Another Azumanga fic. This is just the first part of a much longer series,
and it's a bit more serious than you'd expect...C&C welcome.




AFTERMANGA DAIOH

2002 Studio ELL productions
based on 'Azumanga Daioh' by Azuma Kiyohiko
used without permission
not intended for sale or profit

Author's Foreword:

There's a lot of extrapolation ahead. Read that as rampant BSing stuff that
was never mentioned in the canon.


Volume One: Drift

===========================================================================


~hitotsu~ matamata, ayumu ya...


She woke slowly, the morning sun splashing gently against her pale face
through the curtains, rousing her from the depths of dreamy slumber and
urging her to greet the day.

Slowly, a pair of milky-brown eyes opened, blinking a few times in the
bright morning light. A wisp of black hair drifted across her face and was
ignored.

She sat up, still blinking away the tattered fragments of dreams, and swung
her feet over the edge of the bed. Yawning, she stood and crossed the room
to her closet. For a moment, she did nothing but stare vacantly into space.
Then, she reached out to take the school uniform which hung on a hook inside
the open closet door.

Just as she was removing it from the hanger, she blinked. "Oh yeah...I
forgot."

Carefully, she returned the uniform to its place hanging inside the door.

A full minute passed during which she didn't move. Then, still clad in her
pajamas, she shuffled over to the bed and crawled back under the covers.
"Oyasumi," she murmured.

Five minutes passed.

Slowly, a pair of milky-brown eyes opened, blinking a few times in the
bright morning light. A wisp of black hair drifted across her face and was
ignored.

She sat up, still blinking away the tattered fragments of dreams, and swung
her feet over the edge of the bed. Yawning, she stood and crossed the room
to her closet. For a moment, she did nothing but stare vacantly into space.
Then, she reached out to take the school uniform which hung on a hook inside
the open closet door.

Just as she was removing it from the hanger, she blinked. "Oh yeah...I
forgot."

Carefully, she returned the uniform to its place hanging inside the door.

A full minute passed during which she didn't move. Then, still clad in her
pajamas, she shuffled over to the bed and crawled back under the covers.
"Oyasumi," she murmured.

Three minutes passed.

A knock on the door made her open her eyes again. A muffled voice called to
her from the other side.

Yawning, she stood and crossed the room to her closet. For a moment, she did
nothing but stare vacantly into space. Then, she reached out to take the
school uniform which hung on a hook inside the open closet door.

Just as she was removing it from the hanger, she blinked. "Oh yeah...I
forgot."

Carefully, she returned the uniform to its place hanging inside the door.

A full minute passed during which she didn't move.

Finally, she stripped off her pajamas, pausing in front of the mirror for a
moment to look at her near-naked reflection. She then reached into the
closet, selected a simple lavender skirt and white top, and dressed.

A moment later, she realized she forgot to put on a bra.

Several seconds of debate later, she decided it didn't matter, stepped into
her house slippers, and headed downstairs for breakfast.

                       __().()__

"Mornin'," she called with a yawn as she sat at the table.

"Good morning, Ayumu-chan," Kasuga Usami greeted as she began laying the
serving dishes on the table. "Sleep well?"

"Un," the dark-haired teen replied. "Where's Tou-sa?"

"He had to leave early today," Usami said regretfully. "It's just us two
today. Unless you have plans."

Ayumu thought about it for a long moment. "I don't think I do," she said
slowly, as she began filling her rice bowl.

*You wouldn't remember if you did, most likely,* Usami thought, sighing
mentally. She loved her daughter dearly, but the girl was so
scatterbrained...

"I'm really through with school, huh?" Ayumu said after a long moment.

"Sou," her mother replied, deciding for the moment not to mention college.

"No more Yukari-sensei...no more Chiyo-chan and Tomo-chan and everyone else.
Nobody callin' me Osaka anymore. I'm just Ayumu again."

"Ee," Usami nodded, sipping her miso. She'd winced when she discovered her
daughter's nickname at school. She'd winced even harder when the grade
reports started coming home with simply 'Osaka' on them. However, it didn't
bother the girl, and her husband didn't seem to mind, so she'd let it slide.

They ate in silence for a time. Then, suddenly, "Kaa-sa, do you remember all
your friends from high school?"

Usami thought for a moment. "Most of them," she said. "I know who a lot of
them married, at least."

"Ah." Another moment of silence. "So you talk to them a lot and all, right?"

"Well...we write letters sometimes. I haven't really talked to any of them
in a while."

"Oh." Ayumu looked down at her rice, and picked a single grain up with her
chopsticks. "This is the first day of life after high school."

She popped the grain in her mouth.

"You know," Usami said, "your friends are probably going to be busy getting
ready to go to college soon. You might want to make sure they all let you
know how to keep in touch, so you don't lose track of them."

"That's a good idea," Ayumu said.

"And you can let them know where you'll be going to college, and that way
they can know they'll be able to find you too."

Ayumu didn't respond for a long moment, her gaze drifting blankly toward a
potted fern in the corner.

"Where'm I going to college again?" she asked.

Usami's face fell into her miso bowl with a splash. "Ayumu, can't you even
remember a thing like that?" she asked with an aggravated sigh.

The teen sighed. "Sorry, Kaa-sa. I should've paid more attention..."

"You really need to get your head together, Ayumu-chan. You can't be a spacy
kid anymore. You're a woman now. You have to face the world and your
responsibilities."

"Hai, hai..."

"Don't give me that, Ayumu," Usami groused. "I want to know you really
understand what I'm saying and that you'll really try."

"I'll try, Kaa-sa. I promise I will..."

*And I've heard that for how many years now?* Usami thought wearily, feeling
a headache coming on.

She loved her daughter dearly, but the girl was slowly driving her insane.

                       __().()__

With nothing important to do, Kasuga Ayumu left the house at around nine in
the morning to wander around town and have fun. A block from home, she
bought a cold juice, and sipped it as she walked along, enjoying the warm
sun and the mild breeze.

No more school. All those times were over. Now every day would be like this
morning, lazy and free and--

Oh. Wait. College.

She mulled that over as she walked, sipping her juice. College. Another
school. New friends? Would making new friends make her forget her old
friends? Would she like college? College didn't have some of the fun things
high school did. But didn't they say college had different kinds of fun
things?

A hand fell on her shoulder suddenly. She blinked, and turned. "Ah!
Nobuta-san!"

"Ohayou, Ayu-chan," a stocky, round-faced, cheerful man in casual clothes
and an apron greeted her. In his forties, Nobuta was a travelling vendor who
moved his yatai around every two years or so. Shortly before she finished
junior high, he'd been set up near her old neighborhood; she'd been somewhat
surprised to see him selling less than five blocks from her new home in
Tokyo near the start of senior year. "Nice day, isn't it?"

"Ah, hai!" she said, smiling cheerfully. Nobuta-san was such a nice man, and
made really tasty steamed pork buns. She could smell the first of the
morning's wares already, warm and ready in the small travelling kitchen.

With a hand on her shoulder, Nobuta guided the teenager behind the folding
screen he used to provide extra shade and an atmosphere of coziness for his
customers. His hand slipped from her shoulder to her chest, and gave her
breast a quick squeeze. "Ah, someone isn't wearing a bra today, I see."

Ayumu giggled. She always giggled when Nobuta-san squeezed her chest. And he
always gave her a free pork bun after. He was such a nice man.

Sitting at one of the wicker stools Nobuta kept around so his patrons could
sit and chat, Ayumu accepted a fresh pork bun, and blew on it a bit before
taking a bite. "Ookini," she said, then laughed happily. "Oishii!"

Nobuta smiled. "Glad I haven't lost my touch." He laughed softly at his own
joke. "So, what's new with you, Ayu-chan?"

Ayumu paused in her eating, and frowned slightly. "I'm out of high school
now. Kaa-sa says I need to get myself together and be ready for college.
I've been thinking about college today. I don't know anything about
college." She turned to face Nobuta directly. "Ne, did you go to college?"

The foodseller shook his head. "No, I didn't. I didn't even finish high
school, actually. I was too impatient. I wanted to be out on the road and
with people, and doing what I like." He gestured at his yatai. "I talked my
parents into this instead of college, and they agreed because I was a good
cook even then...of course, that was a long time ago. I've had a lot of time
to practice." He smiled. "So I'm probably not the best one to ask about
college."

"Oh."

"Why not ask your dad about it? I'm sure he went to college."

Ayumu's eyes widened. "Ah, sou ka! Tou-sa went to college. You're right!"
Laughing, she finished her snack and stood, smoothing out her skirt. "Thanks
for the snack!"

"Anytime, Ayu-chan," Nobuta said with a smile as the teen walked away.

                       __().()__

Noon found Kasuga Iyao at a small, tastefully-decorated sushi bar with an
old college classmate, sipping sake.

"I'm telling you, Kasuga-kun," the man said, brushing a hand through short,
stiff salt-and-pepper hair, "You're better off setting up an omiai and
trying to marry her off. She's not cut out for college."

Iyao sighed. The man sitting across from him, a man he'd once joined in
all-night drinking binges and spent many hours in karaoke bars with in their
college days, had gone on to become the dean of admissions of the very
college he and his wife hoped to enroll his daughter Ayumu in.

"I know she's a bit...undisciplined," Iyao admitted. "But she did pass the
entrance exams. She's not stupid. She's just..."

"I know, I know, you've told me. I've read her profile and her school
record." Draining his sake cup, the other man shook his head. "Do you
honestly think it's worth wasting the money to have her flunk out the first
year, though? Because that's what's going to happen."

Iyao's mouth tightened to a thin line. "If she could just get her act
together..."

"All I'm saying is maybe it'd be better for her to stay at home and crank
out some grandchildren for you than try to go out into the world by herself.
I'm not being cruel, I just don't see much of a future for her with her
state of mind. Do you?"

Iyao thought for a long moment, then sighed. "I admit you have a point. But
I'm not withdrawing her enrollment. Not yet."

"I understand. Take your time...maybe something will work out, who knows? I
just don't want to see an old friend in distress over something like this."

The two men shared one last drink, and left.

                       __().()__

Ayumu sat in a small cafe that she knew to have fairly good Western-style
dishes, the energy boost from her mid-morning snack having worn off at half
past noon. At a nearby table, she saw two people who looked to be slightly
older than her--college students?--with open books in front of them, writing
furiously in small notebooks, with frowns etched on their faces.

She thought again about college. It sounded like a lot of work. She was
tired of school. Not that she ever really did much in school, though she
thought it was nicer to sit out in the sun and do nothing rather than sit in
a stuffy room doing nothing.

Did she want to go to college? She knew she was expected to; everyone was
expected to. Her parents expected her to, and she had taken the exams and
passed them. But did she really want to go to college?

If not, then what?

A hamburger and French fries was placed before her by the waitress, and she
began to eat distractedly, mind consumed with thoughts about what she might
like to do other than college.

By the time she was finished eating, the only thing Ayumu was sure of was
that she had no idea what she wanted to do, and that the hamburger she'd
just eaten was making her stomach hurt.

And she was sleepy.

                       __().()__

Iyao came home from work early, and embraced his wife. "Where's Ayumu?" he
asked.

Usami shrugged. "Probably wandered into the park and dozed off, like she
does every time she goes off by herself for a day. You know her."

"Hai," Iyao said with a tired sigh.

"What's wrong, anata?"

"I was talking to an old friend today. You know, Marubishi-kun."

"The one who's dean of admissions?"

"That's him, yeah." Iyao took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his
nose. "He thinks we shouldn't bother sending Ayumu to college."

Usami frowned. "Anata, we talked about this. This is the last chance we have
to make her pull herself together."

"And if she doesn't? Does the child even have any ambitions at all?"

Usami was quiet for a long moment. Finally, she sighed. "I don't think she
does, not really."

"Marubishi thinks we'd be better off setting up an omiai for her."

At that, Iyao's wife frowned. "A-na-ta..." she said dangerously.

"Well, what are we supposed to do? Let her go through life daydreaming and
dozing off and eating and doing nothing at all? Usami, the girl needs a
focus."

"And college will be that focus!"

"Like high school was? Or junior high?"

Silence.

"But..."

"Maybe having a family of her own will change her," Iyao said gently. "It
really is the last resort. Something's got to give, Usami-chan."

Usami stood with her head bowed, tears brimming in her eyes. "I just hate
that it's come to the point where we're ready to pawn her off on some
foolish boy..."

Iyao embraced his wife, and no more words were said for a long time.

Upstairs, Ayumu sat in her room, back against the wall. Her eyes, normally
vacant and gazing off into dreams, were unusually sharp and clear.

"Omiai," she murmured. "They're giving up on me."

She silently undressed and crawled into bed. She suddenly felt very tired.



-------------------------------------------

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