Disclaimer: Of course you know I don't own Azumanga Daioh.
This story is inspired by the ending moments of episode 13 of the anime. I am sure you will recognize elements of it at the beginning. But I didn't want to repeat it exactly because 1: you have seen it already and 2: I didn't want to be tied to a particular moment in the timeline. So I went with the idea the Tomo is always obnoxious and competitive, and she probably steals Yomi's glasses often (you see it a few times in the eyecatch in the middle of episodes).
Yomi snatched her glasses back from Tomo, who had been wearing them. She quickly adjusted them back on herself. She didn't like being without her glasses, especially outdoors. During the brief period Tomo had captured them to mock Yomi, the faces of her friends had been reduced to indistinct blurs.
Tomo was saying, "That was exactly the face Yomi made. And it wasn't even a competition at all. Yomi just stood there in shock while I ate the whole thing. She ended up with nothing at all for dinner that night but one boiled egg! Hahaha!"
"Ok, You won a noodle eating contest with her, but why do you work so hard to do things that piss everyone off?" Kagura asked.
"Yeah, no shit." muttered Yomi.
"Yeah, no shit", echoed Chiyo-chan. A dead silence fell over the five other girls as they turned their heads toward the tiny girl with pigtails. Her face turned beet red as she took in the shocked looks she was getting from her friends. "Oh no, did I actually say that?"
"You sure did!" Tomo laughed, giving Chiyo a thumbs up. "I never imagined in a million years such a word could come out of your mouth. Although, it just seems kinda wrong somehow."
"So why did you give her a thumbs-up then if you aren't trying to encourage it?" Yomi snapped at her.
"I am very sorry everyone," Chiyo sniffed with a sudden apologetic bow. "I don't know what has come over me lately. It seems these bad words just get stuck in my head and once in a while they want to pop out for no reason."
Sakaki stepped forward and put a forgiving hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "It's all right, don't let it get you down. You made a mistake and a heartfelt apology. Besides, you aren't the one who started it," she glanced up at Kagura and Yomi, both girls blushing for a moment in quiet shame.
Tomo burst out laughing "Oh yeah, you should hear some of the filth that comes out of Yomi's mouth some days! Hahahaha!"
"Knock it off Tomo. Chiyo seems pretty upset by this".
"Are you alright?" asked Sakaki, seeing the distressed look on the youngest girl's face.
"Well, it is true that some of my friends do use harsh language sometimes when I am around, but to be honest, I hear most of these things from Miss Yukari in class."
"Ain't that the truth!" Osaka exclaimed. "Why just the other day when she caught me sleeping in class she said I would never pass my entrance exams if I chose to spend my days napping like some lazy baka."
Kagura looked at her "You do know that is totally not what we are talking about, Osaka. I mean, yeah, that may be rude, but it isn't the same as swearing. And besides, there is probably some truth to that too". Osaka gave her a wounded look, and the athlete quickly added "Not that I am any better. Heck, you get better grades than I do. Everyone knows that."
"My parents would be so upset with me if they heard me using words like that. And it almost happened just the other day."
"Really?" Tomo said eagerly. "So what happened? What would cause the mighty child prodigy Chiyo-chan to burst out with profanity?"
"It was just an accident. I was carrying in some groceries from the car. My father had bought some bell peppers and I was running back into the house with the bag, trying to be helpful. It was raining very hard. But I slipped in the driveway and dropped the bag and they went rolling everywhere. I even scraped my knee." She pointed to a small scuff mark on her leg which looked minor and almost completely healed.
"Bell peppers, eh?" remarked Yomi. "I love those! Some of them are very hot and sweet at the same time. Plus they are an all-natural fat-free food!" She rubbed her hands together thinking about the delicious crunchy taste. "And they come in all colors too, don't they?"
"Oh yes! Yellow, red or green. They even have orange colored ones this week".
"Is that what kind your dad got?" Yomi asked.
"No, he seems to prefer the red ones"
"The red ones?" Sakaki said with a start, taking a step backwards.
"Yes, he likes them very much. We all do." Chiyo wore a puzzled expression at her tall friend's reaction.
"So what was this nasty word that you almost said in front of your dad?" Tomo asked.
Kagura stepped forward. "Hey, it doesn't help her to ask her to repeat it. Besides, knowing you and your big mouth, you will be teasing her about it for a week. But still…" she paused "you could tell me. I won't repeat it"
Chiyo looked uncertain then leaned up close to Kagura's ear as the swimmer bent down. She whispered something quietly and Kagura burst out laughing "No way! No way you could say something like that! But then again… I guess you just did, didn't you?"
The little girl's face reddened once more and Tomo jumped forward, waving her arms and dancing around the two girls. "Come on, me too, tell me too! It's not fair! It's not fair I say!"
"Give it a rest, loudmouth". Yomi seemed to be getting quite irritated with the wildcat's outbursts. "Besides, the best thing to do is just change the subject. Chiyo, you have nothing to be ashamed of. The fact that you didn't swear in front of you father despite the rain, peppers and your injury," she pointed to Chiyo's knee, "that shows the true strength of your character. You set an example that others should follow, myself included." She looked up to see Sakaki give a small smile and an approving nod.
"Really? Do you think so? Thank you Miss Yomi, those are very kind words".
"Ha! Not like the words she normally uses. Let me tell you a story about something shocking she said during our last year of middle school. She had slipped on the stairs because some first year had dropped some papers…" Tomo grabbed Yomi's glasses once again and quickly put them on. "And just like this, she stuck her nose in the air and said…"
"I told you to shut up!" Yomi yelled, "and quit taking my glasses like that!" She grabbed them back from Tomo, but the wildcat brought up her hand to hold them on her face for a moment longer.
Snap
Each girl was now holding one half of a pair of glasses. The bridge between the two lenses had broken. A silence fell over the girls.
"Umm, here you go," Tomo offered up her half of the glasses. "Sorry, I didn't think you would get so huffy about it. Really."
"So now this is my fault? Dammit Tomo".
"Hey, I thought you said we shouldn't swear in front of innocent little Chiyo here. Man, what kind of example do you think you are setting? Besides, we can fix it. We will just use some tape in the middle. You know, you always see those geeky otaku guys with tape holding their glasses together. And maybe you will make friends with them and get a boyfriend at long last out of all this. So in the end, this could be a good thing!"
Yomi squinted at the two broken pieces in her hands, inspecting them as best she could. "I am not going to go through the rest of the school year with taped up glasses. And besides, the center piece is broken right up next to the lens. You can't tape that."
"Ok glue it then. Whatever. I can fix it for you so don't worry about it. I already said I was sorry."
"You called that an apology? Do you know how much these cost?! My mother just bought these for me at the beginning of this school year, a new prescription. My dad is going to flip. They were so expensive."
Osaka spoke up again. "So is that it for you Yomi? Are you going to be blind from now on? Because if so, I bet Chiyo-chan would let you borrow Mr. Tadakichi. He would make a good seeing eye dog. And he is very faithful."
"No, I have my old pair of glasses at home that I can wear until my parents can get these repaired. These lenses are still good I think." Kagura was now standing next to Yomi and agreed that there were no scratches or visible problems other than the broken frame.
Yomi looked up and down the street. "What street is the cross street? Isn't that Megagamers over there?" she pointed.
"No, that is Kentucky Fried Chicken. Megagamers is a block up. Here, I'll go with you", Tomo said.
Yomi jerked her arm away from Tomo. "No thanks. I think I have exceeded my daily-recommended dosage of Tomo already. I don't need you leading me into a men's public bath house for a laugh again."
"Again?" asked Chiyo.
"Uh, never mind. And Osaka, thanks for your concern but I'm not that blind. Just… things get blurry at a distance. And anything up too close. Right out here it's ok though." And she put her hand out to about arms length in front of her.
Kagura took Yomi's left elbow in a firm grip. "I am walking you home. No buts! I have to go that way anyhow to meet my dad. So you tell me where we are going and I will get you there." She turned to face the others. "See you all at school tomorrow."
As they started walking, Yomi gave a slight protest that she didn't want to be a burden, but Kagura insisted that she was heading this way anyhow. "Besides, right now I am so pissed off that if you don't let me come with you, I am liable to go back there and beat the hell out of Tomo."
The other girls were turning the corner to head toward their homes, but they caught that last sentence. As they walked silently home, Tomo kept hearing it in her head. Beat the hell out of me? I know I have done stuff in the past to piss off Kagura, and we have wrestled around jokingly before, but she sounded serious. Maybe I really did cross the line this time. And if Kagura is that angry, how mad must Yomi be?
Unnoticed by the others, a hot tear slid down Tomo's cheek. She quickly wiped it away and thought Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will make it up to her somehow. She's always been there for me. How could I have been so thoughtless? Yomi is my oldest, best friend. No, she is more than that.
She turned off to the path that led to her home without a word to her friends, lost in her own world of thoughts and regrets.
Tomorrow. Somehow I'll make it right tomorrow.
A/N: I originally planned this first bit to be much shorter, and chapter two to be the bulk of the first chapter. But this ran on much longer than I intended so I decided to break it apart and end chapter one here. Chapter two is in my head, I just need to get it written down. We haven't got to the shoujo-ai yet, although it is coming up fast. And I plan to tone down the swearing a lot in future bits, it was just the impetus to start this story. No, our sweet little Chiyo won't be swearing any more.
So, what do you think my pairings will be? Heh heh heh, we will just have to wait and see.
Hit that review button if you wish! Constructive criticism is always welcome.