All in a Day's Work

It's morning, and dew slowly begins to evaporate off the Drama Club's windowsill...

The cold air that blows through the window is cool, refreshing, even energizing at times, and Sunohara stuck his head out the window, appreciating this fine morning air...

But the peaceful expression on his face didn't last for long.

"Youhei! What the hell are you doing?!" A shrill voice pierced the calm silence, and Sunohara Youhei pulled his head back into the room.

"Nothing! Nothing at all, Club Emp... Vice President!" Sunohara stammered, knowing that one wrong word would cause a dictionary to break his nose.

"You'd better be doing nothing. As I was saying, without Komura, it looks like our club will have to lay down low for a while. Stupid Choir Club... They walk in and think they can make us all feel sorry for them... Those cowards..." Kyou gritted her teeth.

Sunohara spent a moment admiring her long hair. She really kept it clean. If he was a girl, he doubted that he could be as clean as her.

And then he realized what he was doing, and immediately snapped out of it.

Tomoya yawned. "So, anyway, this means we'll have absolutely nothing to do, right?"

"That means I can play the violin to pass the time." Kotomi beamed, but Tomoya, Kyou, and Youhei himself all ran over and grabbed her to keep her from lifting her arms.

"Tomoya, don't be so rough on Kotomi... You three are being so mean to her..." Nagisa's scold turned into a mumble.

"We're just joking around, you know that. It's not like we really don't like Kotomi, is it?" Tomoya smiled at the shy girl.

"But... But it's because you don't like my violin playing, right?..." Kotomi blinked.

"No... Not at all!" Ryou and Nagisa both stammered.

Kyou sighed. "How many times do we have to sugar coat everything?" She glanced at Tomoya and Youhei, who glanced back at her with the same exhausted expression.

"You're being too harsh, sis..." Ryou scolded, but the scolding was so light that it seemed more like she was begging Kyou to be nicer.

Kyou only sighed, staring at Tomoya. Once again, Youhei felt his chest drop a little.

"So, anyway, what should we do now?" Nagisa offered, staring eagerly at Kyou.

Kyou sighed. It wasn't like she knew all the answers, but the entire group seemed to depend on her.

"We could go out and have dinner together or something! C'mon, there must be something the six of us can do together!" Youhei laughed.

...Or not. Kyou blinked. Sometimes Youhei made the dumbest suggestions ever, but this idea wasn't half bad.

"Hmn... I'm up for it. What about you, Tomoya?" Kyou turned to the alpha male of the pack.

"Me? Well... Why don't we ask the Class President?" Tomoya replied with a blink.

Kyou sighed to herself. Why was it that Tomoya always had to include Nagisa in everything?

Youhei sighed to himself. Why was it that Kyou had to add Tomoya to everything?

"Um... I don't know... My parents might need me to work in the bakery with them..." Nagisa mumbled.

"Then I guess I'll pass." Tomoya chuckled a little.

Kyou looked very disappointed. And Youhei, who was staring at Kyou the whole time, looked even more disappointed than her.

"I'll join in too, sis! We have Youhei with us, so it'll be more fun than just the two of us." Ryou smiled.

"Let me come too!" Kotomi added.

Youhei didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Kyou looked kinda worried about their plan, while Ryou and Kotomi seemed like they wanted to go, despite the fact that Tomoya wouldn't be there.

"You know?" Kyou sighed as she turned to the other three who were going to this dinner. "Why don't we invite the Student Council President as well?"

Once she mentioned Sakagami Tomoyo, Youhei's face turned blue. Just when he thought he could spend some time with Kyou, he was going to suffer miserably because that demon would also be there.

A demon to his left...

And a demon to his right...

And they were in a clothes shop.

THE HORROR! Sunohara Youhei thought to himself. He wanted to scream, to call anyone, even Mei, if he had to, to his rescue. Okazaki left him here to carry more than thirty bags for these girls, and he was far from thrilled.

Tomoyo seemed confused, but Kyou was willing to set aside their rivalry over Tomoya (since Tomoya didn't seem to really care about either of them anyway), and they'd go shop for clothes and hang out together, with Youhei as their walking clothes-hanger, porter, and slave. And she knew Youhei would do it without complaining either.

Seriously, when it came to girls, did that guy have no backbone or a sense of dignity?

As Ryou, Kotomi, and even Tomoyo were hunting for anything they liked, Kyou walked a little slower as she thought about him.

How could a guy be so pathetic? He'd take off his pants in public, for god's sake, just because some charm told him that he'd become attractive that way! What was he thinking?

Well, that was assuming that he could think in the first place.

But Youhei was so confusing as a person. Sometimes he'd make a wise comment that made everyone think, and at other times he could be so pathetic that it would be an embarrassment to be within a mile of him.

Why was he like this, anyway? Was it for attention? He was sure getting plenty of that by being the class idiot and "bad apple."

She just couldn't understand him...

"Brat! How dare you walk so closely to my daughter?!" A voice bellowed from the Furukawa bakery.

"Dad!" Nagisa called back, her face red in embarrassment.

"It's alright..." Tomoya groaned, walking closer to the bakery without changing his position at all.

"I appreciate you for escorting her, but you are treading on my turf there!" Akio growled as he stepped out of his bakery.

"Yeah, yeah. Old man, don't get a heart attack."

"You dare call me old?! Silly boy, you're scrawny as heck. It looks like you'll get cramps faster than me."

"A heart attack is a cramp?" Nagisa mumbled. Tomoya sighed and brushed past Akio, entering the bakery without a care in the world.

"Tomoya, welcome!" Sanae bowed.

"Hi." Tomoya smiled. Akio growled from behind him.

"Are you hitting on my Sanae?"

"Just be quiet already."

"You... Brat! Don't command me to do anything! I'm your elder. I should be commanding YOU!"

Tomoya wanted to slam his head against the wall. Sure, someone could get used to this... But now was about the time when anyone would crack...

So Youhei grunted as he carried fifty bags up the mall's escalator as the four other girls happily chatted amongst themselves, and Tomoya found himself dealing with his insane future father-in-law. Things could only get worse from here... Or would they?