Drums of a Different Song

Author's Note

I hope you enjoyed this fanfiction because I had a lot of fun writing it.

I watched the original twelve episode series of School Days about a month ago. I have never played the dating sims and I don't really plan to. Upon watching it, I already had a vague idea of what I was getting in to. I had seen clips of the show, including its alternate endings, in some of the Anime Vines that I watched and was curious to see what conjured these disturbing scenes of these two girls killing each other. So I knew that at some point, someone was going to die, but I still had no idea what the storyline was about.

Suffice to say, I did not like it and nor do I plan to watch the series again as a leisure. It broke my heart to see this innocent girl get stepped on, lied to, and abused over and over. It made my blood boil, watching her mind get destroyed as the person she loved betrayed her, and the people associated with him only attacked her and encouraged him. The rape scene about did it for me, if you couldn't tell from the fanfiction. While the ending was somewhat satisfying, it was too sad and disturbing.

When I finished the series, I had to watch something more positive to get my mind off things, because it was just one of those stories you finish and think, "Well that was dark." I kept conjuring images and scenes of how things could have gone better. I thought to myself, "What if Eiichi was there?" I decided to have some fun, so I set to work with my pencil, word software and my imagination to "play God" and create the happy ending this girl deserved.

I originally gave this fanfic a goofy title fashioned after a line I heard Dana Carvey say in an interview. The title was "I fixed your 'School Days' with a butter knife, it'll never break down again." Of course, in the original quote, Carvey was talking about a stove. But one day I woke up with a song I had not heard since my early childhood, playing in my head, and it gave me the idea for another scene. The name of the song is "The Mummer's Dance" by Loreena McKennitt, and while listening to it, I noticed the drum style was very similar to the chilling track "Kanashimi no Mukoue", from when Kotonoha brought the original series to a bloody end. So I decided to retitle my version of the story accordingly.

About Eiichi

Eiichi is an original character creation of mine that I am currently using in a manga series I'm writing. I threw Eiichi into the story to give Kotonoha a compadre, a brother in arms, a comrade in the daily war of life and the harsh battles she would face. To put someone in her corner, because she fought this pretty much on her own. She had no one to talk to about her grievances, though everyone else had their friends and connections that they took for granted. Eiichi was a sounding board for Kotonoha's troubles. I think that's what she needed most, a kind friend who would listen to her. Sekai was like that for a short time, but we all know how that turned out. So I guess Eiichi was kind of like Sekai's replacement after she failed.

I did not originally plan for Eiichi and Kotonoha to become lovers, but the more scene ideas that kept occurring in my head, the closer these two became. He's a loner, just like her, except he's got teeth and he uses them. He teaches Kotonoha to use hers as well and this is how they build each other up.

I thought Eiichi was like the Max Payne or John McClain to Kotonoha's dark side, because it seemed no matter what her inner darkness, or life itself, threw at him, he just kept coming. He might look like shit at the end of the day, but he gets the job done.

I understand I went pretty supernatural with this, even though the original story had no supernatural activity. And I understand I probably didn't have to do that, but it worked out so well, I just went with it. Besides, Eiichi is a pretty supernatural character. Throwing him into the mix gave the story a subtle "Green Mile", "Hearts in Atlanta" feel, in my opinion.

In the premonition that Eiichi has, I personify Kotonoha's insanity and give it an existence and a goal. I also use the dream to present Eiichi with his goal and to create a connection between him and the darkness inside Kotonoha. Will he ever completely separate the darkness from Kotonoha, I doubt it, but when he can finally get her to look at her situation in a rational light, she does the rest. As soon as she tells Makoto she no longer wants to be with him, that pretty much drains all the power from the id personality inside her (I'm not that much in to Freud, but I think he had some good points). This entire time it's been feeding off her dependence on Makoto and his approval, and when she starts acting on her own will, it no longer becomes a problem and grows weak. The darkness still resides in her, like it does in all of us, and it may even say a thing or two to Eiichi while they're spending the rest of their lives together, but it is just another one of those lifelong struggles, like one of those scars we have to live with, the cross we must bear.

About Kotonoha

It was very difficult to have Kotonoha involved in this fanfic without making some altercations to her character. To a certain point, she was not used all that much in the series. It seemed to be mainly about Makoto getting some, Sekai deceiving and being deceived, and what everyone else was doing, and then Kotonoha just standing on the sideline watching it all unfold until she couldn't take anymore. She did not have much dialogue, so all I could really make of her was that she was an introvert with the possible makings of avoidant personality disorder. She had a pure heart, was elegant and intelligent, but at a point in the series she developed a borderline personality disorder, which created her obsession for Makoto. Even with all of these features, she was still a pretty 2D character, like almost every character in anime, no pun intended.

There was only so much I could make of her, so I added some things to her character and personality that I could use, and I hope it did not throw you off while reading or disappoint you. I wanted her to develop into a much stronger person near the end of the story, and I believe I accomplished that successfully, though I hope I did not make her so strong in the last chapter that she seemed like a completely different person.

In conclusion, I enjoyed writing this, and it helped me to build Eiichi's character a little more, and I can't wait to hear your opinions and critiques.

Soundtrack:

"Fields of Utopia" by Paul Wardingham - Eiichi's 'Inner Sight' and Kotonoha's Happy Place

"Fear" by Black Label Society - I could definitely see this being a background track for all the horrible things that happened to Kotonoha. When the guitar solo kicks in, that's when blood starts being shed.

"Sadhbh Ni Bhruineallaigh" by Solas - This song just takes me to a welcoming place where I'm with family and friends, so to me, it fit perfectly.

"Pieces of the Night" by Gin Blossoms

"Still" by Geto Boys

"Hustle Till I D.I.E." by Prominent Talent - A really good 'pick yourself up and keep moving' song.

"Out of the Blue" by Van Larkins - Such a beautiful song for a surprise kiss from Kotonoha.

"The Mummers Dance" by Loreena McKennitt

"Jacob's Latter" by Chimp Spanner - I listened to this song for most of the duration in writing the earlier chapters. I can attach a scene to almost every part of it.

"Grady Fernando Comes to Town" by Solas - This made for a good date night song for Koto and Eiichi, but I also picture them getting ready to leave on vacation with friends to it as well.

"A Sailor's Life" by Solas - I just threw this in because I liked the fiddle riff.

"Final Blu" by Sergio Altamura

"Bridge Over Troubled Waters" by Black Label Society (Simon & Garfunkel cover) - This song really fits this story entirely. Koto and Eiichi both led each other to a better life and a brighter future together.