CLANNAD, Episode 12

Kotomi is having fun with everyone and they form quite a solid group. An unexpected event will make Kotomi get through her painful past once again.

Kotomi gives back the violin to the music club member. After some discussion, Kotomi uses her usual “introduction/friend” speech. The music club member introduces herself as Nishina Rie. Everyone was fine, and on their way out, Kotomi sheds a tear, but she doesn’t understand why.

Nagisa and Tomoya are on their way to school and they want to check Kotomi. As they walk around her class, they see her with two girls who are asking her for some math problems. As they are praising Kotomi, someone mentioned about her recital and things are quite merry. it looks like she is more natural with other people, which please the couple.

At the drama club, Kyou is doing a BIG lecture about the boke/tsukkomi to Kotomi. Kyou manages to demonstrate a flawless tsukkomi performance, though she is mercilessly in her evaluation of Kotomi’s skills.

While Nagisa and Ryou try to “defend” kotomi, Kyou dispose them quite easely with her arguments. However, Kotomi is surprisingly defying Kyou’s points, and believe she is able to pull out nice gags.

She begins to use some weird “gag” she saw at the TV which makes herself almost laughing out loud, but DULL for the rest. Kyou can’t help but feels hopeless, while tomoya tries to comfort her (“don’t cry” !).

Kotomi prepared a full lunch for everyone.
Ryou asks what Kotomi is doing on her free time, but as expected she only reads books. Tomoya admits he is just wasting time in Youhei’s room, while Nagisa stays at home. Kyou is desperate to see such uninteresting ways to spend their youth. Kyou then sets a group outing for tomorrow.

Everyone then goes on trip in downtown. Tomoya is a bit embarassed as he is the lone male, and asks Kyou if he can get Youhei to tag along with everyone. Of course, Kyou says they have enough in their “stupidity quota with one person already”. usual snarky comments like “so you are the idiot?” and sarcasm “nah, I was talking about you, ahaha!”. (they are shopping, having good time etc)
Meanwhile, Ryou mentions of Kotomi’s birthday, which will take place next saturday.

around a UFO catcher, Kyou is… VERY insistent to get a… completely HUGE anteater (Kanon much? ^^).
Nagisa, Ryou and Tomoya sure think it isn’t working, while there is quite a mob around, curious of this tenacity.

Kyou called the storekeeper, ranting about the placement of such doll. After a little tweek, everything is alright. Kyou is back on the challenge, but it seems that Nagisa and Ryou aren’t exactly confident, especially that they are using up Tomoya’s money.

Suddenly… Fuko makes her entrance (she still wears her freshman uniform and her party cap). It looks like none of them can recognize her, but Fuko is using a very “convincing” speech. Tomoya feels her a bit familiar, and enters in the “game” and gives her a coin.

She is using quite skillfully the ufo catcher but…

She aimed for the Star stuffed toy !
Tomoya comments how it isn’t a starfish but a star. Despite this blunder, Fuuko keeps her high spirits and tells them she will help them in the future. She then walks off, leaving the group quite clueless.

At 6 o’clock, the group is sitting on a bench, but they weren’t able to find a good gift for Kotomi. They are eating icecream and they notice the “tail” of a aircraft. Tomoya notices kotomi’s silence and she didn’t touch her icecream at all.

At night, the 3 genki girls greet goodbye to Tomoya and Kotomi. As the duo is walking, Kotomi gives to Tomoya a blue book.
Suddenly, Kotomi notices “that black coat guy”. Tomoya realizes this, but Kotomi says again “bad person”, grabs tomoya and forces a sortie.
They were able to hide themselves around some bushes, and the man walks off. Tomoya wonders what it is about that man, but kotomi doesn’t answer.

In a unknown room, some purp flames rage around, in front of a bunny and a deer. A girl is crying, while a young boy is standing in front of her… presumbly to protect her from the flames. Suddenly, a man is dashing towards them, removes his coat and tries to extinguish the flames like this. He then says “something” to the boy. Tomoya suddenly wakes up from this dream. He is quite sweaty.

Ryou enters in a bus, while tomoya is on his way to school, yawning, still puzzled by this dream.
Suddenly, someone covers his eyes with her hands, and he also feels her chest, which embarass him. Kotomi uses the usual “who is it?”. Tomoya panicks a bit, and mentions about the chest. Of course kotomi is puzzled about the word, and he resumes “ichinose kotomi” but mentions the breasts.
Kotomi finally realizes that and steps back, very embarassed. Tomoya wonders who “tought” her that, and it was kyou, who victoriously claims it is her deed!

Suddenly, Nagisa dashes towards them, calling out Kyou. She is exhausted, and asks if Ryou took the bus today. Kyou confirms it, Nagisa asks if she is sure she took the bus as she usually do, and kyou wonders what happened. Nagisa explained there is a car accident involving a bus. Nagisa witnessed the accident, and feels the worst for Ryou. Kyou is shocked and quickly tries to make her way to the accident area. As they run, Kotomi didn’t move and is quite affected by this.

Kyou, Nagisa and Tomoya arrived at the site, with tons of people around. The accident looks very impressive: the bus is completely on its side, and the firemen are already on it. Kyou panicks and calls out Ryou, but the later is next to her, wondering what it is going on. Everyone was quite worried, and it looks like Ryou took the bust just after this one.Nagisa is relieved, as no one was hurt it seems. Kyou let a long relief breath and hugs Ryou. Nagisa apologizes for the fright, but Tomoya tells her it is a relief, as nothing happened.

Suddenly, they heard something falling and it is kotomi’s bag. They are trying to tell her that Ryou is fine, but Kotomi looks extremely shocked by the sight of the accident. She then collapses on her knees, breathless.

She then screams and cries out, and collapses completely on her side (mumbling something about being a good girl). The group rushes towards her and they are tyring to figure what is going on, but Kotomi is in complete panic and shock and keeps screaming. Kyou asks a call for ambulance, but they rather took her to the infirmary room of the school.

At school, Kyou has some information and it seems that Kotomi left school early. Tomoya is worried about that considering her state back then. The girls asked that as well to the nurse, but they couldn’t go beyond because of some “privacy” matter. Tomoya and Kyou ask to kotomi’s homeroom teacher about kotomi and “privacy”, but of course, the teacher cannot tell them, as it would defeat the privacy matter. she then gives them Kotomi’s address.

The group is back in the drama club room. Ryou thinks it is because that Kotomi believed Ryou was in that accident that she panicked. Nagisa says it is her fault, because she blurted that. Tomoya assures her it isn’t. Meanwhile, Kyou wonders if they are really her friends as they couldn’t support her.
The group pays a visit to her house, but it looks like no one is there, but Tomoya has a weird look as he is looking at the house and its garden. As they were going to go back home, Tomoya is too bugged by this feeling and goes back, asking them to go back home already.

Tomoya notices the same man, and uses a hostile stance. However, this time, the man is friendly and calmly explaining his actions which dampen quickly Tomoya’s suspicions. The man rung the bell of the house but no one came, so he was walking around to determine if someone was in.
Tomoya asks him who he is and he introduces himself as an acquaintance of her parents, a co worker of their lab. As result, he knew Kotomi since she was little.
Due of this mention, Tomoya wonders if he was trying to get contact with her parents. Because of that, the man realizes that Tomoya ignores of something. As Kotomi didn’t told Tomoya about that matter, it would bypass her privacy matter.
Tomoya then change the subject about Kotomi’s parents and wonder about their work, as they seem to be quite infamous. Both are sitting on a bench and the man begins to explain about the “hidden world”, the realm which cannot be sensed by humans, and this world has been discovered by Kotomi’s parents.
He can’t exactly tell more about it and then wonders what Kotomi saidTomoya about him. Tomoya tells him Kotomi considers him a bad person, which he and his colleagues cannot help with it. He then asks Tomoya who he is for kotomi, a classmate maybe. Tomoya says it isn’t from the same class, but they are friends indeed. The man then stands up and asks a favor to Tomoya: telling Kotomi that “they” certainly can’t expect her to forgive them, but they still regret what happened during “that” day. He then walks off.

Tomoya is back at the house and he certainly has a weird lingering feeling. He then notices a black butterfly around and decides to follow it. As he is taking a detour of the house, he suddenly have flashback of “old bright days” of the house and its garden, along with the “the day before yesterday, i saw a rabbit” line.
Tomoya realizes something, and begins to enters in the house via the window, as if everything was familiar to him.

Kotomi’s lines are resonating, and he makes his way upstairs until he opens Kotomi’s room.
She is kneeling down, while her room is completely covered by newspaper articles on the wall and floor. Tomoya reads one of them, about a plane crash involving her parents.

Tomoya is shocked and remembers of her parents, along with Kotomi’s and his shadow, but also a scene where kotomi is crying in a burning room. Tomoya feels they met already each other, when they were kids.

Preview: