Chapter Text
Chapter Twenty-Eight: To the Future
“And wearing Number Zero-Four for Japan, Tomoya Okazaki!”
I jogged onto the court as my name was called. I had worked hard for five years. Even though I hadn’t worked toward this in particular goal I was excited to be chosen to represent Japan in the Summer Olympics. Who would have thought that a guy with a busted shoulder could recover enough to play at this level?
As I exchanged high-fives with my teammates I looked into the crowd for my wife and son. Sure enough, there they were on the front row, Kyou with fist in the air, Ryu looking around worriedly, normal for a one-year-old. Kyou and I had decided to name him after her dad due to everything he’d done for us, from financing her schooling to helping me with my shoulder situation. Without the surgery, I don’t know what I would’ve done with my life. With my grades I probably would have ended up an electrician or something.
My smile broadened as I saw Ryou and Kappei sitting next to them. They were both on their feet; Kappei was pumping his fists and cheering, while Ryou simply clapped, her own version of cheering, I supposed. Next to Kappei sat Kotomi. She looked puzzled, sure, but at least my old friend was there to support me. Next to her were Sunohara and his sister, Mei. I don’t know how that bum was able to afford tickets but, in a strange way I was glad to see him, dark hair and all. From what I could see, he looked like he was yelling as loudly as he could, with the way Mei was leaning away from him.
I was surprised to see Yukine next. We hadn’t spoken much after…well, after she had planned to confess to me. I guess her being there meant there were no hard feelings.
Tomoyo wasn’t there which didn’t really surprise me; she had been busy running her campaign and, last I heard, was giving the mayor a sound thrashing. In a figurative sense, of course. Anyway, it was a shame she couldn’t be there; she and Kyou had become good friends over the last couple of years, much to my surprise.
Finally, Nagisa and her parents. Nagisa was in interesting one. I figured some lucky guy would have snatched her up by now; she was cute and had a big heart. Maybe it was her dad’s tendency to walk around with the baseball bat that scared guys away. It’d be a shame for her to never marry because of an overprotective dad.
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and realized that our opponents we entering the court. We were going up against Brazil first; I had heard a lot of good things about their team, and was looking forward to testing my skill against theirs.
***
It was a good game, but we still lost by five points. I was content, though; I had given it my all and worked hard to make the Brazilian team earn every point.
In what seemed to be a pattern of behavior for my two favorite girls, my childhood friend got to me first. “Congratulations, Tomoya-kun…”
I smiled at her awkwardness. “Thanks Kotomi, but we still lost-”
To my surprise, she grabbed me by the shoulders and looked me straight in the eye. “But not because of you! You were more than a match for them! You scored 62.7 percent of the points for your team.”
“62.7 percent, huh?” I rubbed at the back of my neck. “You figured that all in your head, I take it?”
She nodded solemnly. “I kept a running total of your points and compared it to the running total of your team’s points.” She cocked her head. “That is how you determine percentages, remember?”
I couldn’t help but laugh, despite how tired I was feeling. “I remember, I remember. I was just amazed at how you could figure out the percentage in your head.”
“It is not hard to do.” She took a step closer. “I could teach you, if you would like.”
“WHOA, married man here!” I sputtered as I took a step back. “I’m glad you’re willing to help me, Kotomi-chan, but we need to talk about personal space and married men sometime.”
She cocked her head again. “I am sorry; I do not see the correla-”
“TOMOYA!” I heard the happy voice of my rescuer, and I turned to see Kyou hustling up to me with Ryu bundled in her arms. “You were amazing, Tomoya!” she exclaimed when she got close enough.
“Thanks Kyou, but we still lost-”
“But not because of you!” Kyou retorted, and I wondered if I was about to have a replay of my conversation with Kotomi. “If they just had more of you, you would have won, easily.”
“If they had two of Tomoya-kun,” Kotomi interjected, “they would have won by eighteen points.”
“See?” Kyou gestured to my friend. “Listen to the genius girl – well, woman – here.”
“Three of Tomoya-kun would have them winning by thirty-three points.”
Kyou blinked at Kotomi. “What if the team was all Tomoyas?”
Kotomi’s eyes widened and she blushed as she started wringing her hands. “Th-Th…They would have won by…by...”
Her behavior had me worried. “Kotomi? Are you all right?”
“I-I am feeling…light-headed…” she reached out to me for support. “Please, I need to sit down.”
***
Kyou, carrying Ryu, intercepted me with a wry smile, matching my pace as I headed back with water for Kotomi. “She still has the hots for you, dreamboat.”
My hand found my forehead. “Seriously? After all this time?”
She nodded with a light chuckle. “She only has eyes for you. The whole time you were gone she was repeating ‘Tomoya-kun and Tomoya-kun’ over and over again. I think she overwhelmed herself imagining five of you.”
“Five of me…? Oh! The basketball team.” I snorted. “She always was an odd one.”
Kyou chuckled along with me, but then her tone turned serious. “Tell me the truth, Tomoya: If I weren’t in the picture, would you have married Kotomi?”
I stopped in my tracks; out of the corner of my eye I saw Kyou stop as well.
Would I? I’d never really thought about it. Kotomi was a sweet and funny girl in her own way, but…
Kyou apparently noticed my distress and came to my rescue. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that.” That had the effect of unfreezing my brain and we started walking again.
But before we passed through the door to where Kotomi was waiting, my wife stopped me. “Listen, Tomoya…this is going to sound really weird, but…if I go before you do…and she’s still available…I wouldn’t mind her being Ryu’s stepmother.”
I was floored; we hadn’t been married for very long, and already she was talking like this? “Kyou? You’re not planning on dying anytime soon, are you?”
She gently smacked my arm. “No, you idiot. But if something does happen, I want to make sure Ryu is taken care of.” She looked at me meaningfully.
There was only one thing that I could say. “If that happens…I’ll deal with it. But for now,” I put an arm around her and gazed into her eyes as I pulled her to me, “you’re my woman, and you’ll just have to deal with it.”
Her eyes widened in that very familiar way. “Yes, Master…”
I smiled as I kissed her on the nose. “Let’s get that water to Kotomi, okay?”
She nodded, her eyes still wide. I still didn’t know why she would sometimes call me ‘Master’ and I had a feeling that I never would.
It was fine, though; I was married to a great woman who was a great cook with a huge heart for taking care of others…I didn’t need to know all the details, did I?
Rough Draft complete