A pseudo-pseudo Suzu route (completed)

[griffon8]

FUCK YOU AND YOUR DAMNED NARCOLEPTICS GIVING ME WHAT MY MOTHER MUST FEEL WHEN SHE WATCHES THOSE TERRIBLE DAYTIME SOAPS ON CBS

"Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?"

[Roamin12]

Very good chapter.

You have not enough praises.
You have not enough praises.
You have not enough praises.
You have not enough praises.
You must construct additional Altars to Scissorlips.

^This

[Goliath548]

Just read the whole thing in one sitting.

Phenomenal character development andIi really liked the change of perspective to Miki to see Suzu's problems through another person's eyes.

Waiting with baited breath for an update

[Scissorlips]

"...down to the quite town below."

I'm not sure I would share all my secrets with someone who is likely to pass them on to my parents...

Also, the order of your links (next, previous, first) feels a bit odd. Usually it would be the other way around.

Thanks for catching that one. And the links are ordered with people catching up on the story in mind. "First" doesn't even really need to be there I would say, I probably get more use out of it than anyone else. I still like it that way though.

I lol'd at the noodle incident

Just read the whole thing in one sitting.

Phenomenal character development andIi really liked the change of perspective to Miki to see Suzu's problems through another person's eyes.

Waiting with baited breath for an update

Thank you very much! I'm sorry to keep you and everyone else waiting. I've sort of settled into a once a week updating schedule, the chapters have generally gotten longer than they were in the beginning. I remember when I started this, I thought that 4,000 words looked like a book on pastebin, haha. And here I am with a little over 10,000 to show. Oh well.

Hello everyone. It's almost 8 AM, we need to stop meeting like this. But here's some more things to read, I hope you enjoy them.

[Scissorlips]

Finally Moving


Huh.

That cloud looks like a bunny. Or no, a viking ship. I squint up at the blinding, endless blue of the sky above me, filled with viking bunnies, that's a thing now. I feel the cool grass on my back, and know that I must have fallen asleep somewhere on my way to school.

Right, no, that's right. Miki had needed to head out early for something today. Sure, go ahead, I told her, I'll be fine. It's something as simple as walking to class in the morning. No big deal, I'm a big girl.

I can't stop myself from groaning in frustration.


It's been a few days since my make-up date with Hisao. All we ended up doing was having lunch--breakfast for me--at the Shanghai, and I had then proceeded to pass the next few hours asleep while Hisao had waited patiently and chatted with Yuuko. I remember apologizing when I woke up, but he just made some joke about finally having enough time to track down and study the menus there, I knew we should have gone to the Beijing. The service might suck sometimes--that's Lezard--but the food is always good--that's Taro!--and they have their menus in plain sight. That just seems like a normal thing for a restaurant to do. For the Shangai to be such a strange place and still stay open, it must be owned by some mysterious billionaire who can afford to play fast and loose with standard business practices or something.

We had paid and then slogged back up the hill, and Hisao had walked me back to my room. Nothing too exciting, no roller coasters, no fireworks, but it was a start. We had parted ways outside my door, I didn't want him to see my messy room just yet. It's not that I'm ashamed of the clutter, it's just... it's just, I spend so much time there, and the objects I keep scattered across my carpet are a safety net sure, but they're also a constant reminder of my condition. When I'm with Hisao, when we're holding hands, it feels easier to forget about all that and just focus on being a normal, stupid teenage girl, and do things like eat out with a cute boy. And, and hug as we say goodbye in the hallway in front of my room, that was pretty nice too. In fact, I wish I could bottle up that feeling, his arms around me, the smell of his clothes and his hair and his skin, and the warmth of his body next to mine. I think, if I was able to distill the purest essence of that moment somehow and mass produce it, I could make a pretty huge fortune. And then I could be the one operating strange little small town restaurants. But mine would totally be a front, hiding the secret entrance to the Stumpcave.

Oh my god. I sit up in the grass, lightning having just struck my brain. That explains everything!

EVERYTHING.

I always knew it was weird that Yuuko worked as a waitress when she was obviously so uncomfortable dealing with people. Geez, it all... it all makes...

I slowly sink back onto the trimmed lawn of the school grounds. I'm... not as awake as I thought I was. No, I'm not quite ready for such excitement. But oh man, Yuuko, I know your secret. I might just have to use this for some blackmail later, I'm still waiting for that Herman Melville collection in Japanese. I had only gotten about ten pages into Moby Dick before the idea of using it as a paperweight became more attractive than actually reading it, but one of the other girls in the literature club had recommended that I check out one of his short stories. “Bartleby, the Scrivener”, it was called.

I return to staring back up at the clouds high above me. Now they look like whales and angry men with harpoons, and confused, sad little nineteenth century clerks. That's what the short story had been about, the main character--well, actually, it had a narrator that never really got introduced and I don't think he was ever called by name, that was interesting. But the main character was Bartleby, a young man who'd shown up for his new job of copying law documents by hand--I couldn't even imagine doing something like that. And then, and then after that, he'd just started fading away. Like, he'd stopped really caring about anything, any time the narrator asked him to do something, he would always respond with “I would prefer not to”.

At the end of the story, Bartleby had died, because he simply preferred not to be in the world anymore. Something about that had really stuck with me, how he cared just enough to voice dissent but not enough to really change anything. Even though he was still fairly young, he had just seen enough, felt enough, not like he was content and had had his fill of the world, more like...

More like something inside him had already died, and the rest of him was just in the process of catching up.

If I said that resonated with me somehow, it would sound dramatic. I wasn't in any danger of following in Bartleby's footsteps though, it turns out that “I would prefer not to” is even less effective for getting out of things in real life than it is in books. But I did really enjoy the story for one reason or another, and it made me want to give the author another chance, to see if maybe there might be more stories by Melville that were worth looking into. So now I'm just waiting on Yuuko to get that shipment in. Maybe she has it stashed somewhere in her secret base underneath the Shanghai?


I should... I should go check today, maybe those books have arrived. Oh... but I'd probably have to get to class first, what time is it? How long was I asleep? I don't feel strong enough to try getting up. I can still hear the voices of other students on the grounds, so I don't think class has started yet.

I roll my head from side to side, trying to see how many people are still around. I don't need a hand or anything, I just need a little more time to wake up. Yeah. I'll, I'll get there. I can make it. I peer at the blue sky above me one more time. My vision is clouded--well there's those too, but right now what bothers me are the little smudges that float in front of my eyes. Every time I try to focus on one, it skims away, like it's shy. What the heck are these things called? And they're not alone, the sky is filled with tiny little dots of color, like when you get too close to a TV screen.

Ugh. The sight brings a frown to my face, I'm eighteen years old, am I really falling apart so soon? This is as depressing as the aching in my knee and the scabs and scratches and bruises I forget exist until something happens to remind me, like showering every morning. Or lying in the grass and thinking too much, I guess.

I'm just a kid. I'm barely out the gate.

Am I really breaking down already?


“Hello, is someone there?” A gentle voice punctures the now warm haze that had descended into my mind, I blink away the floating things and tiny dots.

“Hello?” Someone, a girl's voice, calls again. I turn my head to see some sort of long, silver object slowly swinging back and forth through the grass, getting closer. It looks like a metal detector, I wonder if there's any buried treasure here at Yamaku? I know it was originally--

The device, whatever it is, hits me square in the forehead. It doesn't really hurt, judging from the weight of the impact it's actually hollow, but it's enough to wake me up.

“Ow, what the--”

“Oh, I'm very sorry.” The girl says. “Are you all right?”

I decide that the grass is no longer safe for people like me. Finding sudden strength, I climb to my feet, taking in the sight of the person in front of me. Um, she's huge. Almost a head taller than me, with long, blonde hair that frames her delicate, refined features. She gives a polite smile, her eyes closed, and I realize that I was just assaulted with a cane. Let's see, a giant, with a dignified manner of speaking, who uses a cane. This must be... uh... dang, Miki would get this one in a heartbeat, but I don't really know that many students in the other third year classes very well, so I can't remember. Oh well.

“I'm fine, really. I was just taking a nap.” I respond. I'm pretty sure she's blind, so I rub my forehead in the spot where I'd been hit.

“Ah. Well, class will be beginning soon, so maybe it's for the best.” The girl continues smiling, opening her eyes to look at me--or in my direction anyway, her pupils are faded and cloudy, and the way her gaze settles, unfocused, on the distance behind me confirms my suspicions. Yep, she's blind all right. Suzu Suzuki, master detective.

“Is it that late already?” I ask, and she even manages to shrug gracefully, I guess not being able to see would make keeping track of the time difficult. I pull out my phone to check the clock, and sure enough, we only have ten more minutes to get to class. I also notice that there's a new message from Miki.

Subject: WAKE UP

Body: GAYLORD

Well that was helpful.

“I guess I'd better go, the bell is going to ring soon.” I say. The girl nods.

“Are you a third year? If so, I'm in class 3-2, we could walk together.” She gestures in the direction of the main building. For a moment I wonder how the heck she knows where it is, but then realize that she's probably been here long enough to know the layout of the whole school by now.

“I'm in 3-3, actually.” I nod back, but realize that it's kind of pointless. Now I'm wondering if it's okay to make faces at blind people. I wouldn't really mean them for her, it would just be like practicing for when you use them on real people. No wait, I don't mean like, real people. Blind people are real. Unless I'm still asleep, but I doubt that.

Where was I going with this?

“Oh, you're in Hanako's class?” The girl asks. She begins walking towards the school, and I fall into step beside her. I have to wonder what such a ladylike person is doing out here so soon before class starts, maybe mornings aren't her specialty. That's okay, mornings aren't... afternoons aren't...

I frown as I realize that I don't really have a specialty. I can stay up late like a pro sometimes though, go team insomnia. We don't have a mascot because everyone is too busy wishing they could just go the hell to sleep instead of thinking up stupid things like mascots.

Wait, weren't we talking about something? Oh right, Ikezawa.

“You know Hanako?” I ask. Actually, the thought of the shy, reclusive girl and this blonde amazonian together does ring a few bells.

“I do indeed. We're quite close, we often eat lunch together.”

“Oh, you're... that makes you Lilly Satou, right?”

“That's correct.” The girl nods, smiling gently. “And may I ask your name?”

“I'm Suzu. Suzu Suzuki.” I find myself smiling back, even if she can't see it. Lilly looks thoughtful for a moment, before slowly nodding.

“Suzuki... ah, I believe I've heard that name before.”

A silence hangs between us as we enter the lobby. I hold the door open for her, which she confirms with a few taps of her cane before nodding in appreciation.

I guess that would make sense. After last year, a good number of people might still remember my name. Or at least, my last name. I begin to get that twisting feeling inside, when you start to get pulled back towards memories that you wish you didn't have anymore, that you wish you never had to begin with. Now I wish I could have just slept through the bell, I don't want to remem--

“That name is familiar to me because I believe that would make you the one dating Hisao Nakai, is that correct?” Lilly's voice penetrates the dark cloud that had begun to strangle my mood.

I almost trip on the next stair. That wasn't what I was expecting, I guess the cat's out of the bag by now. Who puts cats in bags anyway?

“Y-yeah,” I reply. I can feel my face getting a little hot, and for the moment I'm glad that she can't see it. “That's me.”

It feels really, really good to say that for some reason. The warm feeling that's spreading through my chest stems from another source though. I'm so happy to have been wrong. I'm so happy that she remembers me for a different reason, for any other reason.

Lilly raises one hand to her face and lets out a gentle laugh.

“My my, there's no need to sound so embarrassed.” Did I sound embarrassed? I didn't think I did. “You're quite the lucky girl.” She continues. I can only manage a shaky laugh of my own in reply, and I'm sure if I didn’t sound embarrassed before, I do now. This is a weird part of “girl talk” that I'm not used to. And I don't really remember the last time anyone called me lucky or anything close to it.

We finally reach the third floor, and I'm grateful for a reason to part ways, if only to bring a swift end to this conversation. Lilly excuses herself and, with a courteous inclination of her head, begins to walk down the hallway towards her classroom.

“I'll tell Hanako you said hello.” I call after her, catching myself beginning to wave. Eh, screw it, I'll wave anyway.

Lilly turns, smiling warmly. “Please do. Goodbye, Miss Suzuki. Thank you for the company.”

“Sure.” I can't help but be amazed at how different she is from my usual morning companion. Miki would probably kill herself or someone nearby if she had to walk to school with someone so laid-back. I can appreciate Lilly's manners, but something about her is so serene, so relaxing... it threatens to put me to sleep. And I have more than enough of that. Sleep is bad. Sleep is the enemy. I turn to the door of my own classroom. Attack!


I enter class 3-3 with barely a minute to spare. Just about everyone else is already here and settled in their seats, although our teacher still hasn't shown up yet. Hisao looks up at me, that warm feeling in my chest doubles in intensity.

Hi, I want to say. Hi, hi, hi. But the bell is about to ring, and I feel the front lines in my war against fatigue begin to be overrun. Should have bought more war bonds.

I flash Hisao my “Good morning, can I go back to sleep yet?” smile, and he fires back a grin that says “Two sugars, no cream, please”. No, wait, I, I think I misdecoded that one. I would love to talk to him right now, and I still need to deliver Lilly's greeting to Hanako, but she's all the way in the back of the class... and my desk looks like the most comfy thing I've ever seen...

I sink into my chair, set my bag down on my desk, and then immediately re-purpose it as a makeshift pillow. Yesss, truly this is the desk of the gods, I slump forward onto it while pressing my face into my bag. It feels like it's made out of velvet. Cold, wooden velvet, but still. It's soft, or at least I can pretend it is. It'll work. It'll do the job.

Amid the few spatters of conversation going on around the class, I hear Miki trying to get my attention.

“There you are, I wasn't sure if you were gonna make it for a minute.” She grins. “Did you get my message?”

“Yeah.” I slowly turn my head towards her. “I got it, it but I don't think... I don't think I'm gonna make it.”

Miki frowns, her expression more apologetic than irritated. The pity thing again, I don't know. I wish I could be up and awake and ready to face the day, but that still doesn't mean she needs to look at me like that. It's okay, right? I'm okay. Everything will be okay. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to be sad over. God, I need a nap. The sensation of fatigue feels like a pair of sunglasses being pressed into my face, a pulling behind my eyes.

The bell begins to ring, and before it finishes Mutou bursts through the door.

“Good morning everyone.” Our teacher says, acting as if he'd been here the entire time.

“I'm not gonna make it.” I mumble to my best friend. Miki sighs.

“I'll take notes for you again.” She says. I nod, each movement of my head pressing me further into my bag. So comfy captain, there's no escape. No, fire everything! It's useless...

“Thanks.” My voice is barely a whisper now. Miki smiles at me encouragingly.

“Don't mention it. See you soon, Suzu.”

“Yeah...” I close my eyes, and I know I won't be opening them again for a while. I would prefer not to feel like I desperately need a nap just as the day is beginning. I wouldn't even mind listening to Mutou drone on about the day's announcements. I just want to be awake, like everyone else.

I would prefer not to sleep. But I do.



I sleep through most of my morning classes and almost miss lunch break, but wake up to find my arms slung over a pair of shoulders, one on each side of me. Hisao and Miki team up to get me into one of the elevators, and we ride in style the rest of the way to the cafeteria. I end up buying two lunches, the first one, um, didn't make it back to the table. One of these days I'm going to be like “oh man, I know something bad is going to happen, because I haven't fallen asleep all day and everything is just going too good”. I'd really like to have a day like that, instead of one like this, where it's almost like having a strobe light go off and on in my head, except instead of dancing or something like that, I'm doing boring things. Day to day things. Living, one tiny slice of life at a time.

It could be worse though. I don't see a single skeleton behind my eyes, I don't play a single board game. I fight crime during history class, I chill out with Sir Isaac Newton during physics class, eating apples. Haha, home economics is spent dreaming of picking out maid outfits for Miki, because she works in my mansion. And, um, I live with Hisao.

Hisao... he's been showing up in my dreams more and more often lately, and I can't say I mind at all. None of them have been as real, as amazing or as devastating as that dream of the amusement park and fireworks, but I've still been enjoying them. I think it's only a matter of time before he starts appearing in spandex and a mask, I might just be looking forward to it. What would Hisao's superhero name be? I have no idea. But I wouldn't mind finding out. Maybe I should ask him.


The day finally draws to an end, and I'm once again sleeping through class. It's the last one of the day though, and I know I'm going to have to spend some time later today catching up on everything that I've missed, so motivation is sorely lacking. Somewhere off in the distance I hear the bell ringing and the scraping of chairs and shuffling of feet, but I can't take a break yet, I have to keep copying this legal contract. I would prefer not to, but the sound of a faint “wahaha” is like the cracking of a whip, back to work. Now I understand why a third of the office are alcoholics, this is a real pain in the--

There's a tapping on my desk in front of me. Naw, Miki. Five more minutes. But the tapping continues, louder and more insistent this time. Fine, fine, I pry my eyes open, feeling the world seep back to me. I slowly raise my head...

...and look up into the face of death itself.

I flinch back in my chair with such force that I almost go toppling backwards. The girl standing in front of my desk scowls, uncrossing her arms to fire off a few blindingly fast gestures that make about as much sense to me as smoke signals.

Oh god. It's Shizune. Why? Why.

“Help.” I squeak, not daring to take my eyes off of her but hoping someone hears my plea. “Help, help.”

Shizune's frown deepens, she must think I'm saying hello to her. I should feel bad about letting her believe that when I'm actually searching for someone to rescue me, but I don't. “Help.” I say again, a little louder this time.

I finally tear my gaze away from the student council president to glance quickly around the classroom, looking for Hisao or the normally impossible to miss Misha. She's Shizune's interpreter, aren't they supposed to be together at all times? Could she get fired for leaving her alone? What does Misha get paid with, anyway? Desserts maybe.

Nobody pays me in desserts. I quickly look to my right, oh thank god, Miki is still here, watching us with a smirk on her face.

“Heeelp.” I wave a hand at her desperately, but Miki just flashes her trademark grin, stretching her arms above her head.

“Wa ha ha.” She says in a low voice, and then goes back to spectating. She probably wouldn't be much help anyway, I don't think Miki would be very interested in learning sign language.

A hand slams down on the desk in front of me. Ohh god.

I turn back to look at Shizune, who has produced a pad of paper and a pen. She spends a few seconds writing, a displeased expression on her face the whole time. Then she thrusts the paper towards me. I, uh, okay.

[Good afternoon.] It says, in neat, tidy handwriting. Shizune offers me the pen and I cautiously accept, I just know that she's going to judge my penmanship.

Uh. What do I write? She's looking at me, quick, what do I write?

[Hi?] Then, [Why the formal greeting?]

Shizune takes back the pad. She continues to frown for a moment, but then begins scrawling a response below mine. She's actually smiling as she hands me back the paper, I feel like I'm being offered candy by a stranger.

[First impressions are important.]

Huh.

[But we've been in the same class all year.] We push the pad back and forth, even though I still don't know why we're having this conversation to begin with. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Miki watching us with muted curiosity--ha haaa, muted. Burn. Zing. Bad-dum tish--

The sharp snapping of fingers in front of me makes me flinch, but it does the job of immediately recapturing my attention. Loud, she's so loud, geez. I would work hard at finding some way to make myself heard too if I were in her shoes, though.

[We may be in the same class, but we haven't really met. I don't know you.] Shizune peers at me as I read her words, I feel like she's studying me as if I were some strange new life form.

She's right though, we've never really had anything to do with eachother, even though I sit right in front of her. There was just never any real reason for us to interact. I know who she is though, I've watched her march around the school with Misha in tow even before this year, I've read her name at the top of the exam scores posted on the billboards in the halls, I've seen her in the cafeteria and on the school grounds. Even though she has almost no way to directly interact with the people around her, she still manages to stand out more than me. That's okay, though, I don't really care about school spirit or, or topping the exam leaderboards or things like that. I just want to survive high scho... I just want to survi... I just want to have fun. I just want to hang out with Miki, go on more dates with Hisao, read more good books and watch more good movies and go to the beach when summer vacation gets here. My life seems so much more quiet compared to what I've seen of Shizune's, and I guess some people might find it boring. But my life is mine, and hers is hers.

I suppose introductions are in order? [Hi. I'm Suzu Suzuki. I read books and sleep a lot.] And play battleship in my--oh, I don't. I don't. Ha haa. Life is good. Today has sucked so far, though.

Shizune takes the pad, and her expression softens for a moment, I'm sure she knows what I mean. But she shrugs it off. [Shizune Hakamichi, class representative and student council president. But you knew that.]

I nod, and she continues writing. I watch her, but I'm beginning to feel so tired again, I can feel my eyelids getting heavier. Shizune glances up and sees me beginning to fade, and annoyance--no, determination--flickers across her face. She scratches out the last few lines she had just put down, and starts again. Then she hands me the pad, smiling softly while adjusting her glasses.

[I won't take up too much of your time. I wanted to tell you that we have borrowed your boyfriend to help with official student council business.] Her tone is impossible to gauge on the paper. Shizune peers at me curiously, watching me for my reaction. So she knows too, I guess the cat is so far out of the bag that there's no catching it and stuffing it back in now. I guess I'm okay with that though, animal cruelty and all that.

Hisao. Is he their prisoner? Are they holding him in the dungeon? Maybe it's up to Stumpfist and... and... Sleep Girl? No, I'll be working on that. But later. Shizune is awaiting a response, and she's been surprisingly cordial so far, I owe her one in return.

[Are you holding him for ransom?]

A wicked expression flashes across Shizune's face for the briefest moment, as if the idea hadn't occurred to her but she suddenly finds it very interesting indeed. But she takes the pad back with a haughty expression and writes out a reply.
[That will not be necessary. He offered to help of his own free will. I promise we'll bring him back in one piece.] She'd better, or I'll... or I'll... I'll sic Miki on her. I shoot another glance at my best friend, but she's flipping through one of her textbooks, looking bored and vaguely disgusted with its contents. I might be on my own with this one. Shizune begins writing again, and I turn back to watch.

She hands me the pad, staring at me again with that blank, analytical gaze. [I also need to inform you that the literature club's donations for the school book drive are due tomorrow morning.]

The what. Oh, wait... that's right, I remember Yuuko mentioning something about that at the last club meeting, we were going to go around and do a collection for old, unused books that students and staff didn't need any more. I think that was scheduled for Thursday.

Oh, today is Thursday.

...I don't wanna.

Shizune frowns as she takes the pad, writes a little more, and then hands it back to me again. [I also--the word is underlined several times--need to inform you that we haven't received any donations from the literature club at all as of this afternoon.]

What. Those guys... this is something that the club president should be taking care of, or Yuuko, as the faculty adviser. I'm not even involved with the leadership at all, she should be talking to Lezard or Akio or...

I don't wanna. Going door to door is for non-sleepy people, I'd rather take a nap. But Shizune is transitioning into business mode, and I can tell that someone--maybe even me--is going to get an earful if she doesn't find any books in the student council room tomorrow. From what I can tell, Misha's chewing people out on her best friend's behalf lacks the sting that Shizune's motions imply, but it still sounds like an awful way to spend a morning, just like going around asking people for old books sounds like an awful way to spend an afternoon. It might not be so bad if I had Hisao with me, but he's still indisposed, apparently. I still haven't ruled out the dungeon and ransom theory.

Shizune is watching me again, studying me closely. Why is she telling me this, when she could have grabbed any of the other literature club members in our class? She didn't even have to tell me that they had “borrowed” Hisao either, Miki could have relayed that message. But she wanted to tell me these personally, she wanted to meet me. Why?

I remember that Hisao used to spend a lot of his time with the student council when he first arrived here, before me and Miki had managed to pry him away. He had even almost joined the council, before deciding that it wasn't to his liking. Is he beginning to change his mind? Or is Shizune... maybe jealous?

I return that analytical stare, although I doubt mine is nearly as piercing or effective as hers. She isn't really being rude or anything, though. It's not that far fetched an idea to think that maybe she was interested in him back then, after all, she had tried pretty hard to recruit him. Not just her either, according to Miki, Hisao had gotten to know quite a few different girls in his first few weeks here. That makes him sound like some kind of player, and he can be a pretty smooth talker on occasion, but the memories of all the times I've seen a blush creep across his face, or the awkward but enjoyable moments we've spent together make me smile. I know he has other friends, other acquaintances beyond our lunch group, and I'm not the possessive type. I guess. But maybe Shizune is less jealous and more just trying to understand how Hisao ended up in one place and not the other. We're pretty different, me and her. Is she trying to figure out what I have that she doesn't? But I don't have anything. She's so dynamic, so forceful, so full of energy and I... I'm not. I mean, I guess I'm cute. And both me and Hisao like books. And we can go back and forth pretty great sometimes, it's a lot of fun trying to keep with his jibes and respond with my own. I feel a smile coming to my face again. Hisao. Did I tell him how glad I am that he showed up, way back when? Or was that only in my dream?

A pad of paper swings back and forth in front of my face, pulling me away from my thoughts. I squint to make out the words, it's a lot harder when they're moving.

[You do this staring thing with Hisao all the time. I am not participating.]

Oh yeah. I guess that's another thing that we do. Shizune folds her arms across her chest, it looks like we're done talking. Sort of talking. In a weird way. And I guess I need to scrounge up some books for her.

I don't wanna.



“Bring out your books.” I mumble halfheartedly as I walk through the halls of the boys' dormitory. I hear the locks click on the doors on either side of me, and let out a long sigh. These people won't even give me a chance to use my sleepy, feminine charms. I don't really know if I have those, but Miki keeps insisting that I do.

“Akio, put that down.” I'm not really used to scolding people, but I try to get it right as the boy walking next to me shows off his impressive navigating hallways while not looking at all where he's going skills.

“It's starting to get late, Suzu.” Akio replies, his nose still in a book that we had managed to pry from Mutou's hands. According to the cover, it's called “The Philosophy of Time Travel”, and although my classmate is about as interested in science as I am, he seems to be pretty riveted. Which would be great, if it didn't mean that he had the book in one hand and in his cane in the other, leaving me to carry the bags of donations.

“We'll call it a day after this floor. Come on, you can read later, besides, these books are going to other people. Unfortunate people.” I'm steadily growing more worn out, but I was lucky enough to hunt down at least one other member of the literature club to help me beg unused books off of people. Miki had to leave for track practice, and with his osteoporosis, Akio isn't much of a heavy lifter. But at least I have someone with me in case I go dark, I might know the buildings and the grounds pretty well but I still don't like taking risks if I don't have to.

Even with that said, we part ways momentarily in order to cover more ground, both of us just want to get this over with by now. The few teachers we had managed to track down begrudgingly spared a book or two, including the dusty tome that Akio tucks into his bag as he walks away. Whatever, it looked like a weird book anyway, although I'm not sure what kind of stories people more unfortunate than disabled children like to read. The students had been even less cooperative than the teachers, and even though we were just trying to help out and weren’t really obligated to, people still treated us like beggars. Book beggars. Huh. Better than book burners, I guess.

I'm halfway down the corridor before I realize where I am. This is Hisao's wing, this is his door in front of me. I wonder if he's back from helping Shizune and Misha yet? For them to enlist the aid of the uninitiated, things must have gotten pretty desperate. I guess it would be pretty hard being on a student council of two after all, although they seem to do a good job of it most of the time.

I reach forward and knock on Hisao's door, it would definitely be nice to see him right now. But there's no response, and I hear the sound of the door behind me steadily being unbolted.

That's a lot of locks.

Uh oh.

I've had enough run ins with Hisao's dorm-mate to know that I should probably be running right about now. But that might be even more dangerous than the bespectacled student that emerges from the door in front of me. The boy, Kenji, stares at me for a little while, and I almost get the same feeling as when I met Lilly earlier today, like he's not even really seeing me. With glasses that thick, it seems like a definite possibility. Finally, he speaks up.

“Hey dude, how's it hanging?” It? What's hanging? And where?

“Uh. Got any books you don't need?” I lift the bag in my hands for emphasis, although I doubt he can see it anyway. Kenji springs back, slamming into the door that he'd closed behind him.

“Hisao, what the hell did they do to you?” He cries. Well that explains why he didn't start raving right away. Looks like I'm in for it now though. I consider turning and walking away while I can, I doubt anyone would want to read any books that he would have lying around anyway, but everything suddenly goes dark. Keni's voice cuts off abruptly, like a TV unplugged.


When I wake up, things aren't much brighter. In fact, I think I'm blindfolded. My hands are tied behind my back, with a pair of socks, if my guess is right. I hope they're clean, at least.

Oh.

Oh, wait. Uh oh.

“You'd better let me go.” I say weakly. “I know kung-fu. And karate.”

I'm met with silence. “I know karate-fu.” I mumble.

“Quiet, feminist.” Kenji's voice comes from somewhere nearby, but he sounds more scared than I do.

“Why am I blindfolded? And what are you doing?”

“A necessary precaution, I couldn't have you knowing where my base of operations is.” He replies. “And I'm looking up interrogation methods on the internet.”

By all rights, this situation should be terrifying, but somehow I just don't feel threatened. “We're totally in your room though. Is this a sock? Is it clean at least?”

Kenji makes an irritated noise. “Of course it is woman, don't you know it's important to have clean socks at all times? What if an ambulance needs to take you to the hospital?”

What? Oh wait. “I thought that was clean underwear.”

“Shows what you know.” Kenji snorts. “I've clearly overestimated your intelligence operation in this area.”

Initially, my back had begun to tense up painfully from fear, but I feel my muscles begin to un-knot. According to Hisao, Kenji is always talking about some vast conspiracy of feminists, and I guess he thinks he's finally caught one in the act. But uh. Judging by his shaky tone and the fervent clicking of a mouse that I can make out, he seems to have no idea what to do with a feminist now that he's found one.

“Kenji, you should totally let me go now.”

“If I let you go, I'd have to kill you.”

“That doesn't even make--” I'm interrupted by a banging on the door. I hear him leap to his feet and then carefully make his way over. Again, there's the sound of bolts being drawn back and locks being undone.

“Hey Kenji, why is there a bag of books in the hallway? And who are you talking to?” Oh thank god.

“Hisao my man! You're alright! I know those student council harpies couldn't stop you.” Kenji sounds like he's beaming with excitement. “You're just in time, I caught one of their agents snooping around your room. Come in man, come in, I was just about to interrogate her.”

I hear Hisao groan, but the door swings open wider and there's the sound of footsteps.

Well this is awkward.

There's a long pause, and then finally, Hisao speaks up.

“Kenji, why do you have my girlfriend tied up in your room?”

“Your what? Naw man, I thought you were dating that one chick, the nazguleptic.”

“Narcoleptic. And yes, that's her.”

“Hi.” I would wave, but I'm a little tied up right--oh screw it, someone just get me out of here.

“No kidding? The one that passes out all the time? I thought she was just playing dead. It was pretty convincing.” I don't know if I'd say all the time. I hope Hisao didn't say all the time. Today yes, but usually not quite as often. I hear someone walk up to me, and a pair of hands slips the blindfold off of my head.

I blink a few times in the light, before Hisao's face comes into view.

“Hi.” I repeat, the sight of those warm brown eyes making me feel a hundred times better. Hisao looks at me with genuine concern, and he also appears a little angry. I can see why anyone would be, even though I doubt I was in any real danger.

“Are you okay?” He asks, untying my hands next. Behind him, Kenji is frowning deeply, looking disappointed.

“Does this mean we don't get to be good cop / bad cop?” He grumbles. Hisao helps me to my feet, and then quickly turns to his dorm-mate.

“Kenji, you have one second to explain to me why you think it was okay to do this.” He sounds upset now. Normally I hate to see people get angry, but when someone yells at another person on your behalf, it's a weird feeling, like it's almost a compliment.

Kenji deflates like a balloon, looking like he would beat a retreat if he could, but since we're in his room there's nowhere for him to really go.

“Hey man look, even if she isn't a feminist operative, which I'm still not sure about, I did you guys a favor. If she'd just laid down on the hallway like that, who knows what could have happened? Some weirdo might have come and stuck her in his van or something.”

Hisao doesn't seem to buy it for an instant. “Some weirdo. Right.” He grabs my hand--feels good--and together we walk out into the hall. Kenji continues to frown at us, and he reaches to slam his door shut, but Hisao's other hand snakes out and does it for him before he has the chance.

The two of us stand there in the hallway for a few moments. “Are you sure you're okay?” He asks.

“I'm really sure.” I don't think I've ever seen him actually get angry like this before, it's interesting, but it also makes me a little sad. Hisao might constantly be complaining about Kenji and his antics, but the two actually seem to have some sort of weird friendship chemistry going, even if he doesn't realize it.

“I can't believe him.” Hisao scowls, but I smile.

“I don't think he would have hurt me. Heck, I don't think he could have if he tried. Come on, relax.”

“You're telling me to relax? You were the one he had tied up.”

“That was before my hero arrived and rescued me.” I reply with a wink and a grin. Hisao's anger melts away, see, sleepy feminine charms, Miki might be on to something.

“Can I, can I sit down though? Maybe have a glass of water?” I ask. Today has been a very long day.

“Sure.” Hisao reaches down to pick up the bag of books off the floor before turning to unlock his door.


This is the first time I've actually been inside Hisao's room. Compared to mine it looks like one of those sterile, pressurized chambers that they assemble microchips and robots and things in. The walls are a plain beige color, devoid of any posters or other decoration, and his sheets are a boring white. The curtains are really ugly.

I wonder if he really is a very neat person or if he just hasn't had as much time to make a mess as I have. I take a seat on the bed, the mattress is at least comfortably squishy. I had only intended to sit down, but I end up falling backwards onto Hisao's bed, my arms spread out on either side. I am completely exhausted.

“Stop the school please, I'd like to get off.” I groan, blinking heavily.

“Hey, don't fall asleep, I'm going to get you some water.” Hisao says, grabbing a plastic cup from his desk and heading towards the door.

“I promise nothing.” I mumble. After giving me one of his admittedly great smiles, Hisao leaves to fill up the glass. I kick off my shoes and slink into a more comfortable position on the bed, this isn't so bad at all. Nice size... room for two... I feel myself begin to blush. No no, I'm not thinking like that. Nothing like that, I just mean... had Hisao suggested a slumber party once? Or was that in my dream? I can't remember. I'm pretty sure I warned him about my deadly training in the art of using pillows as weapons, though. I test out the softness and size of the pillows on his bed, ha, he has no chance.

My gaze wanders around the room again, and my eyes are drawn to the nightstand that sits beside Hisao's bed. Or more, to the sizable stack of pill bottles sitting on it.

I sit up in the bed, instantly feeling more awake. Well this is interesting.

My heart sinks as I look over the rows of medications. There's so many of them... does he have to take these every day? Are there side effects? Is he in pain? I sit up and scoot to the edge of the bed, letting my legs dangle over the side.

I know some of the kids here at Yamaku have it pretty bad. Some of them have conditions that will be fatal in the long run, or not even then, in a few years. But Hisao has always seemed like he was in pretty good shape, I mean, he gets worn out a little easy and he's not good with stairs, but neither am I, and...

The door opens, and the object of my musings walks in.

“I'm back.” Hisao says, carrying a full glass of water.

“Yup.” I look at him, then at the night stand, then back at him. He doesn't seem surprised, in fact, he had probably already realized that I would notice the pills.

“Is it snooping if they're just sitting there?” I ask.

“No. I don't think so, anyway.” Hisao hands me the water, which I gratefully accept, and then sits down next to me on the bed.

A strained silence hangs in the air between us. I don't really know what to say, and it seems like he doesn't either. Hisao...

“Is this why you closed the door last time I was here?” I ask, recalling our day out on Sunday.

“Yeah.” He says simply. We go back to being quiet, sitting there on the edge of the bed. I steal a glance at him, and then go back to looking at the cup that I'm holding in my lap.

The moment stretches on and on, with my luck today I'm probably going to pass out and spill water everywhere. But I guess I'm not the only one who's unlucky.

I open my mouth to speak, Hisao turns to me. He doesn't look upset, but he's definitely uncomfortable, and maybe even ashamed. Ashamed. Oh Hisao, you really are still getting the hang of things.

“Are you going to die?” I say at last. Hisao stares at me, but I focus my gaze on the glass in my lap.

“What?”

“Your thing. Your whatever. Is it... fatal?”

I can feel my heart beating in my chest. So much, everything, it feels like, rides on his answer. Hisao, please don't have terminal cancer or some other condition like that. Not that I'll abandon you if you do. Not that I'll hate you, or think any less of you.

We've only really been dating for about a week. It feels weird to admit that he's become such a large part of my life in the time since he's arrived, but it's true.

Hisao, please be okay. I just don't want to lose you. I, I don't want to go through that again. I can't, I...

“It could be.” Hisao replies after a few long moments. I look over at him, and he's staring back at me, a distant expression on his face.

“Could be?”

He nods, and then lets out a long sigh, like a man about to confess before a priest.

“I...” He closes his eyes, and when he opens them, he looks tired, so tired. Like he's been churning and wrestling with something for a long time.

“You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I can wait until you're ready.” I force a smile, but he looks at me and does one better, his smile is real. Weak, hesitant, but real.

“It's okay, Suzu. I want to tell you. It's actually kind of funny.”

“Oh yeah? What's the punchline?” I shakily try to engage my wit drive, and Hisao's smile kicks up a tiny notch.

“I'll tell you, but hold on.” He reaches for the glass of water in my hands, but I hold up a finger to stop him and quickly take a drink. After all, I don't want the time he spent fetching it to be wasted. When I'm done, Hisao takes the glass and sets it on the nightstand, before turning back to me. His hand finds mine almost automatically, the warm feeling of his skin touching mine begins to sooth my nerves right away.

“Right, now where do I start.” He looks up the ceiling, lets out a long breath, then looks back at me.

“I have a heart condition. Arrhythmia.”


It takes some time, but he tells me about his stay at the hospital. He tells me he was born with a bad heart, and that it was a miracle that it never became a problem before now. He has to take all those pills to stay alive, and even then, by overexerting himself too much or getting hit in the chest, he could still die of a heart attack.

But the most important part of all is when he tells me that he can still live a long, normal life, if he remembers to be careful. I'm so incredibly relieved, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest. He's not going anywhere. He's going to be okay, as long as he takes precautions.

He's going to be okay.

I slide off the bed and onto the floor, completely and utterly worn out from today and the conversation we just had. Through half-closed eyes, I see Hisao looking at me from his seat on the bed.

“Are you going to go to sleep?” He asks.

“I'm... I'm thinking about it. It doesn't sound like a bad idea.”

“I don't want to get you in trouble.” He says. Night has fallen outside, I guess we spent more time talking than I thought. Curfew is probably going to come up soon.

“No way... we can bribe the security guards with books. I've got lots of them... good ones... I think.”

He laughs, and stares down at me. He seems just as relieved as me after our talk, he looks free, like his heart and mind are clear and free of shadows.

I wish I could be like that.

“Wait wait, you said something was funny.” I roll onto my side, limbs still sprawled around me in an attempt to get comfortable on his floor. “What was it?”

“Well...” He scratches his head, looking a little embarrassed. “I was just thinking, actually.”

“We're kind of alike, you know?” He says.

“Hmm... huh?” I'm halfway to checking out, but I try to hang in there. “What do you mean?”

Hisao moves to sit on the floor next to me, leaning his back against the bed.

“You and me, we both look normal on the outside. But both of us could die any day, at almost any time. All it takes is for me to get hit in the wrong place, or for you...” He trails off, as if he doesn't want to think about it. But apparently he has. I know I have.

All it takes is one moment of bad luck. Wrong place, wrong time. I could go to sleep and never wake up. This is the kind of conversation I'm used to having over a game of battleship, Miki knows it too but she'd never bring it up. But he's right, he's kind of the same way. Hmm...

I open my eyes as wide as I can manage, staring at him, still lying on my side.

“We should. We should seize the day or something.” I mumble. Hisao raises an eyebrow.

“...I don't know how to seize the day though.” I say, and he laughs again. It's a nice sound.

“We should definitely work on it though, since we both have such bad luck.” He says.

Bad luck? That's one way of putting it. I've certainly had my fair share of dark times, and it seems like he hasn't had things so easy lately either. But. But if we were both perfectly healthy, then we would have never met. So maybe there's a silver lining, or something like that. Maybe it's not all bad.

I don't know, I need to think about this when I'm not so tired. “Do you think we could seize tomorrow though? I'm... I'm gonna... I need to...” The room is getting dark. Hisao's floor isn't very comfortable, but I guess I could make do.

“That sounds like a plan. Come on.” He stands up and reaches down, offering me a hand. “Let me walk you home.”

Nooo, that's like, ten miles away, and suddenly this floor is so comfortable and... aargh.

“Okay.”


Promising to meet up before class tomorrow to deliver the books, we leave the bag in Hisao's room and begin the tortuously long march back to the girls' dormitory. I'm drifting and stumbling at this point, I have to hold on to Hisao's arm tightly just to stay upright. He doesn't seem to mind though, and this was all his idea anyway, so good.

Finally, finally, we get inside and reach my room. I fumble with the key for what feels like minutes. Here, it's this way. Nooo, it's the other way. Wait, this is the wrong key, which one is this? I don't even remember. No wait, that's my keychain, get it together Suzu. I am so tired, I feel like a zombie.

Eventually I get the door unlocked, and push it open slightly. Hisao is still standing in the hallway, looking a little awkward. He seems pretty tired too.

Well, I've seen his room. And since he told me all about his heart condition, I guess I could...

“Do you want to take a look?” I ask, blinking rapidly in order to stay awake.

“Huh?” Hisao looks confused, and a hint of red creeps into his face. What? What is he...

Oh. Oh no, not like... I'm too tired to even...

“My room, silly. You can see it if you want.”

“Oh. Yeah, sure.” Hisao smiles, looking a little relieved. Geez.

“Okay. Hold on a second.” I slip through the door and into my room, glancing around. Iiit's a total mess. My floor is coated with various objects like usual, my bed isn't made but then, it never is. There are papers scattered around and I think--oh no, some of the clothes that Miki pulled out for me to try for the track meet are still lying there. That was like six years ago though. God, I... I really need to...

No, no time for all that. This is more important anyway. I walk over to my bed, looking down at my night stand. A small, framed picture sits there, and I gaze at it for a few long moments.

Sorry. I know Hisao just bared his soul to me, but I'm not ready to do the same. Not yet. Sorry.

I reach forward and gently set the frame face down, then turn and walk back to my door.

“Okay, you can--”

Darkness. I guess my brain got tired of waiting.


I don't see anything. I don't hear anything. I'm laying on my back underneath a starry summer sky, I think I'm in a field. There's someone lying next to me, but I can't tell who it is. I can't turn my head, and that sort of weird omniscience you sometimes have in dreams isn't there, I don't have any knowledge of who it is or could be at all, I don't have a good feeling or a bad one. Unable to do much else, I stare up at the stars.

My dream ends after what feels like only moments, and I open my eyes. I'm still in my room, it's still dark outside, so not too much time has passed. And I'm still exhausted.

Is Hisao still here? Oh, yes, he's actually sitting with me on my bed, he must have picked me up and moved me here.

“Hey, welcome back.” He says upon seeing me. “Now I get why I haven't been in here before.” He looks around the room. Uurgh.

“I can explain about the floor.” I mumble, sitting up. But Hisao flashes a tired smile.

“It's in case you fall asleep while you're in your room, right?”

He got that, huh? Interesting. “That's right. Well... it's my excuse, anyway.”

Hisao laughs, then continues glancing around. “You have a lot of stuffed animals.” He says.

“They make good padding.”

“Even that one? It looks kind of familiar.” He points to the massive, stuffed t-rex that sits on the corner of my bed, leaning against the wall.

“That one makes excellent padding, thank you.” I say with a smile. Hisao grins.

“I'm glad you're getting good use out of it.” He looks at my wall and points at a calendar hanging there.

“Is that the ocean?”

“Yeah.” I nod slowly. “I love the ocean.”

“Why?” He asks. Is this really the time for 20 questions? It's fifty o'clock at night. I begin sinking forward, and no longer have the strength to resist. I end up gently pressing my face into Hisao's chest, he reaches up to take my shoulders in his hands.

“Can I... can I tell you later?” I mumble into his jacket. “I need to not exist for a while.”

“Sure.” He says softly. I feel his head move, and can guess that he's probably taking another look around my room.

“It must be hard,” he says, “being so tired all the time.”

“Nnnnot really.” I'm slurring my words now, great. “Actually, it comes naturally, I don't have to try at all.” I manage a weak chuckle, and he echoes it. Ha, his chest jumps up and down when he laughs, it's... it's...

But, but I don't want to just be a narcoleptic. I don't want to be someone who “passes out all the time”. No, a day like this just helps remind me that I just wish my head worked right.

“Hisao.” I whisper, raising my head to look at him.

“Hmm?”

“I'm a normal girl trapped in a narcoleptic's body.” I say, looking up into his eyes. He stares back for a few moments, before giving me that warm smile that I think I'm growing addicted to.

“Oh yeah? Well I'm a lesbian trapped in a boy's body. Help me.” He replies. As wiped out as I am, I can't help but giggle.

“Have we... have we kissed before?” I mumble. Hisao looks thoughtful, but he's blushing now.

“I believe we have, yeah.” He says after a moment. Oh. Well... in that case...

“Can we do it again?”

That smile again. “Yeah.”

Hisao leans down to meet me, and gently presses his lips to mine.

My mind is shutting down, my senses are dulled and faded, but I still put everything I can into savoring this sensation. We softly break apart, shift, come back, our lips parting and rejoining.

This is amazing, this is nice. I want to do this again, often in fact. I'll write that down somewhere, maybe. But for now I. I can't go on.

I gently pull away, and then lower my head against his chest again. He's very comfy. That's a good trait for boyfriends to have.

“Thanks...” I whisper.

And then I'm gone.


Next I Previous I First

[Meadows]

Well you already know most of what I think about this, man, but excellent job again. I look forward to these updates more every time.

[lolawesome]

Soooooooo good.

+ points for Kenji. wished him and Hisao was more in Bro mode though

+ points for Herman Melville. I used Hamlet as sort of an homage to you, and I did thought about alluding to "Billy Budd" once

+ points for Tolkien reference. I used Stephen King's "sigul" that I don't think anyone noticed

+ points for super DAWWWWNESSS @ the end


EDIT: also, the "I love the ocean" line. I was blown away from that. Because I thought about Hisao asking Suzu if she's ever seen the ocean, and she says no, and he says she should because it's beautiful alluding to his previous life (in my head canon, he vacationed on the coast a few times in his childhood) ... bah! what withcraft did you use to un-incept that one out of my noggin???!!!!

[Panthour]

Great chapter, but I noticed a few mistakes, and I thought I would point them out seeing as you helped me with my proofreading

"No, I'll working on that. But later"

(where she's talking about the sidekick name) Should say "I'll work on that"

“That' right. Well... it's my excuse, anyway.”

Should be 'That's' (you missed the 's')

"I feel his head movie, and can guess that he's probably taking another look around my room."

Should be 'move' not 'movie'.

Anyway great chapter, and I loved the scene with Kenji, capturing a feminist and no knowing how to interrogate her seems like something he would do, nice job!

[andros414]

Should I feel bad for wanting Hisao to give Kenji one good hit to the gut?

[Ascended Flutist]

Oh, Scissorlips, you know I can't come up with an original way of telling your fics rock so hard they waltzed to outer space and will spell the doom of a celestial object sooner or later every time, don't you?

[Scissorlips]

Normally I would wait a little bit longer to respond to avoid bumping my own thread but to be honest I was too embarassed by the mistakes that the good Panthour pointed out to let that slide and had to fix them as soon as I saw. The dangers of writing at 7 AM, thank you for finding those.

Soooooooo good.

+ points for Kenji. wished him and Hisao was more in Bro mode though

Glad you liked it! So does Suzu, I want to repair things between them soon because there are few things better than Hisao and Kenji together in bro mode.

+ points for Herman Melville. I used Hamlet as sort of an homage to you, and I did thought about alluding to "Billy Budd" once

I needed to start doing a little more with the literature club stuff, or else I would feel like I was ignoring what little source material existed. And thanks, that's awesome.

+ points for Tolkien reference. I used Stephen King's "sigul" that I don't think anyone noticed

Someone got it, yesss. There's one other reference that I know at least meadows picked up on so far, we'll have to see.

EDIT: also, the "I love the ocean" line. I was blown away from that. Because I thought about Hisao asking Suzu if she's ever seen the ocean, and she says no, and he says she should because it's beautiful alluding to his previous life (in my head canon, he vacationed on the coast a few times in his childhood) ... bah! what withcraft did you use to un-incept that one out of my noggin???!!!!

I'm a wizard. But really, I may or may not have something planned further down the line, it just might depend what direction the story goes in, because sometimes it does unexpected things in the middle of my writing it.

Should I feel bad for wanting Hisao to give Kenji one good hit to the gut?

Not at all. But physical violence wasn't really something that was a part of the original game. What kind of person would add things that didn't happen before? What kind of person.

Oh, Scissorlips, you know I can't come up with an original way of telling your fics rock so hard they waltzed to outer space and will spell the doom of a celestial object sooner or later every time, don't you?

And I can't keep coming up with original ways of of saying thank you, so maybe we should stop before we ensure our mutual destruction. Look at this, emoticons, look what you've reduced me to.

[Total Destruction]

The worst rainy day in a minute just got better.



Thank you.

[JTemby]

I am really envious of your writing abilities, I can't put into words how much glee I've gotten from reading the entire thing today.
Just one think that made me feel slightly uneasy, I'm not familiar with the timeline but I was kinda thrown by the presence of Lilly, considering the ending of exams and discussions about the summer vacation... NOT THAT I'M SAYING YOU SHOULD CHANGE ANYTHING (Please don't change anything!!!!)

[crushinator]

I noticed you spelled dessert as 'desert' more than once in a short space of time in the latest update. I'm not one to criticise people's spelling, but thought you might find it helpful.

I thought that Kenji was going to make up with Suzu and Hisao by giving her all the books he stole from the library as a peace offering.

As per suzual, your writing leaves me wanting to read more of it.

[Guest]

How much longer is this whole "Suzu's mysterious dead ex" thing going to go on for? It's starting to drag a little.