Reunion

Ten years after graduation, the Azumanga Daioh girls reunite...

 

Miss Kurosawa had everything planned to the last letter. It had been 10 years since she had seen the class for which she was holding a reunion, but this class left an impression on her like no other. One never forgets characters like Tomo, Osaka, Sakaki, and Chio-chan. They were meeting in a hotel in Tokyo and having a small party. Everyone in the class chipped in and they had a lavish buffet set up. Miss Kurosawa and Miss Yukari had everything ready as the guests arrived. Tomo was first, by herself. Tomo was wearing a modest blouse and a short skirt with shoes.

"Hey! It's me, Tomo-chan!" Tomo shouted as she entered. She gave Miss Yukari a friendly hug and parted with her. "Well, how are you doing these days?" Miss Kurosawa asked. "Oh, I'm doing great!" Tomo replied. At that point Sakaki entered with a young, tall man on her arm. He was in a suit and tie; she was in a business dress. Sakaki greeted both of them. "Hello there. Let me introduce my fiancée." She said. "This is Hamoto Fumatamo."

"Pleased to meet you." Miss Kurosawa said.

"It is an honor to meet Sakai-san's wise sensei." Hamoto said.

After hellos were said, another couple arrived. It was Osaka, along with a young man her age.

"Hey, how are all of you doing!?" Osaka asked.

"Osaka! Hi! So who's your friend here?" Miss Kurosawa asked.

"Oh, this is my boyfriend. His name is Satoshi." Osaka replied.

"It is an honor to meet you, sensei." Satoshi said.

Kagura entered with her lover then. Both looked very strong. She was in a nice one-piece dress and he was in a suit and tie. He was an athlete and well-toned.

"Hey! Kagura-san! Who's the cute guy?" Tomo asked.

"This is my boyfriend, Chifumo." Kagura replied. "We met at the Olympic training camp."

Kaorin entered next, alone. "After all this time, I'll finally get to profess my love to Sakaki-san!" She thought as she came in. Then she saw that Sakaki had a boyfriend with her. Her ego was crushed like a grape in a wine press. She turned pale and her jaw dropped. "Sakaki-san..." She said.

"Oh. Hello Karoin." Sakaki replied.

"Hey! Karoin made it!" Tomo said. "So who are we missing?"

"Let's see here... Yomi and Chio are all that's left..." Miss Yukari said. About 30 seconds later, Yomi arrived in a modest dress. She was alone. "Hello everyone." Yomi said.

"Yomi! Good to have you here." Miss Kurosawa said. "That only leaves Chio-chan."

They were about to start without Chio when an unfamiliar woman appeared. She was fairly tall, very attractive, and had short, straight red hair. She was dressed in a woman's business dress. Accompanying her was a bishonen Caucasian male in a suit and tie.

"Hey guys! I missed you! Did you miss me?" She said.

"Uh... who are you?" Miss Kurosawa asked.

"It's me, Chio Mihama! I may look a bit different than I used to, but it is me." Chio replied.

"That's Chio-chan?" A chorus of various girls said in unison.

"C'mon guys! I am Chio Mihama!" She said. Chio thought for a moment.

"Hmm... I know." Chio began to sing. "Cooking is so fine/ Cooking is so fine..."

"That's Chio-chan all right." Sakaki said.

"So who's the guy with you?" Miss Yukari asked.

"He's my boyfriend from America. His name is Ken." Chio replied.

"Konichwa, honored madam." He said to Miss Yukari in stilted Japanese with an American accent so thick one would need a chainsaw to cut it as he bowed to her. Miss Yukari was not amused by this.

"What do you mean 'honored' madam!? I'm not that old, you know!" She snapped at him.

"Please forgive him, Yukari-sensei. He is still learning about our culture." Chio said. He sweatdropped.

"I am most sorry about that." Ken added. "Please forgive me."

"Apology accepted." Miss Yukari said.

"Come on, let's dig in. We've got a lot to talk about here."

Lunch was served and everyone took some from the buffet. "All right! You got the fried octopus balls like I wanted." Chio said.

"You really like them that much?" Osaka asked.

"Don't get me wrong here - America is a great country." Chio said. "But the fried octopus balls there are horrible."

Ken merely smiled at her. "That may be so, but just try to find a decent Chicago-style pizza around here..." He said. He passed on the fried octopus balls.

"So what is America really like?" Miss Yukari asked.

"Well, I've just completed my residence at Harvard for a degree in medicine. I plan to specialize in cardiology." Chio said. "The society isn't as formal and Americans tend to show off their emotions a lot."

"We also are more interested in enjoying ourselves when focusing on life's challenges." Ken added. "Although I will say that in America, it's very rare for a guy to go up to a woman he's never met before and lift her skirt up like some guys tried to do to Chio earlier on the bus." Most everyone there sweatdropped.

"Uh, well, that doesn't usually happen around here either." Miss Kurosawa said.

"Really. It happened to Chio three times today. I had to smack those guys pretty hard to get them away from her too." Ken said.

"Well, what are you up to now, Sakaki-san?" Miss Yukari said, desperately trying to change the subject.

"I just finished my residency too. I am going to start working at a veterinary clinic in Tokyo next week." she said.

"I will be with her too." Hamoto added. "She seems to have a kinship to most animals."

"Wow! That is so cool!" Tomo replied.

"So what are you doing, Tomo-san?" Sakaki asked.

"Well, I became a policewoman. I now hand out parking tickets in Honshu." Tomo replied.

"Oh... is that exciting?" Osaka asked.

"You bet it is! Every day, you've got to hunt down the people who are parking illegally and stop 'em before they get away with it! You've got to be on your toes all the time!" Tomo replied.

"This girl's a nutcase." Ken thought. He deemed it more prudent to keep his opinion to himself.

"So what are you up to these days, Osaka?" Tomo asked Osaka.

"Well, I moved back to Osaka and got a job at this shopping arcade. It's called Abenobashi arcade." Osaka replied.

"She's the cutest perfume girl in the whole arcade!" Osaka's boyfriend Satoshi added.

"Ooh... sounds like fun!" Tomo said.

"This girl will get excited at anything." Ken thought. He chose wisely not to let his feelings about Tomo be known.

"Well, Kagura-san, we've all heard how you went on to join the Japanese Olympic team. Tell us about it." Miss Kurosawa said.

"It's hard work. You have to get up very early and start the day by running 20 miles before breakfast." Kagura said.

"There have been times when I felt like I couldn't make it, but Kagura-san helped me through it." Chifumo said.

"He's helped me through some rough spots too." Kagura added.

"Wow. It must be exciting running all those races." Osaka said.

"It's really hard work, actually. There's a lot of working out and running you have to do as well. It's very competitive too. It was only through a lot of training and work I earned a silver medal in the 400 meter dash at the last Olympics." Kagura said.

"Did you bring your medal? I'd like to see it." Chio asked.

"Oh yea, I brought it." Kagura replied. She passed around and showed it to everyone.

"That's really good Kagura-san. We're all proud of you!" A male voice said.

"Who said that?" Miss Sakaki asked.

"Hi. I hope I'm not interrupting things here." The man said. Kaorin's face was one of sheer terror. "That voice! Oh God - please don't let that be him." She said. To her horror she turned around and saw Mr. and Mrs. Kimura there.

"Hi there. Remember me? Mr. Kimura?" He said. Kaorin screamed her head off in terror as she realized it was the bane of her high school years standing opposite her.

"Kimura-san! What are you doing here!? You weren't invited!" Miss Yukari shouted at him in anger.

"Well, I heard about this and I just couldn't stay away!" Kimura replied.

"That's my Kimuran." Mrs. Kimura added.

"Frankly, you can have him." Kaorin muttered under her breath.

"But I promise I'll behave!" Mr. Kimura shouted. Everyone else except Mrs. Kimura sweatdropped.

"Mr. Kimura, leave at once! We do not want you here!" Miss Yukari shouted. Mr. Kimura ignored her and went up to Karoin.

"So did you miss me?" He asked her.

"Get away from me you creep!" Kaorin shouted. She was in tears now.

Miss Yukari had tolerated all she could of Mr. Kimura. She stood up, grabbed him by the ear and pulled him away from Karoin.

"Get your filthy mind away from them, you pervert!" She shouted.

"Ow! Ah!" Mr. Kimura said as Miss Yukari threw him onto the street. Mrs. Kimura merely stood there smiling.

"Oh well, I'd better go join my Kimuran." She said. She gave a polite smile, bowed and left.

"Good riddance." Yomi said. "How the heck did he find out about this?"

"I have no idea. But if someone told him about it, there will be no mercy." Karoin said.

"That's probably the strangest couple I've ever met." Chistomo said.

"He frightens me." Ken said. "He looked like one of those guys that tried to lift Chio's skirt earlier." Everyone got nervous at Ken's next words.

"I sure hope they're not typical of Japanese people." Ken said.

"No!" Everyone except Ken said at once, sweatdropping.

"Well, he's gone now. So where were we?" Miss Kurosawa asked.

"Kagura was telling us about being in the Olympics." Tomo said.

"Oh, right. It was fun being there. I had a number of hard races against some stiff competition." Kagura said. "The American that I lost to was trained from birth to run. She did nothing but run."

Well, lunch was eaten and everyone talked some more.

"So Yomi, what happened to you?" Tomo asked.

"Well... I went to college and I'm still there. I work as a teaching fellow at Sapporo university." Yomi lied. Truth was she flunked out her junior year and was unemployed. She had worked a few odd jobs but with the country in recession, it was hard to find something that wasn't adult-oriented. Yomi smiled.

"So what do you teach?" Tomo asked.

"Uhm... English." Yomi said nervously.

"Well, my teaching has paid off." Miss Yukari said.

After everyone had finished eating,

Kagura's boyfriend Chifumo pulled Kagura to the center of the floor.

"Everyone, I have a special announcement to make." He said. He got on his knees in front of Kagura.

"Kagura-san, we have known each other and dated for a few years now. I know in my heart that you are the only woman I could love." He produced a jewel box from his pocket and opened it up. Inside was a pretty-looking engagement ring.

"O-Kagura-san, will you marry me?" Chifumo asked her. Kagura's eyes

 went wide and she blushed.

"Oh my... Chifumo-san..." Kagura said, tears of joy welling up in her eyes. "Yes! I'll marry you!"

Chifumo put the ring on Kagura's hand and then stood up. The two embraced and kissed. Everyone around them applauded.

"Wow! Congratulations, Kagura-san! I wish you great fortune in your marriage!" Tomo said excitedly. Kagura and her boyfriend parted as Kagura smiled.

"All of you are invited to the wedding!" Kagura said.

"Oh, this a beautiful day!" A male voice said. Karoin screamed as she realized that the voice was that of Mr. Kimura.

"Kimura-bozu! Get out of here!" Miss Yukari shouted. She dragged him out by his ear again.

After she was done, she locked the door so that he couldn't reenter but they could leave.

"Nice to see some things never change... I guess." Chio said nervously.

"Well, that's one thing I wish would have changed." Karoin said, still shaken by the experience. Everyone pretty much agreed with her.

At the end of the day, Everyone gathered around as Miss Yukari set up a digital camera to take a picture. The girls gathered around and got ready for the picture. Hamoto took the picture of the girls together. Miss Yukari gathered everyone in the picture and set the timer on the camera. She took several pictures of various couples. However, when it was Karoin's turn, she screamed very loudly as the picture was taken. This was because Mr. Kimura somehow had reentered and was standing next to her.

"That does it!" Karoin shouted. She dragged Kimura out of the building and then gave him an uppercut, sending the bane of her high school flying into the distance. He vanished in a speck of light. Karoin returned and had her picture taken.

"I'll e-mail the results to everyone. Well, it was great seeing all of you again." Miss Yukari said.

"I had a great time - well, except for Mr. Kimura showing up." Osaka said.

"Same here." Everyone said simultaneously.

They all exchanged handshakes and hugs, and went away. Ken and Chio went to the bus stop.

"Well, you've met my friends, what did you think?" Chio asked.

"They're really good people... well, except for that one guy." Ken replied.

 

-End-