Mimicking Love [Clannad]

Chapter 6

Nagisa and Tomoya began to walk to school together, just like they had before she was ill. It was now the day of the performance and, even though they knew their lines, still had some work to do. Akio, who was a former actor, had advised to show more emotion in their acting to make it seem more real.

Tomoya and Nagisa walked on the pavement to reach their high school. It was a peaceful day, and the cherry blossom petals drifted gently onto the ground. Tomoya was rather silent for most of the trip, thinking quietly to himself. Nagisa and I have been dating for a while now...he thought. We haven't even held hands... What type of relationship is this even? He looked back at Nagisa, who was humming the Dango song. "Ah, Nagisa."

"Huh? Yes, Tomoya-kun?" He began to blush as Nagisa looked at him with her sweet, brown eyes.

"Uh...I was wondering if you wanted to...uh...hold hands..." Nagisa blushed.

"Eh?! B-but we're in public! Tomoya-kun!" She stuttered.

"No ones around," Tomoya assured her. "And it doesn't have to be for long!" Nagisa paused for a moment before nodding. Hesitantly, they held hands for the first time with both of their faces lighting up. After two seconds of holding hands, they let go. Nagisa looked up at Tomoya and smiled. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Tomoya stuttered. Nagisa nodded, still blushing.

"Yeah."

"Hey, guys!" The two cried out as Youhei snuck behind them. "So, what were you two doing?" Tomoya turned to his best friend, annoyed.

"Walking to school," he answered.

"Yeah, we weren't holding ha..." Tomoya swiftly covered Nagisa's red face.

"Don't tell him!" He whispered to her. Youhei grinned and put his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, I see how it is." He began to walk away from his friends. "Well, see you all later. Sayonara, Nagisa." Tomoya rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, what does he think he's doing?" Tomoya muttered. Nagisa looked up at him, confused.

"Why did you stop me?" She asked him.

"Hey! You were the one who was against holding hands in public! Why would you tell him?" Nagisa giggled.

"Oh. Right." She looked down at her books. "It's almost time for class to start. We need to hurry! Wanna race?" Tomoya put his hand on her shoulder.

"No. Let's just speed up a little, okay?" Nagisa nodded.

The drama club met up in the auditorium, preparing for their performance. Earlier that day, the group passed out invitations to students and teachers to watch.

Tomoya placed down a prop and looked back at Nagisa, who was reading over her lines. He watched her for a brief moment before walking over to her. "Hey." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you ready?" She stopped reading and looked up at him. She nodded.

"I can't wait, Tomoya-kun! This will be so much fun! And I'll have all my friends with me and my parents!" Nagisa smiled. "And I have you, Tomoya-kun." She began to blush and quickly looked back at her book. "You're...you're special to me, you know." Tomoya grinned.

"And you're special to me, too, Nagisa." Nagisa looked back at him and was about to speak when Ryou Fujibayashi called out to her.

"Ah! Hai!" She looked back at Tomoya and bowed. "Gomen-nasai, Tomoya-kun!" Then, she ran to help her friend. Tomoya watched the two talk but soon felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Akio.

"Hey, brat."

"Hey, old man." Akio sighed and walked in front of him, blocking Tomoya's view of Nagisa.

"Listen, I just want to thank you," Akio said. Tomoya looked away from him.

"What for?"

"Before she met you, Nagisa didn't have a lot of friends. The friends she did had left her when she was held back. And, uh, you've been kind to her and helped her set up this play."Akio sighed again. "Thank you, brat." Tomoya looked back at him and grinned.

"It's nothing, old man. I just really care for Nagisa." Akio grinned.

"Huh. Is that so? Well if you end up being part of the family, you'll have to deal with Sanae's bread, you know?" Tomoya noticed Sanae standing right next to her husband, smiling. "You know, what if we handed out her bread during the performance? I'm sure we'll get some hilarious reactions!" Sanae's smile quickly turned into a frown and tears formed in her eyes.

"So...my bread is...my bread is..." Tomoya and Akio looked at her in surprise. She pushed past Tomoya and ran away. "Only for reactions!"

"Sanae!" Akio called after her. "I love it!" He ran away, leaving Tomoya alone. He walked over to the group of students that had formed by the basketball prop. There, Nagisa was wishing everyone luck on their performance that night.

"I hope everyone does their best!" She told them. "And that this show goes off wonderfully!" The sound of a waiting crowd could be heard backstage. Nagisa smiled and clasped her hands together. "Good luck everyone! It's time for the show!"

Tomoya waited backstage with other cast members as the play began. The first scene felt like it had gone on forever to Tomoya. He was anxious. When it was his turn to go on with Kyou, he tried his best to project to the crowd. However, he was really trying his best to not laugh at Kyou pretending to be a gang leader. Soon, his scene was over, and he went backstage again. He watched as Nagisa went out for the third scene. Finally, the dance scene arrived. All the gang members and their girlfriends went on the stage, followed by Nagisa and Tomoya. They performed their blocking and choreography perfectly.

Before Tomoya knew it, he was face to face with Nagisa. Behind them, everyone was dancing to the music playing. Tomoya looked down at Nagisa and began to say his lines.

"You're not thinking I'm someone else?"

"I know you are not."

"Or that we have met before?"

"I know we have not."

"I felt, I knew something- never- before was going to happen, had to happen. But this is-"

"My hands are cold." Tomoya held her hands. "Yours, too." He moved her hand to his face. "So warm." It was a miracle the two weren't blushing as much as they had before.

"Yours, too."

"But of course. They are the same." Nagisa recited.

"It's so much to believe-you're not joking me?"

"I have not yet learned how to joke that way. I think now I never will." Tomoya kissed her hands and then her lips.

And this time, this wasn't an act like before.

END OF ACT