A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own Clannad or any of its characters or plots. Not that I'm complaining, just don't want to get sued.

Rated T for: Language, occasional violence, occasional angst. Might throw in some suggestive undertones here and there, so yeah.

In order to understand this story, you'll have to have watched Clannad and Clannad Afterstory. This story is… a what-if scenario, if you will. Mostly canon-compliant, except… I've changed up some things. The summary ahead will basically fill you in on the details. If you're still lost, then scroll down to the author's note at the end of this chapter.

Enjoy!

A year had passed since Nagisa's death, during her third year of being a senior. After having fallen ill once more, Nagisa was unable to recover and died before graduating. Her untimely death had greatly shocked Tomoya, and traumatized, had spent the literal year mourning her loss, refusing to exit his home.

Kyou stifled a yawn. She would have normally found watching television to be an entertaining pastime, but today in particular its choice of programming felt rather bleak. Soap operas were decent, but they could only hold her attention for so long.

She frowned, frustrated with how her summer was being spent. After having passed her first year in college flawlessly, she had been logically looking forward to spending some quality time with her dearest friends—Kotomi, Sunohara, Tomoyo and her sister Ryou. They had grown closer after the untimely death of their cherished friend, so Kyou thought that they had cared enough about her to at least keep her company. But to her everlasting annoyance, each of them had their own unique reason as to why they couldn't be with her.

Her face darkened when Nagisa's death came into mind. Her name evoked painful memories, memories that Kyou had tried so hard to forget. Her passing had a profound effect on them all, but a certain person had taken it far worse than they had.

Her fists clenched. Nagisa had meant to her as much as Ryou or Kotomi did. She hadn't deserved to suffer such a tragic fate. Prior to meeting her, Kyou had been thoroughly convinced that such a selfless and compassionate person didn't exist.

… And yet, that exact kindness was the foundation of Kyou's envy. She hated herself for it, but she couldn't deny that it was there. And she knew the exact reason for it.

Nagisa had taken the person Kyou was in love with. Not that it really mattered, because even if Nagisa hadn't, Ryou would have.

She wistfully recalled the day Ryou confessed to Kyou that she had feelings for Tomoya. Kyou's heart had shattered at this revelation, but knowing that her sister's needs came before her own, she had weakly promised Ryou that she'd play the role of a matchmaker. Upon growing aware of the already budding feelings between Nagisa and Tomoya, she had tried everything in her power to tear them apart.

But her efforts were in vain. Kyou had foreseen it for a while now, but part of her hadn't been able to admit it. It was only after seeing his devotion towards Nagisa at a tennis match that she had admitted defeat and collapsed in tears.

After this incident, her feelings towards him had gradually subsided, to the point that she couldn't even remember if they were there in the first place. If anything, she was relieved at this development.

She continuously kept changing channels, disappointed at each television show each program had to offer. Seriously, she thought in annoyance, they only play anime these days!

She turned off her television heatedly. For a moment or two, she tried to figure out what was the next sensible thing to do.

Eat, obviously.

She ambled to her feet, opting to make herself a sandwich. She stopped upon realizing that she had already consumed the last of her bread. A visit to the store would solve her problem.

An idea sparked in her mind. A visit to the Furukawa Bakery!

Nagisa's parents rarely spoke to Kyou after her death. They had made occasional exchanges, but whenever they did it was usually only regarding Nagisa's death. She decided it now wouldn't be a better time.

Kyou shuffled uneasily as she stood in front of the Furukawa Bakery. She pondered briefly over what she would say. Obviously, she could use the convenient excuse that she needed bread, but that in itself wasn't entirely true. She wanted to know if they had ultimately recovered from the aftermath of Nagisa's death.

Taking a deep breath, she entered.

Sanae, attending to her duties, didn't notice Kyou's appearance, so Kyou took it upon herself to make her presence known. "Good morning!" Kyou chirped. Upon hearing Kyou's friendly voice, Sanae whirled around.

"Kyou-chan!" she exclaimed, her smile radiant as ever. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Kyou regarded her with a warm smile, relieved that Sanae hadn't lost her kind charisma. "I'm doing well," she said, stretching, "What about you, Sanae-san?"

"We're doing fine," Sanae replied, glancing at her pastries. Her delicate eyebrows twisted in a light frown. "But my breads aren't selling as well as they used to." Her gaze was fixated on an unusual rainbow-colored one, and to Kyou's dismay, she pulled a piece out.

"Would you like to try one?" She offered, voice smooth as honey, "It's my newest recipe, so I'm certain that it tastes unlike anything you've tried before!"

Kyou gulped, disturbed by her pleasant expression. "I'll… pass," she declined politely, to Sanae's obvious disappointment. Sanae was probably right when she said that her bread was unlike anything she tried before… but Kyou found it hard to believe that was in a good sense.

Changing the topic, Kyou began discussing with Sanae on how she had moved out and decided to become a kindergarten teacher. After conversing for several minutes about their separate lives, Kyou found that she couldn't subdue her curiosity. After a brief moment of hesitation, she asked, "Have you spoken with Tomoya lately?"

She winced upon noticing Sanae stiffen. For a heartbeat she considered apologizing until Sanae interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes," she answered quietly.

Kyou blinked. "Y—you have?" she stammered. "Is he okay?"

Sanae nodded. "He is, but…" she trailed off.

"… Go on," she pressed.

Sanae diverted her eyes. "I… called him," she revealed, "I wanted to know how he was doing. But… then he told me, and he told me he'd be evicted from his home in three days. He'd used up all the money he had, and couldn't afford the rent."

Kyou couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had known that Tomoya had taken Nagisa's death the worst, but… for him to spend an entire year mourning her loss and neglecting his job was something she hadn't accounted for. Her fists balled.

Kyou didn't want to ask more, but it was imperative given his current circumstances. "Does he anywhere to stay?" She asked seriously.

"I… don't know. I offered him to stay with me and Akio, but he refused. He stated that it reminded of…" She stopped, worry flickering in her eyes.

Kyou bit her lip. "Does anyone else know about this?" she demanded.

Sanae shook her head despondently. Kyou found it harder to control her growing disappointment. Part of her was angry that he had been consumed by his grief to continue his job, but what upset her the most was the fact that he hadn't once turned to his friends for help. That stubborn…

It's my fault, too, she scolded, I should have been a better friend.

She had to do something to help. She couldn't sit back and continue to watch her friend destroy his life. He'd have to stay at a friend's home until he could start taking care of himself again. The question, was, with whom.

Sunohara, maybe? Their friendship had been strong in high school, so Tomoya wouldn't have any second thoughts about staying with him. Besides, they were both the same gender, so that'd eliminate any potential… discomfort, if Tomoya happened to stay with anyone else of their friends. She frowned upon remembering that he still lived at the dorm.

Kotomi, perhaps? She doubted that Tomoya wouldn't particularly be against the idea, but then Kyou realized that he probably wouldn't last a minute of her violin playing. Even if he could somehow survive that, Kotomi constantly traveled to America, so if Tomoya wanted to tag along, he'd have to learn English first. He was broke, anyway, and tickets to America weren't what one would call cheap.

Tomoyo? Right, studying at a university. She knew that Tomoya wouldn't deny him a temporary home , but she was dedicated to her studies. Someone like Tomoya would hold her down. Also, Kyou didn't know whether or not Tomoyo still lived with her parents. She knew that Ryou still did, so naturally her sister wasn't an option.

Knowing what was left to do, she let out a heavy sigh. "I guess… I'll have to take Tomoya under my wing," she murmured, drawing her cell phone.

A/N: In case you still haven't figured it out, this story is a _slightly_ alternate universe of Clannad's. It follows the plot of Clannad faithfully up until episode 13 of AS. Instead of Nagisa recovering from her illness and graduating, she succumbs to her illness and dies. From which I put a stake in the ground and went from there. Because Nagisa died before she and Tomoya could get married, Ushio is not in this fic.

If there's anything so far you don't understand, feel free to ask.