January in Chiba was considerably warmer than December, though that was only true during the daytime.
During the day, the sky was clear, and temperatures generally hovered in the low to mid-teens Celsius. Sunlight streamed through the windows and warmed your skin, making you feel so comfortable that all you wanted to do was take a nap.
But once the sun went down, Chiba immediately reverted to winter.
Especially when the wind picked up. It could get so cold that you wanted to put on two down jackets at once.
Weather like this was practically designed to make people catch colds.
...
After receiving Miura's email, Oikawa took a detailed look at her academic record.
She wasn't the kind of student who excelled in one area while completely failing another. Her humanities and science grades were both somewhere in the middle.
After discussing it with Yukino, the two of them came to the same conclusion: Miura should probably choose the science track and aim for one of the better-known national universities.
Even if she couldn't get into the University of Tokyo, she should at least set her sights on a top-tier school such as Kyoto University or Osaka University.
Graduating from one of those universities would give her a significant advantage if she wanted to continue her studies abroad.
The problem was that, given Miura's current grades, getting into one of those elite universities would be quite difficult. Her options overseas would be even more limited.
The Ivy League was obviously out of the question.
Even the next tier of prestigious public universities and the so-called New Ivies looked like a stretch.
Oikawa and Yukino spent several days researching the matter before finally focusing on a few universities in Australia. Their admission standards were relatively manageable, while their academic reputations were still quite strong.
More importantly, degrees from most Australian universities were widely recognized around the world.
Without a doubt, it was the best option for Miura.
Of course, the ever-thorough Yukino had also prepared a Plan B. If Miura's grades improved during her third year, there would be other universities they could recommend.
That evening after school, Oikawa waited downstairs in the activities building for Miura's cheerleading practice to finish.
He had been put entirely in charge of telling her about their recommendations.
Yukino and Miura were practically sworn enemies, while Yui could barely remember the names of all the universities, let alone explain the situation properly.
Besides, Oikawa really couldn't bring himself to make Yui stand outside in the cold. If she caught a cold in weather like this, she'd probably feel miserable for days.
The sun slowly sank toward the horizon. A cold gust swept beneath the activities building, and Oikawa tightened his clothes around himself.
The cheerleading squad had become especially busy lately. With all the athletic clubs preparing for the upcoming national competitions, everyone seemed to be working toward the same dream, the Koshien. Sweat poured down their faces as they trained on the fields.
Watching the soccer club running endlessly around the pitch, Oikawa couldn't help feeling his own blood begin to stir.
Japan really did have an admirable attitude when it came to sports.
Just then, Oikawa felt someone tug on his clothes. He turned around and found Yukino standing behind him.
"Here. Some tea." Wearing the cat-paw gloves Yui had given her, Yukino handed Oikawa a steaming cup of black tea.
"You actually wore those gloves out? But they suit you surprisingly well." Oikawa accepted the tea and blew on it a few times before taking a satisfying sip. Warmth immediately spread throughout his body.
"Well, duh. I was the one who picked them after all!" Yui was standing behind her, too. But it was so cold that she kept shifting from foot to foot, her cheeks bright red from the chill.
"You two should go home first. I can tell Miura myself. There's no need for all of us to wait around." Oikawa felt touched that they had come to wait with him, but he didn't want either of them to catch a cold. Besides, he could handle delivering the message himself.
Yui hesitated before mumbling, "But... it feels kind of bad leaving you here to freeze by yourself."
Yukino nodded in agreement.
Oikawa smiled and shook his head. "Yukino, if you stay here, Miura won't listen to a single word I say. And Yui, I think you should go home, take some medicine, and get some sleep. It's freezing, and you're barely wearing anything. You two should really go home. If you really feel sorry for me, just bring me some daifuku tomorrow. I'm suddenly craving some."
Miura had already surprised Oikawa simply by sending the Service Club an email asking for help. But there was no way she would willingly accept their assistance in front of Yukino.
If Yukino was a woman whose words rarely matched her feelings, Miura wasn't exactly any better.
Yukino looked deeply conflicted. After a long pause, she finally said, "All right. But don't wait too long. It'll only get colder."
"Miura should be coming out soon. The sun's almost gone down. Surely the cheerleading squad won't keep practicing until nighttime." Yukino nodded before continuing, "I'm really sorry. This was supposed to be something we handled together."
"Why are you suddenly being so formal?" Oikawa grinned and teased her. "We're all heroes of justice, aren't we? Helping each other is what allies of justice do!"
"Pfft. 'Heroes of justice'..." Yui snickered, then broke into a bright, uncontrollable laugh. She clearly hadn't expected Oikawa to have such a childish side. "Oikawa-kun, what are you, five? Have you been watching too much anime?"
"What would you know?" Oikawa shot back, feigning indignation. "You're the childish one who's obsessed with Sailor Moon!"
Yui puffed out her cheeks in protest.
But before she could say anything, Oikawa cut her off. "Anyway, don't forget to bring me some daifuku tomorrow, Yui. And whatever you do, don't try making them yourself."
Yukino added with complete seriousness, "Indeed. Yui should not be allowed anywhere near the kitchen. Otherwise, you'll probably end up being hospitalized for food poisoning."
"Hmph! Then I'll make it and not give either of you any." Yui angrily hoisted her schoolbag onto her back and headed toward the exit.
"See you tomorrow."
"Yeah. See you tomorrow."
Oikawa stamped his feet to keep warm as he watched the two girls leave, then continued sipping his tea.
It was getting a little cold.
Once the sun had completely disappeared, the temperature around Sobu High dropped sharply, partly because the school was located so close to the sea.
Fortunately, it wasn't long after Yukino left that a group of cheerleaders came downstairs together.
They were all wearing makeup, and several of the girls were carrying their cheerleading props.
Oikawa quickly spotted Miura among them.
But before he could move, one of the girls suddenly lit up when she saw him. "Oikawa-kun, are you waiting for someone? Oh, right! I'm Harumi Nogami from Class 2-C. It's nice to meet you!"
Another girl quickly chimed in. "Oikawa-senpai! Hi! I'm..."
Oikawa realized that, apparently, he was more popular than he thought. Quite a few girls actively came over to greet him.
"Miura, come here for a second." After exchanging a few perfunctory pleasantries, Oikawa waved Miura over and headed toward a corner on the first floor.
Seeing Oikawa turn to leave, Harumi Nogami hesitated before asking, "Oikawa-kun, I heard you've started dating someone. Is that true?"
"Yep." Oikawa tossed the answer over his shoulder and walked away.
---
"What is it?"
Miura still wore that same haughty expression, as though it were a layer of armor firmly wrapped around her.
"I'm here to solve your problem. You sent the Service Club an email asking for help, didn't you?" Oikawa asked, his tone noticeably cold.
Miura looked as though she was about to deny it.
But after seeing Oikawa's cold expression, she eventually nodded. "Yes. I sent it."
"Let's start with the conclusion. We discussed it and came to the unanimous conclusion that choosing the science track would give you a better chance of studying abroad."
Oikawa stated the conclusion first, then began explaining. "National universities accept students from both the humanities and science tracks, but quite a few majors still lean heavily toward science. Choosing the science track would also give you a stronger academic foundation if you want to study overseas."
"However, considering your grades right now, I'd recommend looking at some universities in Australia." As he spoke, Oikawa took out the information Yukino had compiled and handed it to Miura.
She frowned as she read through them, occasionally stopping to reread certain passages. A trace of confusion appeared in her eyes.
"Is there anything you want to ask?"
"Yeah."
For the next half hour, Miura went through the materials in detail, asking questions about anything she wasn't clear on.
Oikawa answered each one.
He had already read through everything himself, and Yukino had explained the information to him while she was putting it together, so there was no trouble explaining it all to Miura.
"Thank you. You two went to a lot of trouble for this." Miura carefully tucked the materials into her schoolbag as though they were priceless treasures, then sincerely thanked Oikawa.
"Mm. Goodbye then." The temperature was dropping by the minute. Oikawa pulled his clothes tighter around himself and headed out of Sobu High.
Not long afterward, Miura came jogging after him.
She kept stealing glances at Oikawa, clearly wanting to ask him something, but every time she seemed about to speak, she hesitated and swallowed the words.
Oikawa noticed it. "If you've got a question, just ask. It's not like there's anyone else around."
Miura's eyes suddenly lit up.
That was all the encouragement she needed. She blurted out the question that had been nagging at her for more than a week. "Oikawa, are you really Copycat-sensei?"
"You mean Old Bastard Copycat, right?" Oikawa replied with a faint smirk.
Miura's face reddened with embarrassment. She stubbornly shook her head. "No. No. I never said that. Just one time online."
"...Honestly, I don't mind being called that. I'm used to it by now. As long as nobody's actually trying to stab me, I count my blessings."
Oikawa didn't find the nickname particularly offensive. More than anything, it was just playful teasing.
"Oikawa, what made you suddenly decide to start writing?" Miura asked, her curiosity getting the better of her again.
"Because I'm broke," Oikawa replied without missing a beat, his expression completely straight.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she muttered quietly.
Oikawa was speechless.
Why did nobody ever believe him when he told the truth?
He really had started writing because he was broke.
"Because I'm passionate about literature. That's why I chose the path of literary creation. I hope that one day I'll be able to write something as great as No Longer Human."
"Oikawa, you'll succeed."
Miura's eyes practically sparkled. She had completely fallen for the nonsense he'd just made up.
Oikawa didn't know what to say to that.
After that, the two of them walked in silence until they reached the school gates.
"I'm taking the bus." / "I'm taking the train."
They went their separate ways, heading in opposite directions.
The sky was growing darker by the minute. There wasn't a star or even a moon in sight.
With weather like this, it looked as though it might rain.
"Oikawa." Miura's voice reached him again. "Can I ask when the second volume of Clannad is coming out? Could it be released during the autumn break?"
"It'll be out during spring break. I finished writing it yesterday. I'll go over it once more when I get home, then send the manuscript to my editor." Oikawa didn't stop. He simply waved and headed toward the bus stop across the street.
His figure slowly disappeared from Miura's sight.
But she stood there for a long time.
It wasn't until a cold gust of wind blew past that she finally snapped out of it.
Her eyes were filled with disbelief as she murmured, "He already finished the second volume of Clannad? Could Oikawa really be a genius?"
Miura looked in the direction Oikawa had gone. But he was nowhere to be seen.
And Oikawa hadn't lied to her. He really had finished the second half of Clannad. The only thing he'd been wavering over was the ending.
Should he give it a happy ending?
The setting involving the Light Orbs had already been introduced, so naturally, the ending should make use of them.
In truth, from the very beginning, Clannad had always been destined to have that ending.
The problem was that Oikawa couldn't help feeling that simply having Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa live happily ever after would be a little too conventional.
It wasn't that he wanted to force a bad ending just for the sake of having one. But if he wanted a light novel to still be talked about many years later, there probably had to be some regrets left behind.
Just like Shōhoku never won the championship in the end.
Just like Lelouch couldn't save Shirley.
Just like Ace never got to see Luffy fulfill his dream. Jiraiya never got to see Naruto become Hokage... Sometimes, it's the things characters never got to experience that stay with the audience the longest.
_ _ _
After returning home, Oikawa sat down in front of his computer and began thinking about how he should write the final passage.
After a long while, a sharp glint appeared in his eyes.
His fingers flew across the keyboard, moving so quickly they almost seemed to blur.
Before long, the final passage had been committed to the world.
{—The Light Orbs scattered throughout the town began to shine, and a miracle occurred. Tomoya opened his eyes to a familiar road. The world was quiet. The snow fell softly around him. Then he saw her. Nagisa Furukawa.
She stood ahead of him, just as she had on the day they first met. For a moment, Tomoya could hardly breathe. Every memory came rushing back—the school, the theater club, their life together, Ushio, and the unbearable grief that had followed.
He had been given another chance. But he also knew what that chance could cost her.
Tomoya lowered his eyes. His hands trembled at his sides. He wanted to run toward her. More than anything, he wanted to.
Instead, he stepped aside. Nagisa passed him without ever knowing his name.
Tomoya watched her disappear into the falling snow.
The miracle had given him the power to change their story. But he couldn't bear the possibility of putting Nagisa through the same fate again.—}
_ _ _
"Phew. Yeah... that'll do for now. I'll write the original happy ending as a side chapter later. That can be called giving light in their darkest times."
Clannad had finally come to an end. And for some reason, a faint sadness suddenly welled up inside Oikawa.
It was a feeling he'd never experienced while writing Your Lie in April.
He shook his head, pushing the melancholy from his mind.
After checking the manuscript for typos and making sure there weren't any major mistakes, Oikawa packaged the document and sent it to Chris Yamada's email.
After several months, Clannad had finally reached its conclusion.
Oikawa stretched, then opened Twitter and composed a post.
"I've been working nonstop for half a month, and I've finally typed the last period of Clannad. If everything goes smoothly, you'll all be able to read Volume Two during spring break.
...
At Full-Drive Bunko, Chris Yamada was just getting ready to leave for the day.
He tidied up his desk and checked his email one last time. And then he saw a message from Oikawa Toru.
The subject line was unmistakable: 'Clannad Volume Two.'
"No way. He finished it already?"
Chris was stunned.
A few days earlier, Oikawa had told him that Volume Two would be about 230,000 characters. He'd assumed the manuscript wouldn't arrive until at least the end of February.
He'd even already made plans to release Clannad Volume Two around the middle of March.
But now, it looked like they might be able to move the release date forward.
Of course, that all depended on the quality of Volume Two. Only after reading the manuscript could they finalize the publication schedule and all the other arrangements.
Chris made himself a cup of coffee and opened the document.
And when he finally came back to reality, it was already one in the morning.
"Phew..." Chris let out a long breath and slumped limply in his chair, staring blankly ahead.
He'd been emotionally slaughtered.
If Volume One of Clannad had been sweet, then Volume Two was just as brutal.
After everything Tomoya and Nagisa had been through, they still hadn't been able to end up together.
Old Bastard Copycat, you have no heart!
As a reader, Chris desperately wanted to curse Oikawa from one end of the earth to the other.
But as an editor, he couldn't help but admire the author.
How could someone write this well?
Oikawa's prose was almost like a paintbrush, sketching scenes directly in front of the reader's eyes. The moment you closed your eyes, those heartbreaking scenes seemed to replay themselves inside your head.
.
.
.