In The Times That Follow (an Azumanga Daioh fanfiction)

Chapter 1 - 13th Birthday Party At The Mansion

Release Date - Monday, July 25, 2022 (originally July 11)

March 6th. Or was it the 5th?

Despite her proficiency regarding puns and whatnot, Osaka wasn't the best at remembering exact dates. Whether it was because of genuine forgetfulness or because she just didn't usually pay attention to them, even she couldn't truly figure out. Regardless, her graduation from high school, and by extension her and her friends' end-of-year trip to Magical Land, hadn't been that long ago, in fact it hadn't even been a month.

However, the relative lack of time after graduation did not prevent her from dearly missing everyone she knew from school. Reminiscing the days past, she started to recall the names and general traits of all her friends: Tomo Takino, the rambunctious troublemaker of a girl, and her childhood friend Koyomi "Yomi" Mizuhara, Tomo's bookish, calmer counterpart. Now that she thought of it, the two reminded her of her two teachers Ms. Yukari and Ms. Kurosawa, in both personality and in their respective relationships. She also remembered Kaori, or as everyone called her, Kaolin, deeply in love with Sakaki, that much was obvious. Meanwhile, Sakaki herself was quite calm, like Yomi, but possessed a softer side despite being seen as cool, with an affinity towards cats. She even remembered Kagura, the sporty one of the bunch, rivals with Sakaki and extremely good at exercise, especially compared to her and Chiyo-chan. 

Oh, Chiyo-chan...

If Osaka had to choose one of her several high school classmates as her "best friend", it'd be her. The two had hung out together all the time throughout high school, sharing memories as well as things in common, especially their crappy performances in gym class.

If only we could see each other again..., Osaka thought to herself, Wait, didn't Chiyo-chan say something about a birthday party?!

Osaka rose out of her bed. Getting closer to the calendar in her room, she continued to recall what Chiyo-chan had told her.

"Hey Miss Osaka! I'm holding my final birthday party before leaving to America at my mansion! Wanna come?", Chiyo-chan had said to the older girl. Osaka remembered that she had also given her a flyer of sorts, and after noticing the current date (March 23, 2002) and the recalling of her memories listing the same, Osaka ventured through her room, trying to find the poster that Chiyo-chan had given her. Mercifully, the poster had been pretty easy for her to find, with it having been on her desk the entire time, somehow managing to go unnoticed for this long.

"Ah was right!", Osaka rejoiced, knowing that she would be able to see her friend again.

A few hours later, Osaka was finally ready to go to Chiyo-chan's party. Dressed in the sweater she always wore in special events taking place near the winter, she went to the door of her house to get her shoes and proceeded to open the door, really excited to see all her old friends again, even if it was for the last time, at least for a while.

"Hey Ayumu! Where are you going?," Osaka's mom, having recently grown a bit more concerned with her daughter's antics, blurted out as she noticed her daughter attempting to exit the house. 

"Ah was gonna go to Chiyo-chan's," an equally concerned Osaka answered, "Is there anything wrong?"

"Um, no, I just wanted to make sure you didn't do anything reckless", Osaka's mom, briefly lost in thought, replied back, "Anyways, can I take you?"

"Sure," An almost-annoyed Osaka told her mom.

Osaka's mom then went to find her car, and after doing so, managed to get Osaka in it, with the two driving off to Chiyo's house shortly after. Unfortunately for Osaka, most of her friends had actually managed to stop by and enjoy the party before she even got the chance.