitting in her office proofreading a colleague's paper on the diet of ancient Iriomote when her secretary alerted her to an important phone call on line 1. Her office was decorated with cats. Iriomote cats to be more specific and her Iriomote cat in particular. The only rival to the cats would have to be the pictures of her and her friends. There was a handful of her with her co-workers and a couple of her with friends she had made in college. But most of the pictures with people contained her with a group of 5 females at various stages of life. The most prominent, however, was the one and only picture on her desk. She was in front of a nice house sitting under a tree holding Maya. Next to her was a little girl with pigtails leaning against a big dog.

"Sakaki."

"Uh, hi Sakaki. This is Ayumu." Sakaki sat up as she heard the despair in her friend's voice.

"What's wrong?" She softly asked.

"Yomi was in the train wreck in Tokyo this morning."

"I'm on my way, Ayumu. I'll call you when I get my flight plan."

"Please hurry."

A/N: Please R&R. Story Notes can be found on my profile page. Go there to learn more or less.