OC: Mirrors and Windows. Chapter 12 Updated

[Parliament]

This is growing on me more and more quickly as time goes on. At this point it's safe to say I am wholeheartedly enjoying this and I am thankful to you for writing it. =)

[OtakuNinja]

They're actually pronounced like "Hit-chan" and "Shit-chan."

Yes, friggin kidding. The 'i' is always pronounced like a long 'e'. So they are 'Hee-chan' and 'Shee-chan'.

Actually, OtakuNinja got it almost right: The I is short.

It's a bit hard to describe the pronounciation of　"っ" in english... Basically it doubles the consonant that follows, but it doesn't really sound like that.

Yeah, I know how it's pronounced, but it's very hard to explain how it sounds in English.

[Mirage_GSM]

Or rather we’re you here for our showing of The Dark Knight?

were

I don’t know how long I’m sat there crying...

While this is grammatically possible I think you meant "how long I've been sitting"

I swear I feel someones arms wrapping around my shoulders

someone's

Hmm... "a light-haired figure" is a bit vague of a description, don't you think? He could at least notice if it's a boy or a girl.
Well, he calls her "bitch" a while later, but still...

[supanova]

chapter 6

Urgh my head. The hell am I? Considering the last thing I remember is nothing but pitch black there's a lot of white. Wait . . . I know this room. This is . . .

“Well good morning Riiiiich!” The bearer of that stupid grin spins round on his chair. The nurses office. Seems he’s spoken to Misha recently too. One day and I land myself here twice. Goddammit. “Miura and the council carried you here. Seems you completely exhausted yourself yesterday. What might you be doing with three young girls after school hmm~?”

Huh? Yesterday? According to that clock it’s seven o’clock. A.M. Urgh, schools gonna open soon too. I can’t miss my second day, especially after transferring so late.

“In all seriousness, you should be more careful. This could have ended up as a far worse scenario had they not found you. I was informed of the details by miss Hakamichi. It was definitely unfortunate that you ran into miss Enomoto alone.” So Enomoto, that's who decided to kick me down a few pegs. The Nurse scratches his head in a frustrated manner. “She can be . . . blunt. I wouldn't take anything she said to heart, her personality is how she deals with her ‘challenges’ so to speak. Treating her condition and everybody else's like they’re nothing, without warning I can see how you could take it the wrong way.”

The wrong way? Are you kidding me!? Even if it was meant as joking, whoever this Enomoto is I want nothing more to do with her. I didn't come here to be treated as a joke.

“Right, now that that’s out of the way, you have a choice. If you’re sure you’re rested enough to head back to class you can leave now to get ready. Or, I can give you a bit more rest and you can head back in at lunch.”

“I’d better not pass up more classes than necessary. I think twelve hours sleep will be plenty. Thanks for the offer though.”

The Nurse cracks a smile, whilst I grab my bag and leave. Fortunately I have enough time to grab a shower and head to class. It’s amazing what a good nights sleep and a hot shower will do. I’m actually awake. Ha-ha, no heart attack in a can for me today. I’m not completely over yesterday, but fortunately I forgot most of the details when I passed out. Most of my frustration now is how I can never manage to get my hair dry in reasonable time. Still I wonder what that flash of blue before I passed out was.

I end up being the first one in home room. This might just be a regular occurrence, I’m too punctual for my own good. It doesn't take much longer for the rest of the students to start pouring in. There's only three people I’m interested in seeing though, and here comes the first one now.

“Err, hi Miura,” I mumble, making my way over to her desk.

“Oh, newbie. What’s up? There’s no need to be uptight with someone who dragged your butt for twenty minutes looking for the nurse. Call me Miki!” Oh right, super casual. Forgot about that.

“Sure. In which case call me Rich. Hey, about yesterday, I need to thank you. I heard about how you helped out, and well, I appreciate it. Seriously, not many would help a guy like me.” Harsh, but true. That’s the world I live in.

“Don’t worry about it. I made sure to give Enomoto a ‘talking to’ for you as well.”She punches her one hand forward. “If she wasn't sorry before she is now.” I’m not sure I’m okay with this, no way of helping it now though. I doubt Miki would hurt her too much. “If you wanna pay me back though you can always come to the track meet next Sunday. I’m kinda running for us, would be nice to have an extra set of lungs behind me. With a certain no-legged sprinter out of the running, you’re looking at the relays gold medalist!” With that she throws her hands . . er hand and arm into the air in pride. She has such confidence in herself, it even overshadows her missing hand. I’m definitely impressed.

I don’t have any interested in sports per se, but I do owe her one. Ah well, it’ll kill some time at the very least. “Yeah I can make that. I’ll go. Come to think of it, what were the council bugging you about yesterday anyways?”

“Just maths. Not shown up a couple of times, got better things to do. Screw maths.” Wow. She must really hate maths. I sympathize. “With those tests pushed back a week they wanted me back in class. Sucks.” Crap. Knew I’d forgotten something. Should probably study a bit after school, I’m already behind.

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me. Oh here comes the council now. I’ll see you later Miki.”

Once again Misha blazes a trail booting open the class door with Shizune trailing behind her. I swear I see Shizune sighing. Can a mute person sigh? Is it tactless to ask? I share a nod with Miki and head over to join the somewhat surprised council.

“Rich!? You sure you’re okay? You were in a pretty bad state yesterday.” Misha looks genuinely distraught. Man I feel guilty. Oh god, Shizune looks even worse. Wait, that blue flash. It couldn't be.

“Yeah. I’m sorry for any trouble I caused. I heard what you guys did for me from the nurse. I really appreciate it. I don’t remember much about it to be honest, apparently I collapsed from exhaustion, but I do remember how I was. How did you end up finding me though?” I’m surprised they did now I think about it. They had one day to find out about me, and I ran off in a split second. I could have gone literally anywhere, how did they track me down so quickly?

“Oh. When you ran off you knocked over a student. Miss Satou of class 3-2. She heard a door shut around the corner, and told us when we passed by. Don’t worry you didn't hurt her or anything, she just had no way of noticing you.” Urgh, someone else I ended up hurting on my first day. Well done Rich, why not just burn down a classroom while you’re at it.

“I should probably go apologize to her too. I’ll catch her at lunch. Class 3-2, right. First things first, how can I make this up to you. It can’t have been easy to carry me all the way to the nurse, besides that, you've been nicer to me than anyone else in the last few years. I need to repay you somehow.” This catches a smile from the pair, a little belated from Shizune from sign delay but even so equally cheerful.

“Haha Riiich, there's no need to repay us. We’d do anything for a friend of ours~! Just make sure you’re alright, we’re here if you ever need to talk.” A friend? I have friends? It’s been one day, I've been kicked down into a corner and somehow made it out with two brand new friends. This was one hundred percent completely worth it. There's still one last little thing I need to check though.

“Thanks for everything. Really. Misha can i ask you something quickly? In private?” A nod and some quick signing ensure I have her undivided attention. “When you found me, who was it who found me?”

“Well that was Shicchan. I ran off to check the next classroom and Miki was ‘talking’ to miss Enomoto...” I thought so. She is more interesting a person that she lets on.

“Thanks Misha. That’s all I wanted to know.”

With that, Mutou entered in a daze kicking off the start of my second day.

[supanova]

My first attempt at a more conversation heavy chapter. Not sure how It's going but I'm happy with it so far.

chapter 7

A solitary bell signals the start of lunch. This morning could not have dragged on longer. Apart from the general gossip such as ‘did you hear Saki broke her nose?’ and ‘you notice how close Miki and Haruhiko are?’ no fantastically interesting events occurred. Just the news that the roof will be available from next week from Mutou. My first Japanese lesson passed by too, and I’m in trouble. Learning the language was hard enough, writing it is a whole other story, especially at the level expected. I need help. First things first, I have things to do.

Before I do anything, I really should track down whoever I knocked down yesterday. If they’re in class 3-2 they should be just around the corner. Intuition serves me well and I find the class within minutes. Poking my head around the door I notice an entire classroom filled with bespectacled boys and girls as well as a few canes. So, this is a class for the visually impaired. Ha! They won’t be able to see my face! Oh but, that means . . . I knocked over a blind person. Welp, I’m going straight to Hell. Better get this over with.

“Excuse me. Is a Miss Satou in the room?” It takes a few seconds before I’m greeted by a fairly tall girl with a cane. Long blonde hair flows down her back, held in place by a black bow in her hair. Her eyes are also quite distinctive, a nice blue but clouded over, like a set of marbles. She must be fully blind. This is not going to be fun.

“That would be me. I’m afraid I must be off to a nearby room to wait for an acquaintance, however if you wish to accompany me briefly, I’ll gladly listen to whatever you have to say.” She must be the polar opposite of Miki. Well-spoken, but equally pleasant. A small smile accompanies her offer, which of course I’m in no position to refuse.

I choose to walk in silence. My guide manages to lead us with no difficulty at all, simply by the clicking of her cane on the ground. She must really be used to this to be so undeterred by her handicap. It’s somewhat fascinating. We continue until we reach a small abandoned classroom. I haven’t spent much time up here on the third floor, but a completely unused room like this is a shock. A shelf of tea supplies hugs one of the walls, but apart from that it seems like any other room. How odd. I’m offered a seat and I take it.

“Well then, I believe we had something to discuss. Before that, I don’t believe I caught your name.”

“I’m Richard . . . Richard Novire. I’m yesterdays transfer. I’m also the person who accidentally knocked you over during an ‘incident’ yesterday, so I’m here to apologize. I wasn't in a state of mind to be aware of what I was doing, and I managed to get you caught up in it. On top of that I was told how you helped the situation afterwards, so I’d also like to thank you Miss Satou.” I bow here, before thinking what a futile effort this is.

“My, my this is certainly a wonderful display of honesty. You should be more careful in future to be less like Miss Ibarazaki, but otherwise apology accepted. I’m sure you didn't mean to blindside me.”

She giggles a bit at her own pun. She’s certainly a lot more comfortable with her condition than me, it suddenly makes me quite uncomfortable. Also, that name. Miss Ibarazaki . . . Emi? I can't imagine Emi running through the halls either, though I have currently only seen her in her wheelchair. Speaking of which, I wonder if she’ll be expecting me where I met her yesterday. I should at least check.

“If you don’t mind me asking, you’re English, aren't you? I can tell by the accent. I’m half Scottish myself.” I suppose I must have kept at least part of an accent, with the company I kept. Still, it’s faded considerably, she must have incredibly good hearing to pick up on it. No-one else has yet. “I’ll have to invite you to drink tea with me sometime. I’m sure we could find something to discuss.”

“I would certainly like to talk again sometime, but I’m afraid I can’t stand hot drinks at all.” I think the reason why here is obvious, but I don’t like the taste of tea either. It’s dangerous enough for me to drink anything, let alone something scalding hot.

“An Englishman who doesn't drink tea? Well this is certainly interesting.” She giggles again. Seriously, why won’t that stereotype die.

“Well, I’m surprised to see a Scottish person who isn't drunk and brawling in the street!.” If she is resorting to stereotypes at least Scotland is full of them. Still my work here is done, I should see if Emi’s looking for me. “Thank you for being so understanding Miss Satou. I would like to speak again in future, but for now I have other things to do. I’m sure you’re also expecting your meeting any second now.”

“It’s no problem at all, speaking with you has been a pleasure. And please, you can call me Lilly. There's no need for formalities.”

Well. This could have been a lot worse. At least she was reasonable about the whole thing. Lilly Satou hmm, another name I’ll need to try to remember. She’ll make the fifth girl so far I've met here. Well, the fifth I enjoy speaking to. Honestly are there no guys at this school? All I've run into so far are girls. I should try and make at least one guy friend.

Setting off from my meeting I make my way back towards the staircase before I get called by an unfamiliar voice.

“Hey bro, do you know a Lilly Satou?”

Turning around there's a strangely focused kid looking dead at me. At least, I think he’s looking dead at me, his glasses are so huge I can’t see his eyes at all. He must be mostly blind with goggles like that. Shaggy black hair and a red and yellow scarf accompany his very . . . unique look. I’f I didn't know better I’d swear I was speaking to Harry Potter.

“Yeah . . . I was just speaking to her. Shes in a classroom down that corridor waiting for someone.”

“Thanks man. We bro’s gotta stick together right? I’ll see you around!”

He’s gone as quickly as he showed up. Well. That was . . . odd. At least I think he didn't see my face, otherwise this could have gone on much longer. Wait, can’t get sidetracked, I might have someone waiting for me.

[supanova]

I may be taking a couple days of from writing this soon. I have plans for where I'm going with this, I just am rather inexperienced with writing, so have been trying to ease myself in before diving headfirst. I don't know how obvious this is, but the whole point of me writing this will be explored soon. I'm a little concerned it's a bit too much to handle for me, and so I appreciate any critique, advice, and most of all patience. Without further explanation, heres chapter 8.

chapter 8

Considering just now I had to apologize for barging into a blind person after what can only be described as a breakdown I’m in a pretty good mood. If I’m lucky I can get to my spot by the track field and eat before anyone shows up, if they do. It’s not like I invited Emi back, but I implied I’d be there, so I should at least make sure she’s not waiting for me. I don’t think I could take having such an adorable little girl scowl at me again.

My fears remain unfounded as I reach my shady tree only for nobody to be seen nearby. Opening the small amount of food I grabbed from my room this morning I started to think about everything that's changed . . . my new acquaintances . . . my new home. It’s only been one day and already I’ve seemed to meet so many interesting people. I've even managed to make a friend or two, despite looking like a horror victim. There was always that one girl I hope never to come across again, but even so, people stood up for me. Me! I was never even planning on speaking to anyone if I could avoid it, and look, here I am waiting for someone who may not even show up. I don’t know what it is, but something about this place feels, safe. It’s bringing out sides of me I didn't even know existed. Coming here was definitely a good idea.

Stuffing the remains of a sandwich into my cheek I get an unexpected response from behind me.

“Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew! Do you always eat like that?” Emi. Chipper as ever I see. How did I not hear her coming, shes in a wheelchair. Wheelchair ninjas, a terrifying concept.

“Well, I guess now you know why I eat alone. It’s easier to feed food in without danger of it falling out the side this way. Yes, it’s gross.” The cats out of the bag now. “Can you at least not let anyone else know? I don’t do this for fun.” I’d rather not have any weird rumors about me, definitely not so soon either.

“Yeah. Sorry for making you jump and everything. Hey, do you mind if I have lunch with you today? I’m avoiding the track team and my other friend is preoccupied with her art.” Wow Emi has an artist friend. I know opposites attract but I have no idea how she’d know someone like that.

“It’s alright with me. I’m done eating anyway so at least I won't gross you out.” I’m lying, but I’m not hungry anymore. I’ll make up for it later anyways. She wheels up to my side, as I’m sitting up.

“Thanks. The track teams talking about next week's track meet. I’d rather avoid talking about something I’m not taking part in.” Guess Emi must be the ‘certain no-legged runner’ that couldn't run. She’s always been wearing knee high socks though, so if shes wearing prosthetics it’s impossible to tell. “Actually speaking of the track team, I heard from Miki about what happened to you yesterday. You okay?” She has a look of concern on her face. I've seen it a lot recently, far more often than I’d like. The one problem of meeting people, becoming a burden.

“I’m fine. I got over it mostly when I fell asleep. I appreciate the concern, but that was more a one-off thing than anything. I just need to avoid Enomoto for a while and everything will be great.” Another lie. I didn't get over it, I forgot about it. I don’t know how much I've lied already, but I’m not opening up to people I barely know. That's for the weak, and I am not that weak.

“If you say so. Just make sure you talk to someone if you need to. I’m here and so is Miki, she’s always been more close to guys than girls.” She sounds like the Nurse. Why is everyone saying to talk to someone? I mean, the advice is good, I just think it’s weird how many people are saying the same thing. “I tend to get my stress out through running though, it’s so easy to clear your thoughts that way. At least I did.” She hits her wheelchair quite hard. It is really obvious she’s uncomfortable in it. Suppose I would be too.

“I’ll keep that in mind. I’m not running though, I would rather pull my own teeth out.” I’m not kidding, I’m not active, and I hope I won't be anytime soon. This gets a giggle out of Emi though, an awfully cute one.

“Well whatever works for you. As long as you’re not drowning yourself in that sludge you were drinking yesterday.” Again with that. Looking at Emi’s lunch though it’s clear she’s into healthy eating. Lots of salad and simple meat. Makes sense for a runner.

“It was my first day, I’d been awake since stupid o’clock in the morning, and I had a full day of classes at a new school. It was just for the one day. I don’t make a habit of drinking things like that. Then again, a lot of the time I’m not doing anything so I don't need the energy.”

“Richard you’re so lazy.” She giggles again, though she’s pretty much spot on. I am lazy.” I’ll drag you out with me one day. Miki mentioned you were a pretty fast runner, I’ll make sure you don’t waste away just yet!” I might be fast at running away maybe, but that's not something I want to be doing often.

“I doubt you could drag me anywhere. You’re half my size! Besides, I’ll pass. I’m not outdoorsy, just a bit of a film geek. I’d rather spend my time inside.” Emi shoots me a look of pure rage veiled behind the guise of a stifled laugh. Well, she can take a joke pretty well fortunately.

“So you’re like Haruhiko, Miki’s ‘friend’. She’s been meeting up with him so often I’m sure there's something going on. You should try talking to him, you've got quite a bit in common. Maybe you can get some good gossip too.” A devious grin gets plastered on her face. I’m not interested in gossip, but I do want to know at least one other guy here. If he’s similar to me, all the better. He also gets along with Emi and Miki so he can’t be all bad.

“Alright, I’ll look him up sometime. Get Miki to introduce me or something. In fact I think hes in my class, I recognize the name. I’ll chat to him tomorrow.”

“Good. You should make as many friends as possible, even if they’re not half as great as I am!” She follows up with a wink. D’aww. “Haruhiko’s a cool guy. You’ll like him. Just talk to him about films, he won't shut up about them.”

The rest of lunch is filled with idle chatter about our countries, families and similar things. Emi lives nearby with her mother when not at school, she wouldn't talk about her dad though. Similar to myself then. I live with my dad in Tokyo, my mum however . . . I don’t know where she is. It has been around five months since we moved to Japan, and around three weeks since I last saw her. I should probably give my dad a call, at least to let him know I’m alright. If I call him at the weekend I’ll be less likely to be bothering his work or raids. Typical for him, he spends all his time around video-games. Awful things.

Me and Emi part ways just before the bell rings for afternoon classes. I hope this becomes a regular occurrence, she’s fun to talk to. I wonder what she’s like out of her chair, well I suppose I’ll find out eventually. For now, back into the lions den.

[Mirage_GSM]

“If you say so. Just make sure you talk to someone if you need to.

Uh... Have ou read Emi's path?
If you did, do you really think it's appropriate to have her of all people give this advice?

The story is coming along nicely, though. I can comfortably say it's among the better stories posted recently.

[supanova]

“If you say so. Just make sure you talk to someone if you need to.

Uh... Have ou read Emi's path?
If you did, do you really think it's appropriate to have her of all people give this advice?

The story is coming along nicely, though. I can comfortably say it's among the better stories posted recently.

I know it seems OOC, believe me, if something seems off, then Its intentional most of the time. This is one of the cases where it is indeed intentional. Ill elaborate later on.

[Guestimate]

Well, I don't tend to comment much, but I figured you'd at least like to know that I'm still reading this and still like it.

[MutilatedManequin]

Nice chapter. I do like the bit about miki straightening out saki. I find ur character relatable movie geek, indoorsy and I'm interested to see where you take him.
Emi did act OOC, but other than that no complaints

even if you are cute, there is no excuse for being an asshole

[supanova]

chapter 9

The rest of my day zooms by pretty quickly. Having no plans for the afternoon I ended up going back to my room and started decorating. Nothing fancy, just some posters and a new set of black bed sheets. The room was too bright anyway, needed to be turned down a couple of shades. If only I could paint it a nice dark blue, I’d be quite happy, but this is as close as I’m going to get. I finally get round to unpacking afterwards. A couple of DVDs, CDs, a portable keyboard and a small DVD player get assorted across what little space I had, with my pride and joy, my mini-fridge getting a prime spot next to my bed. I don’t care about anything else, as long as I can stay in bed, watching a stupid film and drinking anything cold and fizzy I’ll get by.

My bubble is burst quite quickly as I notice how low I’m running on supplies. Drat, I’ll have to head into town tomorrow afternoon. I only drove by yesterday, I should be able to find a shop close by. Plus if i go in the afternoon I doubt I’ll run into many people. For now though, I feel like sleeping. Not through choice this will be my first night on my own. It’s . . . quiet. It’s not the kind of quiet when there's no sound, it’s like all life on earth has stopped. So, this is being alone. How, its all going to be when I've graduated and gone out into the world. I may not have had friends, but I at least had my family, now they’re gone too. I’m . . . scared.

I manage to get to sleep eventually, not as much as I usually do, but enough. Deciding on a shower before class starts, I drag myself to the bathroom before starting to collect my thoughts about last night. I’ve always tried to avoid people rather than deal with them directly, still It’s not like I don’t want to talk to others. I just can’t. Not with this face. But then why was I so upset? I’m used to being alone. It’s been a whole year since I lost my cheek, since I lost myself. Not once have I been able to speak to others normally since. Then I came here. In two days I’ve started to recover what was taken from me. Being treated like I’m human, considered a possible friend, none of it would have happened had I kept being home schooled. So, was I lonely? I’ve spent so long thinking just about how others saw me, I’ve not thought of myself in a long time. Then again, it was my first night alone, It all could have been just shock. I can worry about it later, when I’m settled in.

Once again I’m the first person to arrive in homeroom, deciding to take out a small notebook and practice my Japanese writing. I tend to write my notes in English normally, but for my upcoming Japanese exam I don’t think that will be helping me, disregarding all the other exams too. Fortunately the exam is the last one taken so I still have some time, plus I can disregard English in it’s entirety since, well it’s an adjective of me. Still, these symbols will be the death of me. I have Katakana and Hiragana memorized fairly well, if not messily drawn, but Kanji is so far over my head it’s not even funny. Who decided an alphabet needed over three thousand symbols? Screw this, I need help. And here comes the perfect chance to ask about it.

“Good morning Rich~!” Misha and Shizune. They’ll be able to direct me to someone who can help. Knowing the student council is about to come in very handy. “Whatcha doin?”

“Hey Misha, Shizune. I’m practicing my writing. With exams next week I’m starting to fall behind a bit. Writing everything in English is starting to backfire for me. Actually, would either of you know anyone that could help me with writing?”

It takes longer than expected to get a reply. I get a show of hands flying in every direction, like a fencing match between professionals for a while, before Misha again turns her attention to me. Both her and Shizune have a devious smile on their face, I don’t like where this is going.

“Rich, me and Shicchan have a deal for you, if you’re interested.” Oh god. I definitely don’t like where this is going.

“Alright, I’m listening.”

“Me and Shicchan are busy a lot after school, with paperwork for the council. This gives us not a lot of time for anything else. However, if a certain someone were to offer their services, we could finish the work in a fraction of the time, and help them in return!” Hmm, I see where they’re coming from, but there's a few problems here.

“And why I ask, should I not cut out the work and find someone to help me without paperwork? Besides, doesn't paperwork require good Japanese writing skill, which I’m struggling with in the first place?

“Shicchan says she’ll only give you work that you’re capable of, mostly organizing dates and numbers, easy stuff. She also says after all this paperwork who better to teach you writing than people who writes daily! Plus you’ll get to hang out with us after school~! Come on Rich, help us to help you!”

They are starting to make a lot of sense. At the very least, I’m not obliged to agree every day, and I really do need the help. Could be fun. I can definitely tell the whole speech was Shizune’s creation, especially from the particularly scheming grin she’s sporting right now. Come to think of it, besides sign, writing would be the only way of communication with others for her. It could be more natural than I first thought. With both of them teaching me I might stand a chance of passing.

“I’m not agreeing, but I’ll give it a trial. At least for today. After that, maybe. I’ll be outside the main entrance at four o’clock this afternoon. If you meet me there I’ll come with you to the council room.”

“Alright~! That’s fantastic Riiiich! Me and Shicchan knew we could count on you!” Well if it makes them happy. It’s not like I had anything to do either way, apart from food shopping, but I should have enough time for that in the afternoon.

“It’s fine. You scratch my back and all that. So, how many people have you got working on the council right now?” I’m sure they have a few people at least, cute girls always attract a bit of attention. Misha’s face drops, and Shizune’s grin distorts into a fairly embarrassed one. Oh boy.

“Actually Rich, it’s just us two. Shicchan is the council president, and I help her.”

I sigh. Well this explains why they need help, and were so quick to recruit. What have I gotten myself into.

“You have got to be kidding me. You two run the entire council? How much work do you two do anyway?”

“Oh Rich, you flatterer you~! Yes we run the council. That's why its the best council ever! It isn't that much work. We can do it in half the time with your help too!”

Well she’s cheery this morning. With any luck these two are actually telling the truth and it isn't as much work as I’m thinking. If only two people can do everything it can’t be too bad.

“I’m not entirely filled with confidence right now you know.”

“Well that isn't good Rich. You should be more confident! Shicchan always says, confidence is the key to doing anything~!”

Coming from the girl who seems strangely distant and somewhat wary of me that seems a bit off. I’m not even going to get into the fact that Misha completely missed the point of what I was saying, but I’ll be nice and let it slide. At least Misha seems confident in absolutely everything, it’s rare I see her without a smile or bouncing along the corridors like a pink super-ball.

The conversation ends there with the characteristically late arrival of Mutou and his fatigued aura. As the daily register is called I can’t help but feel I've forgotten something. If I have I’ll remember it later, it can’t have been too important. Studies come first. Another busy day ahead of me it seems.

[supanova]

There's a bit of an important note at the end of this. But first the rather late tenth chapter.

chapter 10

So here I am. Same tree as before setting a new world record for speed eating. I’ll be damned if I’m going to get caught eating again, so embarrassing. On the plus side, I've managed to get into a routine pretty quickly, exactly what I was hoping for. Sort out the little things quickly so the big things can get focused on, exactly how things should be. Reaching into my bag for my drink I grab hold of the small white bottle the nurse gave me. Take two tablets daily to grow up big and strong, such a joke. I missed yesterday but I don't think these things even do anything. Calcium is for kids. I take them anyway, throwing away two so the schedules kept accurate. Need a refill eventually, or I’ll draw suspicion.

“Hey there Rich.” I jump at Emi’s suspiciously silent approach. If I didn't know better I’d swear this was on purpose. Don’t think she saw the pills at least, good.

“Oh hey. Didn't hear you coming.”

“Done eating already? That was quick. Anyways, I saw Haruhiko a minute ago . . .” Oh crap! Knew I’d forgotten something. “So you've not spoken to him yet? I’m never going to get any good gossip at this rate!”

“I’m sorry, I forgot. I was sorting out a problem I had with the council, and then our conversation slipped my mind. Why is this such a big deal anyway? I haven’t spoken to someone immediately and you’re already bugging me about it? You’re acting like an overbearing parent.”

Shes being a bit ridiculous here. I mean I did say I’d speak to him this morning, but it’s not the end of the world that I forgot. Chasing me up about it especially after a day is weird. We've only spoken for two or three days ourselves. Emi shuffles nervously in her chair a bit. Well it seems its a bit embarrassing for her as well. She gives a nervous laugh.

“Look, I kind of . . . got roped into checking up on you for the nurse. He’s like this with every other student, gets a buddy system going from behind the scenes. Especially for those he doesn't see very often. He tricked me a bit yesterday . . . ass. Long story, but you seem to have a bit in common with Haruhiko, so I thought I’d get you at least acquainted with him. It’s good to know people around here. Also the nurse is particularly . . . awkward recently. Gave me a whole speech to give you, but I gave you the gist of it. I’d have been there for an hour if I hadn't. Gets us both out of a problem.”

Well that explains something at least. I wonder why the nurse is prying so much. More than that isn't it a bit unfair to get Emi to do his dirty work? What kind of relationship do they have if he can set this up so quickly? I don’t know. Maybe I’ll find out later. I got spared a speech at any rate.

“Thanks I guess. I’ll speak to Haruhiko when I have time, With exams next week I’m a bit panicked right now.” Stupid Japanese writing.

“Yeah, no kidding. I’m not looking forward to English at all”

Oh really? This might be entertaining.

<“Fortunately that's one thing I seem to have down fairly well.”> I reply in English. With all the trouble Japanese is causing me I can at least have a bit of fun here.

“Wait, what did you just say? Did you insult me?” Aww shes confused. Guess English really must be difficult. The students here must be having the same problems as me then, only in reverse. Well at least our alphabet is simple for them, three alphabets is a headache.

“No, no. I said I have English down. You know, being English. It helps. Japanese is the thing killing me.”

“I don’t believe you! Learning English is so lucky, the hardest subject ever and you just know it. Some of us have to study for it you know!” Well seems it is as annoying as I found to learn another language.

“Count yourself lucky. At least the English don’t have three alphabets. All you have to worry about is grammar.”

This argument continued through until the end of lunch. Neither side agreeing with the other. Time seemed to speed up again during my afternoon classes. History was as dull as ever, the one period I’m interested in, the world wars being skipped almost in their entirety. I heard about this in the news, it’s still odd though. The physical education ending off the day was less intense than I was expecting. Simple running for now, and a small game of football. I guess with so many different issues for students they can’t expect too much. Seeing some of the track field pelting round the track was a lot more tiring than actually running myself. It’s also a shame Emi was excused from the class for now, it could be a bit fun. Getting changed out of my sports clothes I ended up in front of the main entrance to the school. Exactly on time for my arrangement. I wasn't left waiting too long at least.

“Hey there Rich! We’re here to take you to the student council office~! Shicchan asks if you were waiting here long.” Misha calls out from behind me.

“I got here around the same time, so no. Shall we get going?”

I get led through several hallways, around stairs until I end up in a basic classroom. Same as any other room, bar the large table in the center and a few filing cabinets along the walls.

“Here we are! Shall we get to work already? The sooner we’re starting the sooner we’re done!”

That's definitely Shizune talking, even if she didn't sign anything. They must have gone through this before. Still can’t fault the logic there. A stack of papers that could rival the complete works of Shakespeare gets dumped right in front of me. I start to rub my head in frustration.

“This is what you call not a lot of work? I’ll die of old age before this is done!”

How they do all this by themselves is mind-boggling. They each have stacks of papers at least twice the size of mine. This is ridiculous, how much are they in charge of anyway?

“It isn't that much. You’re only organizing it. I’ll give you a hand to start with.”

A short demonstration leads into a spree of sorting. The tedium of work is broken up every now and again by a symbol I don’t understand or some mindless chatter. Granted organizing is a suitable punishment for criminals, but this definitely could be worse. Decent company makes even the worst of tasks better it seems.

Almost an hour later I finish up the last of my pile of forms. Taking a long breath I have a look to the others, who had finished long ago. That's impressive. Even if I struggle to read this stuff, they’re both more than twice as fast as me. Here comes the hard part. My writing lessons.

“So you’re finally done then Rich?” Misha perks up from her slouched position. They must have had a break waiting for me to finish up.

“Yeah I think so. Might want to check this later to see if it’s right though. That was helpful in itself, just for the reading practice. Shall we get on to your end of the deal?” Misha gets a sad look on her face, whilst Shizune looks on with folded arms.

“But Rich, we just finished~!” You finished a while ago, I just finished now. Don’t try and trick me. “We can always take a break. How about a game?”

Great. The one thing on earth I would do anything to avoid. I’ll clear that up.

“I can’t stand video games at all.”

Misha shakes her head.

“Not them. How much money do you think we have? A board game~!” Oh right, they exist. Well I feel a bit stupid. I didn’t think anyone played board games anymore, not in this day and age. I don’t see any around here either.

“Where would you even hide a board game in here?”

“We’ve got a few. Behind the cabinets for whenever we have time after council work.” Can’t imagine they have a lot of that.

I really don’t want to play anything now, I’m too worried about my exams. But I don’t really want to upset anyone who has decided to help me. I guess I’m going to have to make a bet for later. If Shizune is a scheming as I think she is, she’s unlikely to pass up a bet. Misha would be easier to please. At worst I end up coming back and playing a game every now and again.

“Look I’ll compromise. I don’t want to play now, but . . . if I pass my Japanese exam by at least 60% I’ll come back at least once a week until the end of the term. How about that?”

Misha signs what I say over and the two start a discussion. I realize a little too late I said I’d come back at least once a week, and not to play a game. That may have been a poor choice of words. Before I get a chance to clear that up the two turn back to me with a fired up look in their eyes. Shizune pushes her glasses up while Misha speaks for her.

“Shicchan says its a deal. So, how do you want to start?"

--------------------------------
So a short explanation. I'm particularly struggling to write at the moment. It's not so much writers block as me being unfamiliar with human conversations. I'm trying to get my writing to seem natural but I'm finding it rather difficult. Finding someone to go over my writing is proving difficult so far, and until I do, I'm going to be taking a bit longer to write. I'm trying to make this a decent story, so I'll be taking my time, but it also means updates will be very irregular depending on how difficult I find pieces. The OOC Emi last chapter being an example, hopefully I cleared it up here. Thankyou for your patience, I hope you'll continue to be entertained.

[Guestimate]

Go ahead and take your time. better to have a quality chapter than a quick but crappy one.

[supanova]

chapter 11

Two hours of being tutored turn out quite well. Between Shizune’s examples and Mishas explanations I manage to get an improved grasp of some of the basic grades of Kanji. Every so often Misha would leave to get a few drinks whilst me and Shizune would practice my handwriting. I still have scribbles reminiscent of hieroglyphs rather than anything legible it would seem, however, knowing which strokes comprise which symbols is making my handwriting improve faster than just practice on my own. The clock on the wall strikes half seven before we call it a day.

“You’re getting the hang of it now Rich~!” Misha gives me a pat on the shoulder and yawns in exhaustion.

“If you say so. My writing still looks nothing like yours.”

“Well we do this every day. Even Shicchan says you’re improving a lot! And believe me, she isn’t that easy to impress. Wahahaha~!”

Hopefully a few more crash course lessons like this will be enough for me to pass next week's exam. Only time will tell.

“Well, I thank you for the help. It was actually fun. Same time tomorrow?” I ask heading for the door.

“Of course! We’ll give all the help we can!” Misha waves me goodbye and Shizune gives a nod as I close the door behind me.

I still needed to go and obtain some food from a convenience store, so decided on my dorm room as my next location to pick up my phone and money. The walk is fairly warm during this time of year so I take my time. This is nice, most students seem to be at their dorms or clubs. I could do with a bit of exercise really, I never left the house before now. There was no point. Everything I needed was delivered to the door, and all that waited for me outside was rejection and fear. Around here though I can go wherever. Even if it’s just walking to a corner shop every two or three days I should do something. My face is bad enough as it is without being overweight.

Sliding my key into my door I hear a thunk from across the hall. So this Kenji Setou is finally inside, not that I’ve seen him at all. I end up ignoring it and moving on inside. My wallet always seems to find its way under my bed, no matter where I leave it. Still wheres my phone?

Bzzzt.

Oh right, in my desk. Wait a second, who could be calling me? Especially at this hour. A familiar number appears on the screen.
<“Hello Dad.”>

English as always. Makes him happy.

<“Hello Son. How is everything up there?>

I’m surprised he’s called me. Always busy with one thing or another. He’s never had time for me, even more so recently. I don’t particularly care about this call, he’s not making it because he cared, its simply due to obligation. Same as what I was planning to do this weekend.

<“It’s alright I guess.”> Like you care, this is just smalltalk at best. <“This is rare. Normally you’d be on your MMO’s by now.”>

<“A few of our guildmates are ill, so the days off.”> Figures he wouldn’t put aside time for me. I’m always second best to his games. <“Hinata told me he dropped you off safely. I’m sorry I couldn’t drop you off myself, but I had to work.”> Of course. Work. Developing the games you spend every waking moment on.

<“Yep just like you. Always working or pissing your time away on games.”>

<“Now son that isn’t fair. My jobs hard enough as it is without getting an earful from you. I got enough of that from your mother . . .”> An awkward silence fills the gap. We both know exactly what happened there. Mum lectured me all day in a language we were both unfamiliar with to keep me safe whilst you did whatever you damn well pleased. She had enough and ran.

<“Oh right and we both know how well that went. Maybe if you listened for once in your life, you’d see if we were unhappy.”>

<“I always listen! I've never done anything that both you and your mother didn't agree with. Moving here was our decision, not mine. Look, the police are still out looking for her. I’ll let you know the second I hear anything, I just need to make sure you’re alright in your new school.”>

<“That you shipped me away too the second you could. Converted my room into an arcade yet?”>

<“Son please . . .”>

<“You know what . . . Fuck you. . . Call me back if you hear anything about Mum, other than that If I want to speak to you I’ll call you. Have all the game time in the world! Bump up your achievement points by another few thousand, for all I care! I’m not going to sit around and be second best to a few pages of code!”>

I throw my phone at the wall and it lands next to my bed. Is it broken? Who cares. My Dad is the most worthless man I’ve ever met. Can barely spend five minutes away from his stupid games, and has the nerve to talk to me like he cares. I’m tired of his charade. I still need food though. Argh, why now? Why of all times does he call me when I’m stressed enough already? And to think, I was going to call him to let him know I’m alright. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Maybe the walk into town will clear my head. I gather my belongings, including my now screen cracked phone and head out the door, using every ounce of strength I have to not slam it.

It doesn’t take me long to get to the gate from the dorms. I start my march into town, pulling my coat’s collar as high as it will go. I might be boiling but the last thing I need right now is some cretin pulling something because I’m different. With any luck it’s late enough that I’ll be the only one around, but I’m not going to risk it. Just put one foot in front of the other, and breathe. That’s all I do for the first few minutes before I start gradually cooling off. I’m not a typically angry person, I just have my triggers. Him being the major one. And dogs, please God let me go through the next few months at the very least without seeing a dog. Before I know it I see the familiar neon glow of street signs and shop windows. At the very least I’ve got basic food memorised so I can get what I need problem free. A small convenience store catches my eye, seems as good a place as any.

“Welcome to our . . . oh goodness are you alright?”

The old man behind the counter jumps at me. Of course, the face. Always the face. Lets just get this over with so I can go back.

“Yes I’m fine. Just stop staring.”

“I’m so very sorry, you’re from Yamaku aren’t you. We get a lot of business from there, its just I’ve never seen someone with that degree of . . . . Again I’m sorry, it caught me by surprise.”

He bows so low I think his spine might snap. So he’s apologetic, I’ll let him off the hook. I can give him that much. I guess my coat covering the uniform doesn’t help either. Well, seeing as I can only shock someone this much once, I’ll use this as my regular shop. I hope its got what i need.

I make my rounds quickly, picking up whatever I recognise. Several hundred different versions of bread, instant noodles of all kinds, I could be here for hours. Even the ready made box lunches are difficult to understand. I don’t know half the time if I walk past some kind of fish or meat. I’m a bit too tired for this, translating while sleepy and in a bad mood is hard. Ending up with the most basic of basic foods and some soda I pay up and leave. I hear behind me a ‘thank you for shopping here’ and another apology but its in one ear and out the other.

The walk back is far more arduous. It took me fifteen minutes to get down the hill, but it must have been a good half hour back up. By the time I get anywhere close to coming back the sun has now completely set. The cold and pitch black had rolled in quickly. As I neared the familiar gates of Yamaku a shrouded figure became more and more recognisable.

“Who goes there!?”

Its that guy from before. The glasses and scarf guy who was looking for Lilly. He shouts at me so abruptly I get stopped dead in my tracks. In the pitch black with his eyesight no wonder he can’t tell who I am. I’m not exactly a person whose face you can forget easily. I would rather not be chatty right now, but I don’t think I’ll be let off easily by just walking past him. He doesn’t seem the type.

“Its well, me. We haven’t exactly met. You asked me for directions to Miss Satou a couple of days ago.”

“Oh bro! You should have said. Satou told me about you. New guy, right? Well you can pass then, you're one of the cool ones. I’d like to stay and chat but I have a job to do. Protecting all of man, that kind of thing. Hopefully one day you shall join the cause alongside me.”

I don’t even . . . what? Is he insane? I’m not in the mood for this. Thank god hes letting me go. I start walking past him, taking the opportunity to end the conversation there.

“Yeah sure, whatever. I’ll see you around.”

He waves me off and nods.

“Sure thing bro. Just be sure to remember the name . . . Hisao Nakai. It’ll be important some day.”

I guess. Time to get some sleep.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Well this is it. The chapter where people either think I'm going somewhere with this, or I'm insane and leave. Take it as you will, it was fun to plan and write

[supanova]

This turned out to be a bit longer than I expected,

Chapter 12

Sleeping becomes far more difficult than I was hoping. Thanks Dad. One bad night leads to another, and another. Before I know it it’s Saturday. Hoping to get some rest I spend as much time as I can in bed. That is of course, until the walls start shaking with an unholy noise resonating around me. An earthquake? Nope that's someone at my door. Someone is going to pay for this.

“What is it!?” I yell opening up the door. A terrified Misha jumps out of her skin, whilst a completely nonchalant Shizune stands completely oblivious beside her. Hmm, hurricane Misha or someone unaware of how loudly they would be knocking. I don’t know who to direct my frustration at.

“Rich it’s just us. We were worried about you. You didn't show up at class today. Is everything alright?”

“There's classes on a Saturday?” Oh crap yes there are. I only remember this now? What’s happening to me? Shizune buries her face in her hands after a quick translation, before the two start gossiping with their scheming faces on. Great.

“Yes of course there are. Shicchan says you were informed of this upon enrolling, and you shouldn't let this happen again. So as a punishment, we are going to bring you along for some council work and tuition~! Either that, or we can leave you to a detention from Mutou~! We can pull a few council strings to get you out of this, It’s your choice of course! WAHAHAHAHA~!”

So I can do what I've been doing for the last few days now, or I can sit in a detention with a disheveled adult for who knows how long. This isn't a choice and they know it. Sigh. There goes my plan for a lazy Saturday. Sunday is still salvageable anyway.

“Fine. You win. What do you need doing?” I grunt. wiping sleep out of my eyes. If this is more paperwork I may kill someone.

“Just some simple things. Giving this form to the art club, and picking up a couple of library books we can write down for you now.” Easy enough. “Just make sure to get changed first Riiiiich~! Those pajamas are soo cute, but not suitable for school! Hahaha!”

Oh for the love of, now I realize I’m standing in front of two girls wearing a storm trooper pajama set I've owned for a couple years now. This is so humiliating. Red-faced I turn back into my room, slamming the door and throw on the first uniform I see. The council waiting patiently on the other side of the door. I grab a quick drink of cola and head out the door to a laughing Misha.

“I won’t tell anyone Rich!” Misha mentions as we walk off. Shizune has a mute snicker behind us, how surreal. “I like what you've done with your room though. Very personalized. Wahahaha~! We’ll ignore the rule breaking of the mini fridge if you let us borrow it too sometime!”

“You’d better not tell anyone. And fine, but it’s not leaving my room. If you want to use it, come to me.” I put a lot of emphasis onto my fridge not leaving my room. I don’t want the whole school to know about it, I’ll get pestered. Actually, thinking about it, did I just invite girls to my room?

“Of course!” Misha folds her arms. I guess that’s her way of being serious.

We walk straight out the dorms passing by rather tired students straight to the front doors. That’s where we end up parting ways as I head up to the art room. I've walked past it a few times now, but never been in. Just the occasional artist leaving the room giving me a brief view inside. I don’t know any artists personally, but I did overhear talk about their teacher during art class from the students behind me. A hidden psychopath apparently, not to be trusted. I’ll just walk in and out again, quick as I can then. Corridors twist and turn as I travel the somewhat memorized layout of the main building until I reach the dreaded art room. I take an exaggerated breath and walk inside.

Surprisingly more clean than I was expecting, the room is about the same as any other classroom. The occasional easel strewn about, a few loose pages scattered were all that seemed out of place. Well, bar the paintings. Lining every wall are what clearly are some specific individual has created. I’m not sure I can tell what is being depicted, however one thing is certain. The art style has changed considerably. What was once various body parts and rainbow colours has been replaced with blood, gore, all in spades. A few specific images that catch my eye are a corpse shattered like glass, as well as what appears to be a blood rain falling from black clouds. If anything was tactless in a school of the disabled this is it. Before I can continue my thoughts any further a rather large man grabs my attention from the other side of the room.

“Can I help you young man? Or are you just here to admire the work of our school’s art prodigy.”

This must be one of the teachers. He’s quite a portly man, wearing a rather ugly red jacket and a mustard yellow tie decorated with triangles. If he thinks this is stylish he’s definitely delusional. Perhaps going for living art, most grotesque appearance possible. Stop it Richard, he’s a teacher here, be polite.

“Hello. I’m here to deliver this form to the art club director on behalf of the council.”

“Well that’s me.” I hand over the form to him quickly. Man his hands are disgusting. “Another budget form, of course. I don’t think I've seen you around before young man, if you need my again my names Nomiya. Of course we’d welcome more members to the art club anytime.” He adds an incredibly obnoxious laugh to the end of his sentence. I don’t understand art. and even if I did meeting this man has put me off it for a while.

“I’ll have to decline. Before I head back to the council though, might I ask who painted these? They’re certainly . . . striking. I’d like to know if I know them personally.”

“Ah that would be our genius Rin Tezuka. It’s strange, she was always a good artist but recently it would seem she had some inspiration. Some focus. Almost as if she changed overnight. Perhaps her discovering that poor boy was exactly what she needed. But I’m rambling, you need to return to your duties. Ah, to see youth interested in art is so refreshing.”

“I see. Well thank you for your time.”

I hastily leave. I can’t help but wonder what he meant towards the end. It wouldn't be fair of me to ask, it’s most likely an event that happened before I arrived. Plus, it’s not someone I know or have heard of so it doesn't matter. I’m definitely avoiding that room at any cost at the very least. Between the creepy paintings and the creepier teacher I’ll get nightmares if I ever start sleeping properly again. That explains where the soul destroying artwork in the halls is coming from. I set off up to the library to pick up those books for those two, so I can finally finish running around.

I've been shown around the library once already, so I know my way around. Many shelves arranged in columns filled to the brim with books for every need, and a few computers with headphones for those who wish to type. A few beanbags are arranged next to tables towards the end of the room. I don’t know libraries, but this is what I imagined down to the smallest detail. The small extra being all the individual aids for individual needs. I take out the small list of books they asked for. ‘Advanced Kanji’, some England history book and an English dictionary. Why they have English dictionaries here I wouldn't know, but these are clearly for my lessons with them. Apart from the history book, why they need that is beyond me. Carefully skimming along the seemingly endless book collection I notice Lilly waiting in front of the main desk.

“Oh hey there Lilly, what are you doing here?”

She turns around to face me. In a second she pinpoints my position with her hearing. It’s almost as if she was never blind to begin with. She gives a small nod and a smile.

“Ah hello. That would be Richard yes? I’m picking up some books for a friend of mine. She doesn't leave her room a lot currently, and has missed classes, so I’m retrieving some textbooks for her exams. She’s not feeling very well.”

That's further than a lot of people would go for someone. Must be a close friend of hers.

“Well I hope she gets better soon.”

“Thank you, I shall let her know people are worried about her. Here for some studying yourself?”

“Not really, just got the council on my back for something I did. I’m here collecting some books for them.”

“Ah, I’m quite familiar with their ‘mindset’. If you don’t mind me saying, do be careful around them. They can be a bit ignorant of some peoples feelings at times. Expecting too much is something they do quite often. There was a particularly unfortunate boy I met just the other week they had a bit of a negative effect on.”

“I’d like to think I’m smart enough to take care of myself, but I appreciate the concern.” Id like to think that, but here I am doing their dirty work. “They haven’t been as driven as you say whilst helping me recently.”

“I shall take your word for it. If you are being helped then I am happy for you.”

Our conversation is interrupted by the timely arrival of the local librarian. I was introduced to her ahead of time because of her nervous disposition. She nearly fainted straight away. Apart from that she is the typical librarian, glasses and shoulder length red hair. Quite tall as well, though I’m not sure of her age. She looks young, but has a job here, so could be anywhere in her twenties. Yuuko I think her name was. She hands Lilly a few textbooks.

“Here are your books for Hanako. Let her know I hope she gets better soon.”

“I will, thank you Yuuko.“ Yuuko was her name then. I’m getting better at this.

“Hanako? I've heard that name before. Is she in my class?” I ask. I think I've heard the name on the register a couple times, or from somewhere else. Can’t recall where.

“Oh are you in Mutou’s class? She has been absent for a small while. it’s quite possible you wouldn't have noticed her. When she returns though I hope you’ll get along well with her.”

“I’ll do my best.” I won’t say anything bad at any rate, doesn't mean i’ll be saying anything at all. Lilly doesn't need to know that though.

“Now Richard I am afraid I must be off, I shall let you get back to the council.”

As she turns to head out the door I notice she gets stopped by a rather tall girl with long purple hair. At least that's what I would notice if she wasn't burned down her right hand side. Wow that looks bad, is this what people feel when they see me? No wonder they get repulsed so much. Wow do I feel bad for her.

“L-Lilly, I forgot a book I needed.” The girl whispers, clearly uncomfortable with being here.

Is this Hanako then? She looks fine enough to me, definitely not visibly sick at the very least. Was Lilly lying to me? Or is it that she’s just sick on the inside. It looks like it took effort for her to come here. The word shy seems to be an understatement. She turns to look at me, and I see a mixture of fear and shock in her expression. Did she only just notice me?

“Y-you. You’re like me.” She mumbles, staring straight at me. I suppose I am in a way. I’m not sure how to respond to this, though, I did say to Lilly I’d be nice.

“Err. Hi. I’m Rich. Are you by any chance Hanako?”

She probably wasn't expecting any kind of engagement, I don’t think she meant to say that out loud. She jumps at my sudden questioning. A deer in the headlights is very appropriate here. She starts to hide her face behind her hands and starts shaking. Did I do something wrong? I am almost as uncomfortable as her right now. She slowly opens her mouth and begins to respond slowly.

“Y-yes. I am. I. . . I. . . EXCUSEMEINEEDTOGO.” She blurts out while dashing out the door and out of sight. I stare into space confused and worried.

“Don’t take that to heart, it isn't your fault. I’ll find her. She’s always had a nervous disposition but especially so in recent days. It’s quite a shame, she is such a nice person when you get to know her. There is something though, can I ask what she meant by you’re like me?”

Oh right, she never did find out about me. The reason I was so calm around her in the first place. She can’t see my face.

“I’m similarly scarred. She probably noticed that.” I won’t go into more detail, not yet. Maybe in the future, if she’s that adamant in knowing.

“I understand. Then if possible, I’d like you two to be friends when shes in a better place. It’d be good for her to open up, and if you share a connection like such It’s likely to help.” She has a point, but how would I befriend someone that shy? Is it even possible?

“I can promise to try, but I’m not especially good with people.” Understatement of the century right there.

“I wouldn't know about that, you seem like a kind and genuine person. I appreciate the thought. And with that then I must be off. Do take care.”

She sets off in search of the scared girl I seem to have unintentionally traumatized, whilst I head back to looking for the books I was tasked with obtaining. I find them without much trouble, check them out and leave to the student council room. One things certain, this isn't a day I’m forgetting anytime soon.