After Story: Compassion

Chapter Five: Fuuko's Chapter

Fortunately, the next morning was a normal one with no surprise visitors, and Ryou and I were able to enjoy a relatively quiet walk to school.

"So we'll help Sakagami as much as we can until we burn out; is that right?" I asked as we walked hand-in-hand.

Ryou covered her giggle with the back of her hand, nearly bonking herself with her bag...very adorable. "Something like that, yes."

"I was thinking last night that we could encourage Furukawa to come up with some kind of performance for the festival," I said. "As far as I know, she'd just have to get the Student Council's approval to do it, and since, we're helping the Student Council..." I trailed off with a wicked grin.

"T-Tomoya-kun..." Ryou giggled again.

"Seriously though, if she could pull that off, not only would other students see it, but the parents of other students would as well, and they might encourage their kids to join." I sighed heavily. "I'm still a little worried that we're biting off more than we can chew. Also..." I trailed off as I thought about Furukawa's and Sakagami's unusual behaviors.

"Also what?" my girlfriend prompted.

I lifted my hand to scratch my head but succeeded only in bopping myself with my bag. "Ouch! Also...? Oh...uh...I'm not sure," I admitted. "It's just that...when we were talking with them...Furukawa and Sakagami were acting...I dunno, weird."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing," I concluded. "I'm probably just seeing stuff that isn't there."

As we entered the school, we started noticing wooden stars in the hands of other students.

"How cute..." Ryou said as a classmate walked by with one in her hands. "I wonder if it's a new fashion statement."

"It's a starfish," I replied without thinking. "Wait, how did I know that?"

"Maybe it's because you're really smart, Tomoya-kun," Ryou giggled.

As we headed up to the third story I saw a familiar back, with long hair tied with a purple bow into a ponytail of sorts. "Fuuko..." I'd never figure out how but, for some reason, I had forgotten about the eccentric starfish carver.

"Fuuko?" my girl asked. "Who's that?"

I held up my bag next to my head to hide it from the girl's view. "Just act casual; don't look at her, don't speak to her."

"I can't do that, Tomoya-kun! That's rude!" Ryou protested.

"I'll be damned if this is going to be Fuuko's Chapter!" I said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, it's Strange Guy."

DAMMIT! We stopped, and I sighed, lowering my bag as we turned to our visitor. "Hello Fuuko; how's the starfish business?"

She looked from my face down to the clasped hands between Ryou and I, and I had a feeling I was about to see a repeat of previous conversations. "I-It's going fine," she replied. "Fuuko's making starfish and giving them as invitations to Onee-chan's wedding."

"T-Tomoya-kun?" Ryou asked meekly, and I knew what her next question was going to be. "H-How do you know this girl?"

At least I had a good format for my answer: "It's kind of a long story, but I guess the short version would be: After I found her injuring herself while trying to carve those starfish, I took her knife away. I eventually returned her knife and promised to leave her alone, but we've talked several times since then."

"Tomoya-kun was very rude," the first-year huffed. "After Fuuko gave Tomoya-kun a starfish and made herself talk to him, Tomoya-kun still treats Fuuko like a stranger."