The Lost Chapter -CHAP.01--CLANNAD-

  What happened to the ones left behind?

  What happened to feelings that were unreciprocated, unfulfilled, unanswered... Did they fade over time? Did they just remain there, unrequited forever? Or did they eventually pass onto someone else instead?

  Maybe it was just a chapter of life that passed by as quickly as it had started. Or maybe it was different for everyone. Maybe each individual just had their own unique story to follow...

                                                            *

  Tori was bored at work yet again. Her team leader, Hayao, wasn’t in this morning, which normally meant she could slack off in the office, seeing as it would be empty. But unfortunately, the store had inspectors in and they were currently commandeering the office.

  Because her team leader wasn’t in, it meant that Tori hadn’t been given any jobs to do. It may have sounded good, but after circling the store for a while, it soon got boring and she began to wish that Hayao had left her a job list. This happened every Wednesday. Her boss just so happened to be a bit of an airhead and, no matter how many times she reminded him that her Wednesday shifts tended to get wasted, he still always forgot to leave tasks for her.

  It didn’t help that the store had hit a bit of a dry spell, so there weren’t many customers in. Nobody had asked her for any assistance at all today. The only customer she’d seen in the last half hour was a teenage boy looking at the roller blinds. Tori decided that if he was still there by the time she’d walked the store again, then she was going to ask if he needed any help.

  However, after completing another route around the store, when she got back to the curtain section, he wasn’t there anymore. Typical, Tori thought to herself with a sigh. She’d have to carry on hunting and see if she could find another customer that she could bother to try and kill some time.

  She carried on past the flooring and tiling, past the paint section, then stopped abruptly and doubled back. The boy she’d seen earlier was down one of the paint aisles, looking at the colour cards. Thank god. It was so quiet that she’d been starting to feel like she was in a post-apocalyptic store all by herself.

  “Can I help you with anything?” Tori asked the boy, all but dancing over to him.

  He looked up, mildly surprised. “Oh... I was just looking at some colours. Do you think this would look good for a bedroom?”

  He showed her the colour card he was looking at. Tori made a face. The colour he was pointing out was a muddy brown. “Um, well, it’s a bit drab for a bedroom...” she said truthfully.

  The boy laughed, obviously not minding her honesty. “I guess it is. I don’t have much of an eye for decorating, if I’m honest.”

  Resisting the urge to agree that she could tell that already, Tori decided to try and be helpful instead. “Well, it could work if you teamed it up with something else.” She picked out a colour card with a light teal shade. “How about something like this?”

  “Hmm, that does work quite well,” the boy agreed, taking the card and holding the two of them up beside each other. “I think this could be a winner.”

  “That scheme does seem to be quite popular right now. One of my friends has her living room done in these colours too,” said Tori brightly. “Do you want me to get someone to mix them up for you on the paint machine?”

  “Oh, no, I’m not actually looking to buy anything today,” said the boy vaguely, still looking at the colour cards in his hands.

  “Oh...” said Tori, feeling a little confused. “You can take the cards home if you need to think about it.”

  The boy looked up and saw the uncertain expression on Tori’s face. “Sorry, I guess that sounded kinda rude. What I mean is I actually can’t afford to get any of this stuff yet. I just wanted to check it out.”

  “Oh, so you’re just planning ahead?” asked Tori. That made a lot more sense.

  “Quite a bit ahead,” the boy laughed sheepishly. “I wanna get my own place, but it’s still gonna be a while before I can afford it. It’s a bit depressing to think about, so I guess trying to plan out what it’ll look like cheers me up a little.” He laughed again, scratching his head. “That sounds kinda lame, doesn’t it?”

  “Not at all,” Tori smiled. “Nothing like being ambitious and planning ahead.” Both were things that she could never have applied to herself. Not when she was still stuck at the workplace that was originally only supposed to have been a Saturday job whilst she’d been in school.

  “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever been called ambitious,” said the boy, sounding amused. “To be honest, I find that planning ahead is just a way to kill time. A way that isn’t school anyway.”

  “Ah, so you’re in school... Though not right now, obviously,” said Tori pointedly. “Ditching today?”

  “Guilty as charged,” he confessed, not looking particularly guilty about it.

  “A man after my own heart,” Tori joked.

  “I take it you must have already graduated, seeing as you’re working on a school day?” the boy guessed.

  “Eh... Kind of, but not really. I’ve finished school...” Tori started imploringly.

  “But didn’t graduate,” said the boy, catching on.

  “Guilty as charged,” Tori grinned, imitating him. “It became a real drag by the time I was in high school. I skipped more classes than I attended. Graduation was kinda... futile.”

  “You’re an inspiration to us all,” joked the boy, giving her a mock bow. He certainly knew about the ‘drag’ that she’d mentioned. “I guess that makes you a delinquent just like me. Except, you know, you actually work and stuff.”

  “Yes. Working meaning talking to a stranger and helping him look at stuff that he’s not going to buy,” said Tori amusedly.

  “Well, at least we’re clear on that.”

  Tori laughed. “In that case then, why don’t we go and find you some wallpaper to go with your paint scheme?”

  “You did hear the not going to buy part, right?” the guy pointed out.

  “Sshhh, that’s not what we’re going to tell anyone else,” Tori grinned. “I’m just being a helpful assistant to a potential customer. Y’know, in order for something to do so she doesn't end up climbing the walls from boredom.”

  “You’re killing time too, huh? I guess maybe I could do with looking at some wallpaper as well,” said the boy, playing along.

  Tori beamed and put on her best jovial voice. “Well then! Right this way, good sir...”

  The boy laughed. “Just Tomoya’s fine.”

  “Okay then, Tomoya,” Tori smiled. “I’m Tori. In case you couldn’t tell.” She tapped the silver name badge that was pinned to her shirt.

  Tomoya followed her down to the wallpaper section, bemused by her enthusiasm to play the theatrical assistant. She must have been really bored before she’d spotted him. He didn’t know why he always felt the need to help people out with their problems – no matter how big or how small – it was something he just tended to go along with without really questioning it.

  At least he could relate to this girl. He knew a lot about killing time and he certainly knew about skipping class. He’d always hated his school. If it hadn’t been for some of his friends there, then he probably would have considered forgetting about graduating himself.

  “Does anyone really buy these?” Tomoya asked, after Tori had loudly explained about patterns for feature walls when one of her colleagues had passed through the same aisle. He was looking at some large lurid flower designs that felt like they assaulted his eyesight.

  Tori laughed at the look on his face. “What, you don’t want these big pink flowers on your bedroom wall?”

  “I think I’ll pass,” said Tomoya. “It’s hard to believe anyone would buy most of these anyway...” He then stopped suddenly, realising that he was basically insulting Tori’s workplace to her face. “Um, no offence or anything.”

  Tori just laughed again. “None taken. As long as I get my wages, then I don’t care what anyone else thinks of this place. It's not like it's the most glam workplace ever.”

  "Then why don't you quit if you don't really care about it?" suggested Tomoya.

  Tori shrugged. "What else would I do? I dropped out of college. I have no degree, no plans for the future... What can I say? Deadbeats get dead end jobs."

  "Thanks for reminding me what I have to look forward to later in life."

  "Happy to help," Tori chuckled. "But in all seriousness, it's not that bad. The work here's easy enough, my hours are nice and flexible... Plus my boss is pretty cool - he keeps things entertaining. Y'know... when he's actually here, that is."

  "So he's absent today?" Tomoya guessed.

  "No, he works later shifts every Wednesday. He starts about an hour before I finish," Tori explained. "I'm the only one on my team till then. Hence why I've spent about ten minutes showing you this horrid wallpaper."

  Tomoya laughed. "Gotta find some way to fill the time, huh?"

  "Exactly," Tori smiled. "I'd die of boredom otherwise." She then sighed. "It doesn't help that it's always dead on Wednesdays either. Next to no staff and barely any customers either."

  Tomoya experienced that feeling again. That inexplicable need to try and help people - no matter the size of their problems. What else exactly did he do with his life? Deadbeats get dead end jobs. At least helping others gave him some sort of purpose. Even if it was short-lived. Anything to distract him from his own meaningless life.

  "If you like, I can come back?" he suggested. "Next Wednesday, I mean. So you can at least have someone to talk to and pretend to serve for a bit."

  Tori stared at him in surprise. Was he serious? She'd only really been complaining to him to pass some time, but she'd ended up actually enjoying talking to him. And now he was even offering to return and help kill her boredom again. Why would he do that? "...Really?"

  "Sure, why not?" Tomoya replied with a casual shrug. "Trust me; I know what it's like to feel that bored with things. Besides, an excuse to skip out on school sounds good to me."

  He was doing it again. Going out of his way to help someone else with no real motive of his own. But who cared? What he'd said was true. School was boring with Nagisa absent anyway. Miserable, even. He hated it without her there - all he could do was dwell on the fact that she wasn't around.

  Plus Sunohara seemed to have been skipping class even more often than him lately. So what was the point in even going to school? Sure, he had other friends now that he'd become closer with Kotomi, Kyou, Fujibayashi and even Tomoyo... But it just wasn't the same. Without Nagisa, school was a bleak place he didn't want to be, bordering on unbearable. He completely understood the tedious boredom that Tori had described.

  "Well, seeing as you're offering, how can I turn down such a gracious invitation?" Tori grinned.

  "You can't. I'd be offended," Tomoya joked.

  "And we wouldn't want that," Tori teased. She then smiled. "Thanks though. It'll give me something to look forward to on my rubbish shifts."

  "I'll just have to start thinking of what I want to window shop for next," laughed Tomoya.

  "Hey, we've still got all the home enhancement stuff to look at," Tori pointed out with another grin. "We're not done yet."

  "Sounds like a plan," smiled Tomoya. "But I guess I should be going now... What time does your shift start on a Wednesday?"

  "Eight o'clock."

  "Ouch. I don't know if I can stretch to getting up that early."

  Tori just laughed. "Don't worry, I couldn't ask that much of you. My boss doesn't get in till two, so any time before then is fine."

  "Okay, sounds good," said Tomoya. "In that case, I guess I'll see you next week."

  "Yep. I look forward to it," Tori beamed.

  As Tomoya turned away and walked off, Tori waited a few moments before sneaking along the aisle after him. She stopped as she reached the end of the shelves and peered round the corner, watching his retreating back as he left the store. Damn. He was actually pretty cute. And probably only about a year or so younger than her.

  Well. As strange as the encounter had been, Tori sure as hell wasn't complaining. This was definitely a welcome turn of events. Maybe things were going to get a bit more interesting after all. It was just a shame that Wednesday was now a whole week away...

  As Tomoya left through the automatic doors, he shook his head, wondering what he was even doing. He'd gone and done it again. First it was helping Nagisa with the drama club, then fixing up Kotomi's garden for her... Now this. Most people would probably say that he was simply a sucker for a pretty face. But that just wasn't it.

  With his disastrous home life, Tomoya preferred to stay away from his house as much as he could. Meaning he always had a lot of time to kill. He may as well spend that time helping other people. As a useless delinquent, what else was he good for?

  He found his feet taking him towards Sunohara's place. He knew that his friend was cutting school today too. Yet again. But then he could hardly talk when he'd just spent the last hour wandering rather aimlessly around a hardware store.

  And like everything else, going to Sunohara's dorm room was at least something else to do to kill some more time. And maybe his supposed best friend would be able to help shed some light on why he seemed to care so damn much about the wellbeing of everyone else.

  "Wait, another girl?!" Sunohara exclaimed, staring at Tomoya as he finished explaining what he'd been up to all morning.

  Aaand maybe not. That had clearly been a long shot. Sunohara couldn't shed light on anything even if he tried. His friend was just as much of a useless delinquent as Tomoya himself.

  Still... Tomoya thought, as he absent-mindedly stroked the ginger cat that was lounging comfortably across his lap. It was nice knowing that there'd always be someone who was wackier and more dysfunctional than he was. That, he could count on.