Azumanga Daioh Fan Fiction ❯ Tomo's Wish ❯ Act 4 Pure Snow ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

I don't own Azumanga Daioh. It is owned by Kiyohiko Azuma.

It was that Monday after the trip to Magical Land. Of course...Yomi snapped when she receivied the wrong present from Tomo. That didn't work well, as Yomi rightfully lost her temper. Later on, after everything was straightened out. Yomi got her gift that was a snow globe. Chiyo felt bad because Yomi couldn't attend. She felt a little special. Later on, before the end of the day, it snowed. After school, the girls got into a snowball fight. The fun was over, as Yomi got herself sick again. Later, Tomo was in her winter jacket. She was on her way home when she looked out. She was the pure white snow. She reasoned that it would clean everything that happened a few weeks ago. Osaka caught up with her. Kagura was doing some strength training, she couldn't exactly get lazy. Osaka saw a random snowflake fall. Her mind started to click into overdrive.

"That's...a diamond!" Osaka declared.

"What are you talking about?" Tomo asked.

"Oh, they said no two snowflakes are the same size," Osaka answered.

"You'll catch a death if you stand out here without a jacket, or coat," Nyamo warned.

"I kinda forgot my coat..." Osaka then said.

"Go check the coat room...you're the only person here with the last name Kasuga," Tomo suggested.

"Oh! That's right, I remember now!" Osaka declared.

"What about you?" Nyamo asked.

"Well...I'm not exactly loafing," Tomo said. "Chiyo's with Sakaki today...something about a cute cat book."

'Honestly...is that a reason to run through the halls?' Nyamo thought.

Osaka returned in her winter coat. She also was in a 70's style cap that kept her head warm. She got chills quite easily. Tomo had a woolen cap over her head. It was new, and matched the color of her brown skirt. They started home. It was quite quiet. Tomo thought that Yomi was quite cute in the snowball fight. She clutched her school bag in a tight fist. She nearly had a Sakaki-type cute fit. She suppressed it quickly, and Osaka noticed.

"Tomo are you okay?" Osaka asked.

"Y-Yeah, why do you ask?" Tomo tried to play off.

"It's like you're a more evil version of Sakaki," Osaka returned brutally.

"Hey...watch it..."

"You know...you may be the first one to land a girlfriend of all of us," Osaka observed.

"Osaka, what exactly are you attempting to try to say?" Tomo asked confused.

"It ain't even that hard to figure out," Osaka said, "you got a crush on Yomi...and don't want to admit it!"

"Do you care to put it to a test...?"

"You've been stealing looks at Yomi, even more in gym class!"

Tomo knew she was caught. She expected Kagura to make that bold declaration. especially since she made that declaration she was into boys. Osaka also noticed one more thing. Tomo would have genuine emotions for Yomi. That is...when she was pissed with her, she had remorse. Especially taking the two weeks' grounding. When she was teasing Yomi, she felt bad about it. Then, when it came to stealing glances, she did it. It was very clear during the gym classes. She looked to her friend, and needed advice.

"I don't know if I'm genuine..." Tomo admitted.

"Don't worry...it'll come to you when you least expect it," Osaka answered.

"How long should I give it?" Tomo asked.

"I don't know, maybe when you're really sure!" Osaka smiled.

"Hey this is your stop is it?" Tomo asked.

"It is," Osaka said softly. "If you want to hang out my parents will be alright with it."

"Maybe later," Tomo said, "now, I have some business to take care of."

"Just remember what I said," Osaka smiled. "It'll come to you when you least expect it!"

That was something that scared Tomo. She knew that she was right. Things like this tend to be a bit rough. She's seen other kids go through this...and it most was rejection. Would she be rejected just as hard? That was something weighing on her mind. She and Yomi knew each other since grade school...maybe even since kindergarten. She groaned. If she were rejected it would be way too awkward. Especially since Yukari was way beyond lazy to change her classes. She came in, and her little brother was playing his video game.

"DAMN IT!" he cursed "THIS CHEATING SON-OF-A-...!"

"Hey calm down," Tomo calmed. "Just remember the code I taught you."

"That would work if I were off-line," he sighed.

"Campers taken you out again?"

"Yup...they're so annoying."

"Don't lose your cool," Tomo said, "you're going to wake up the neighborhood."

"Wouldn't they be awake anyhow?" he then asked.

"I believe so," Tomo replied dryly.

He then remembered exactly what Tomo said. The next game he took out the camper, and did some very...shocking moves to celebrate his victory. Tomo went to her bedroom. She was about an hour into her homework assignments. She was having problems. She was thinking of everything Osaka was saying. She also was thinking about her own fears. She had an even worse fear about being rejected.

"What...if I lose her as a friend...?" Tomo asked herself softly.

Her phone went off, it was Kagura. Tomo immediately answered. She told her exactly what Osaka had told her. Kagura felt it was reasonable. However, once she got into her own fears. That was a quite different story. She sat down, and groaned.

"Really, you picked the worst possible time to be falling..." Kagura groaned.

"I couldn't help it," Tomo protested.

"I suppose...but just don't force it you know," she warned.

"I need to do a lot of thinking," she added.

"This really would suck..."

"Considering how long we've been friends..."

"You better think of something!"

Kagura really hated for this to happen. She then calmed down long enough to tell Tomo to finish her homework. That was the best course of action. Once the call ended, Tomo finished her assignments. It was nearly dinnertime. She decided she had better at least go and clean up. She then changed into the winter version of her pajamas. It was just a button-up shirt...with no collar. It also was a V-neck. She also had on heavy sweat pants. She definitely wasn't about to catch the death like Nyamo said. It wasn't a quiet affair, as usual Tomo asked if she could eat in her room (since it was take-out). Her mother realized something was wrong.

"Who's hurting my daughter...?" she asked with rage.

"Nah, don't worry about it," her son said. "She's just in love with somebody."

"How can you tell...?" she said surprised.

"Easy, she usually would had joined in my celebration takin' out a camper," he admitted.

"Did you do your homework yet?" his father asked.

"I did...I come home before Tomo does," he answered.

"Good," he said...then turning his attention to his wife, "we do need to support her regardless."

Mrs. Takino knew he was right. This was her daughter...and regardless...she was going to protect her child. She went upstairs. She saw Tomo just laying in her bed. She came in and kissed her on her forehead. She then decided then and there to have a talk. Tomo was very grateful for her parents. She listened in as her mother made her point quite clear. About ten minutes later, Tomo got the point. Her mother did leave her with some comforting words.

"Regardless of what happens," she started, "the person you admit to will still be your friend."

"Thank you," Tomo said, "I really needed it."

"I went through the same thing with your father when I was your age...It wasn't exactly easy."

"Were you two life long friends?" Tomo asked.

"Not exactly...he used to pick on me until I slugged him on his nose," she returned.

"Yikes, he probably loved you from then on," Tomo said jumping a bit.

"True," she said, "then again, I never did say I was the one who went through that gauntlet."

Tomo smiled. In fact, she did picture her father catching a wicked left hook just the same. She decided to lay down just until she can go to sleep. She really was confused. On the one point, she loved Yomi. On the other point, she did not want to risk her friendship. This was something that may need to be addressed soon. She knew now the stakes were high. She also had a compound problem. She didn't exactly know how if her feelings were true, or false.