After Story: Resolve

Chapter One: The New Routine

I yawned as I handed in my math homework. I thought back to when I would sleep through math class; it seemed so long ago...

"Good job, Okazaki-kun," Fujibayashi said as I turned to head back to my seat.

"Thanks, Mom," I quipped with a sleepy smile, earning me a giggle from the class rep. "The new sleep schedule is hard, but I'm getting used to it...slowly."

She giggled again. "I-I understand; new routines are so hard, aren't they?"

I nodded as I hid another yawn behind my hand.

"W-Well, I believe in you," Fujibayashi said as her face tinted red. "I believe you can do it."

"Thanks," I grunted. "Can I go back to my seat now?"

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She blushed even deeper. "Please, go ahead. I didn't mean to keep you."

I fell back into my chair next to a sleeping Sunohara and thanked whatever god out there this was the last day of school before summer break.

***

"You look like crap," Sunohara offered as we grabbed our bags to leave school for the day.

"Thanks, you too," I countered.

"I'm serious," he replied. "You okay?"

I rubbed a hand across my face. "Yeah, my sleep's kinda messed up." What I said was true, just not in the way he would likely think. "I'll be giving you the day off."

He rolled his eyes. "Thanks."

As I walked home by myself I thought about the reason for my new routine. "Mei...it just had to be..."

At first I had thought it was because Sunohara had a skill that he could use if he ever got his act together, while my skill had been lost with my shoulder injury, so I was studying to compensate somehow. But later I realized that something about the energetic thirteen-year old must have sparked something in me, because shortly after she left for home I found myself waking up earlier, getting to school on time and actually paying attention during class. I'd even started to work on catching up on what I missed from my first two years of high school.

Maybe it was because I wanted to be someone she could be proud of...

"Like an older brother," I chuckled. "It's been a while; I wonder how she's doing, anyway?"

"How who's doing?" came a familiar voice from nearby. I turned and...crap.

Kyou and Fujibayashi stood a surprisingly short distance away; surprising in that I'd normally have seen them already. I must have been in really deep thought. Of course Fujibayashi wasn't a problem, but Kyou...

"Fancy seeing you out and about!" Kyou chirped as she and her sister approached me. "What'cha doing?"

"What do you mean 'out and about'? I'm just heading home," I replied, hoping she would take the hint. "Shouldn't you be heading home, too?"

Fujibayashi somehow managed to beat her sister to the answer: "Mother asked us to pick up a few things on the way home, so we're on our way to the market."

"So where's your bi-"

I didn't get the chance to finish my question as Kyou clapped her hand over my mouth. "I don't have one of those, remember?" she growled sweetly.

I sighed and nodded; I was in no condition to verbally spar with the abusive older twin.

Apparently satisfied, she took her hand off of my mouth. "Good. Well, since you're here, you can help us with the shopping!"

"Oh, goody," I said in a monotone.

Fujibayashi had the decency to look sympathetic but Kyou, as usual, ignored my signals. "I knew you'd be happy!"

I ended up dragged around the town again, carrying bags for the girls and cursing my spinelessness again. I was already exhausted and I still wanted to get to my studies from first year...

"So," Kyou asked between stores, "what girl were you talking about?"

"Huh?" I asked, momentarily confused. "Oh. None of your business."

"Oh, really?" She gave me a sly smile as I looked to Fujibayashi to rescue me; the poor girl could only give me an apologetic look. "Well, since you can't tell me who it is, I'm just going to have to guess, right?"

"You don't even have to guess!"

Her smile turned nearly feral. "Is it Ryou? My my Tomoya, I never knew you thought of her that way...what should I do about that?"

"O-Onee-chan!"

"All right, all right, I'll stop teasing him, Ryou."

Finally Kyou finished having her fun with me, and I carried the bags up to the front door of her home. "Ryou and I can take them from here," she said. "Unless you'd like to carry mine to my room."

"No thank you," I retorted.

Kyou's gaze noticeably lingered on me before she followed her more apologetic sister inside, closing the door on me.

***

I rotated my injured shoulder as I passed through the doorway to my house. "Well, maybe I can at least get some math in; it's one of my easier subjects."

I thoughtlessly grabbed some kind of snack, put it on a random plate and headed up to my room. I normally wouldn't eat in my room, but I wanted some kind of energy for my studies; I didn't want to go to bed too early and mess up my sleep cycle...such as it was.

I glanced at the clock. "Six-thirty, huh?" I looked at my plate. "Maybe I should've grabbed dinner instead. Damn that Kyou!" I took my plate and headed back downstairs. "Hard enough trying to start a new routine without her throwing it off even more."

I continued to grumble as I put the snack away. As I was washing the plate I heard a knock at the door. "Who could that be?" I put the plate in the drainer. "Oh well, I'm headed out anyways."

I made my way to the front door and opened it. "Good eve-" My brain almost shut down as it registered who my guest was.

Sunohara Mei stood on my front porch wearing her school uniform and a sheepish smile.

"Hiya," she greeted with a finger-wave.