Uncertainty (A Post Emi-Good Ending Story) [Act 1 Scene 5 - Chapter 1 Oct. 26th, 2024]

[Peorth]

So Emi's dealing with phantom limb pain, huh?
Poor girl.
Those dizzy spells our main man is having are concerning as well, I wonder why Emi ended the phone call like she did, guess I'll have to keep reading to find out

[ShizuneFan2019]

Great to see an update! As I mentioned before, I find your handling of the reunion pretty interesting. Please kindly allow me to reference your work in mine, especially on the BY high school friends part.

Edit: Potential error in the Karaoke picture. There should be 3 boys (Shin, Takumi, Hisao) and 3 girls (Mai, Kai, 'Nako). But there are 4 girls in the photo. Also the positions don't match. The description says, "I take a seat at the end of the bench on the far side next to Mai. Next to her is Fushiharu, and with enough space for the other two is a gap with Shin on the other side." So, before 'Nako and Takumi went back to their seats the order should be: Shin, x, x, Kai, Mai, Hisao, next to the EXIT. After Hisao and Kai go to the stage, the order should now be: Shin, Takumi, 'Nako, x, Mai, x. Now let's say 'Nako took Hisao's original seat (i.e. Shin, Takumi, x, x, Mai, 'Nako), then it also doesn't make sense as you said "Kai is smaller than Iwanako, who herself was pretty short", so she shouldn't be taller than Mai as the picture illustrates. (However, in the Scene 3 photo, 'Nako looks to be almost taller than Hisao, so there's another potential inconsistency.)

[Mirage_GSM]

I really liked this chapter - or these three chapters?
Anyway a really nice flow of scenes with a good progression - and not a single mention of PTSD

Not even much to comment on:

“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by names I don’t recognize and can barely read.

Guy doesn't even recognize Elton John... Philistine!

...silences that used to hang over us when it was just him and Ime.

[StealthyWolf]

Before I got to responding to the comments, I wanted to give an update on how the Scenes will look in the future. After some deliberating and bits of feedback I think it's in the best interest of everyone here that going forward I try to avoid larger posts such as Scene 4. As much as I enjoy larger Scenes, it means longer wait times between posts and makes it harder to find the time to read it in one go which can be frustrating. So going forward I will be posting Scenes in parts I'll call "chapters" The goal is to keep them relatively short compared to everything so far, but Ideally this'll mean less time between posts and a more readable experience for everyone. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you all in the next one as well!

Oh, so maaaany things have changed since the last update! It's good to have some sense of stability and it was very good continuation of the story.

Moments of stability are definitely something that's been scarce for Hisao. Even when the stability comes with some... difficult conversations.

I guess the real conflicts of the story are ahead of us, and I'm really worried for Emi.

Looking forward for the next chapter, thank you!

Glad to see you enjoyed the newest Scene! Hope you're ready for what's to come next.

So Emi's dealing with phantom limb pain, huh?
Poor girl.
Those dizzy spells our main man is having are concerning as well, I wonder why Emi ended the phone call like she did, guess I'll have to keep reading to find out

Phantom limb pain seems like actual hell to have to deal with. As for everything else, well I'll just agree that you'll indeed have to keep reading . Thanks for reading and glad you enjoyed!

Great to see an update! As I mentioned before, I find your handling of the reunion pretty interesting. Please kindly allow me to reference your work in mine, especially on the BY high school friends part.

Feel free to reference it if you think it'll add to your story! Happy to be a source of some inspiration and happy to see you enjoy it.

Edit: Potential error in the Karaoke picture...

As for everything noted here, I'll try to respond point to point.
1: All members are present and accounted for. Takumi has a slimmer build and longer hair than usual. He's on the right next to Shin. Though this image's depiction of him does have slightly longer hair than I would've gone with.
2: Positioning. The exit in the image (I think) is meant to be something more like a fire exit. Honestly, if I were to ask for a revision to this piece it'd probably just be to remove it. As for the positioning, as far as I can tell it's consistent with the description. If the exit to the main building is behind the camera on the right (or just off screen), that'd mean the order is Shin, Takumi, X (Kai), Iawanako, Mai, X (Hisao), with their exact positioning being morphed for visual clarity. Specifically Iwanako would probably be more to the left, I just didn't want her blocking Hisao/Kai off in the image. As for heights, the other 4 not on stage are sitting down, otherwise Kai would easily be the shortest. As for the differences in Iwanako's height, I'll have to chalk it up to different artists and perspective playing a roll. In the other image referenced, she's closer to the "camera".

I really liked this chapter - or these three chapters?
Anyway a really nice flow of scenes with a good progression - and not a single mention of PTSD

Not even much to comment on:

“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by names I don’t recognize and can barely read.

Guy doesn't even recognize Elton John... Philistine!

Hisao needs some culture in his life, for sure. Glad you enjoyed the update and had little issues with it!

[ShizuneFan2019]

As for everything noted here, I'll try to respond point to point.
1: All members are present and accounted for. Takumi has a slimmer build and longer hair than usual. He's on the right next to Shin. Though this image's depiction of him does have slightly longer hair than I would've gone with.
2: Positioning. The exit in the image (I think) is meant to be something more like a fire exit. Honestly, if I were to ask for a revision to this piece it'd probably just be to remove it. As for the positioning, as far as I can tell it's consistent with the description. If the exit to the main building is behind the camera on the right (or just off screen), that'd mean the order is Shin, Takumi, X (Kai), Iawanako, Mai, X (Hisao), with their exact positioning being morphed for visual clarity. Specifically Iwanako would probably be more to the left, I just didn't want her blocking Hisao/Kai off in the image. As for heights, the other 4 not on stage are sitting down, otherwise Kai would easily be the shortest. As for the differences in Iwanako's height, I'll have to chalk it up to different artists and perspective playing a roll. In the other image referenced, she's closer to the "camera".

I see your point right there.

1. So Takumi is the second person from the left wearing brown/yellow shirt. He looks really like a girl. (You did say he has longer hair but still...) It's okay, but it's important that you clarify for that because I'm going to stick with this impression of Takumi in my upcoming chapters (I'm already working on it).
2. To clarify, I suppose you're saying that there's another "empty space" next to Mai in the picture (for Hisao). It doesn't seem like so in the picture, so I do think both 'Nako and Mai need to move to the left by a little bit, but not blocking Hisao on the stage. But again, thanks for the clarification as I'll once again be consistent and use the same images of Mai and Kai in my work (and yeah, Kai is in too, and I'm already thinking about finding a partner for the beret girl; she looks cute). And I'll assume that in terms of height, Kai < 'Nako < Mai < Shin.

Looking forward to your next update, and I'll adjust accordingly.

[StealthyWolf]

[snip]

Looking forward to your next update, and I'll adjust accordingly.

I would operate under the assumption that the image in not 100% representative of the actual story. It's meant to be a visual, done by an artist not familiar with the material. With that said, if you do use the image as reference just make sure to give the artist the same credits I did.

[StealthyWolf]

Scene 5: Unwelcome Reflections and the Girl Left on her Own

Chapter 1: Prelude to Doubt

Ugh… I don’t wanna wake up. Stupid alarm, waking me up at the same time you have for the past few years now. Don’t you know I can’t go- Ah… right, I can’t go on morning runs right now; I don’t need to grab my blades. The urge came and went so quickly today… Am I getting used to this arrangement? I hope not.

I don’t like wheelchairs, and I really don’t like to wake up this early if I can’t go on a run. “Keeping a schedule is the right thing for you to do right now, Emi.” His words taunt me as I recall our last conversation. Still deciding if that was Shige talking to me, or Nurse to one of his students. I mean, I know it’ll help if- when I get back to running, buuut that’s easier said than done.

Besides, I’m certain that advice wasn’t for the sake of my physical health.

There was something going on today though. Right? Right! Hisao’s leaving today and I want to at least say goodbye to his face. Why does he have to live four hours away in the far end of the Saitama Prefecture? Phone calls are fine and all, but they aren’t the same and this’ll be the last time we can see each other for two weeks.

Right. Let’s go.

“Ow!” I sit up a little too quickly and a jolt shoots up my left leg. Gingerly, I maneuver myself to the foot of the bed and transfer into the waiting wheelchair. To keep my hands free, I balance a little basket on my lap which I quickly fill with my outfit for the day (which is cute as hell), a fresh roll of gauze, and everything else I need, then I head to the bathroom.

Once I’m there, I set the basket aside, brush my teeth, then start the careful process of showering without legs. I’m proud of how quickly I can get it done these days but I hate that it's necessary at all.

First thing to come off is the shrinker on my right leg, then the wrap and gauze on my left, and lastly the rest of my clothes. Then I move the stool for the shower out of the way and unfold the chair on the wall. I transfer onto it, hook the basket onto the back of the wheelchair so I have a place to put everything as I finish using it, and carefully tuck the wheelchair behind the separating wall – safely outside of the splash-zone.

I take a deep breath and remind myself there’s no better way to wake up a fogged-up brain than this. Get it? Fogged, like fuc-c-c-KING COLD! “Sh-shit, that’s f-f-freezing!”

By the time the water warms up, I’m wide awake and shivering. It would be more comfortable to warm it up before turning it on myself, or even getting in, but this way guarantees the wheelchair doesn't get wet.

Speaking of which – which being nothing since I was never speaking about it but it still crosses my mind – I haven’t heard Mom moving around yet. She better not have slept in today of all days. I won’t let her hear the end of it!

Or… maybe not. I should go a little easier on her, after everything that’s happened. But I really don’t want to be late today.

Aaand there goes my leg.

It’s still difficult to put too much weight on it or let it hang for too long so unless I do a careful dance in the shower with my positioning it’ll become painful and stay that way for a couple hours. There’s always the option to get something more comfortable than this basic chair, but at that point I may as well roll outside and shout ‘hey World! I give up!’ and Ibarazakis do not give up.

After I finish the shower, re-wrap my leg, and slowly dress myself, I reach for my hair ties.

Should I just stick with the yellow ones because they’re cute and work well with my usual outfit, or should I try a new color again? Shige gave me a multicolor pack a long time ago for a birthday, and the last couple times I tied my hair up with the blue ones to see if Hisao would notice, he didn’t. The first time was when we were gonna go on that hike and I might have caught him glancing at them, but he never said anything so it’s hard to tell if he actually noticed or was just staring off into space. He does that a lot.

Then I tried again when we went for that picnic a few days ago, but he was pretty damn distracted - which is fair, I think, considering everything going on. We were in a car crash, he almost died, Lilly and her sister showed up, yadah, yadah, yadah. So of course he didn’t notice; it was a busy and exhausting week.

He almost died.

Bad Emi. Hair ties. Pink. Pink is a loud color. And he knows how I don’t really care for the color, so maybe he’ll comment this time. Hopefully. Yeah, I’ll go with pink.

They’re stiff with disuse and I’m surprised they don’t snap when I put them on. Alright, that should do it. And it looks… good? Might even be cute. I wonder if Hisao will think so too…

Shit, even after all this time the thought of Hisao calling me cute still makes me blush. Then the warm feeling vanishes and a frown plants itself on my face. It’s been a long time since he said something like that. I think the last time was the day after he woke up from the crash. Obviously I don’t hold it against him… but you can’t blame a girl for missing it either, right?

When I open the door to leave, Mom is walking past towards my room. She smiles, yawns, then says, “So you are awake. Fantastic.”

“I never sleep in!”

“I don’t know about that~ ”

“Says the woman who is still rubbing the drool from her face.” There are bags under her eyes too, but I don’t say anything about them.

“Do as I say, not as I do. Never said I was a shining example.”

“But at least you tell the truth. Hurry up and get ready! Hisao will start his morning walk in about an hour and I want to surprise him on his way back to his room.”

“Hmmm, but a nice lo~ ong bath sounds so relaxing right about now!”

I glare at Mom and she knows it since she locks her eyes on the bathroom door, feigning a dreamy expression.

“Mom, I know where you sleep.”

She turns back to me with squinting eyes and a goofy smile. “That’s exactly what I want you to think.” She’s way too proud of herself.

Making sure she sees my exaggerated eye roll, I push past her towards my room. “Just hurry up already!”

As I close the door I hear her shout from the bathroom, “Oh~ daughter of mine! You forgot to fold your chair up, again!”

Whoops.

~ ~ ~

As we turn into the parking lot at Yamaku, I spot Lilly and Akira standing behind one of the only other cars here. Before the crash, I barely interacted with Lilly, let alone Akira, but as I roll down the window I realize I’m happy to see them.

“Lilly! Akira! Hiiiii!” I wave to them, my head half out the window. Akira waves back, then leans over to Lilly, who giggles at whatever her sister said. Seeing them laugh together like that gives me a pang of jealousy as I think about what it’d be like to have a close sibling like those two have – or close… anyone.
My mom slaps the arm that’s still in the car. “Are you a dog? At least wait until we park the car.”

Luckily they’re only parked a couple spaces away from the dedicated wheelchair spaces, so we wind up next to them. I open the door to talk while Mom sets up the wheelchair, though it’s mostly Mom and Akira chatting at first.

Akira is in her boring ‘all work, no play’ mode since Mom is here, and the two quickly jump into a back and forth about as stale as they can be. They mostly talk about the new car and our recovery from the crash and something about insurance. Akira makes a point of reminding us to reach out if we need anything else, preferably to herself or her father.

While Mom and Akira are distracted I’m tempted to mock all the official talk by making faces behind their backs, but Lilly obviously wouldn’t see it and even if she could, I doubt she’d appreciate the joke as much as me. I settle for impatiently and ostentatiously tapping my fingers on the armrest.

Eventually, Akira takes the hint (my mom, if she noticed at all, just ignored me as I knew she would). She throws the last bags from the trunk over her shoulder and hands one to Lilly. “Can we walk and talk? We’ve got some stuff to drop off.” We nod our agreement and Akira offers an arm to Lilly, which the latter accepts. I for one am eager to be off because Hisao’s walk should end soon and I’d hate to miss him, but I didn’t want to rush them any more aggressively than I already am.

Lilly waits until we get into a rhythm, then asks, “If you don’t mind me asking, what brought you two to the school? I presume you aren’t staying here for the summer, Emi.”

I shake my head. “Nope. Just here to see Hisao off. What about you two?”

“I’m unpacking my belongings back into my room as the school finally approved my return. This is the last of it here.” Lilly lifts the bag she’s carrying to underline the point. I notice the bags Akira’s carrying look noticeably lighter.

“I can’t wait to see Shizune’s face after she sees you back at school!”

“Unfortunately I’m going to have to disappoint you: my cousin already knows of the change in plans.”

“Awww! It’s too bad we couldn’t have been there to give her the news. Imagine it! I bet she would have been speechless!”

Lilly laughs delicately while Akira brays. Dad would have been proud.

Lilly adds, “I’m sure it was quite a shock to her. I for one would only want to be there if I had hearing protection from Misha’s reaction.”

“No kidding!” Akira catches her breath. “My ears are already ringing just imagining it!”

Lilly, Akira and I share another laugh, leaving Mom out of the loop. When she remembers Mom’s here, Akira clears her throat, straightens herself out, and calms down. It takes Lilly and I a few more seconds to do the same, then Lilly asks, “So you’re here to see Hisao off then? Is he going anywhere special?” Akira’s nose flares as she glances at Lilly. She doesn’t say anything so I answer Lilly.

“Just home.” If Akira has something to say I’m sure she’ll say it.

“How long is he going to be gone?”

“He’ll be back in two weeks.”

“And where is his home?”

Why is she digging for so many details? She’s probably just making small talk but it feels intrusive. “... Down in the Minuma Ward of Saitama.”

“Oh my, that’s quite the distance. Will you be visiting him at all during that time?”

I’d like to, just not now. I shake my head again, then realize that Akira is the only one of the two able to see that. Small talk, Emi. Small talk. “Nah, I want to properly meet his parents on my own two legs, not wheels. Besides, I hear all of their bedrooms are on the second floor of his house. Not exactly wheelchair accessible. Have you been doing anything exciting since last time we talked?”

Akira tries to discreetly tug at Lilly’s arm, and she would’ve been successful had I not been looking at her directly.

Lilly doesn’t seem bothered. “Unfortunately much of my time has been spent ensuring affairs are in order. As it turns out, undoing a mid-year transfer whilst in the middle of said transfer is quite the undertaking.” She makes it sound like she’s taking care of a funeral. “It’s a shame that you won’t be able to join Hisao. You two have been quite inseparable for some time now. Will the two of you be alright?” Are we playing twenty questions or something? This is starting to feel much less like small talk and a lot more like an interrogation, especially with how quickly she moved on from my question.

We reach the splitting off point for the two dorms and Mom and I come to a stop. Akira notices and slows down as well. She also puts her hand on Lilly’s shoulder, like she’s trying to restrain her.

Speaking of Lilly, does she think we can’t manage ourselves on our own? “We’ll be fine. Hisao’s not a lost puppy anymore so I think he’ll be okay, and we’ll talk on the phone most nights. Do we really seem that fragile to you?”

Lilly and Akira have stopped to face us. Lilly frowns and narrows her eyebrows for a moment, like she didn’t expect such a dry response. “Sorry, I meant no offense. I’ve… always struggled with the idea of a long-distance relationship.” Before I can respond, she pulls her arm from Akira’s grasp and shakes her head, then the smile returns. “It sounds like a lovely arrangement. If I may, how’s his recovery going?” And she’s right back to the questions, though at least this one’s out of concern for his health.

Akira shifts uncomfortably, but for now I let the subject drop. I’ve been tense lately, Lilly’s just being polite, and my mom has put a hand on my shoulder and is sending through all the admonishing energy she can without outright saying anything. “Good! He’s been out of the hospital for a few days now, and his talking is pretty much back to normal, but he can’t run for a couple weeks - doctor’s orders.”

Mom butts in, “And he’ll actually take it easy and obey them because he’s a good boy, unlike someone I know.”

“Who could that be?” My sarcasm earns me a pinch on the arm. “Ow! Hey, that was mean!”

Lilly and Akira chuckle at my expense, then Lilly’s smile fades. “So Hisao’s okay with the separation?”

Okay seriously, what’s with all these questions? It’s starting to really annoy me. “He seems to be fine with it. Besides, I just said we’ll be talking every night.” Wow, okay Emi. calm down, it’s not that deep. She’s just being Lilly and is worried about him.

“Of course. Hmm.” Lilly nods, then seems to go deep into thought.

Akira notices and puts her hand on Lilly’s. At first I thought she was just holding it, but even in my anger I can see she’s squeezing Lilly’s hand rhythmically. By the time I realize what’s happening I’ve missed the first letters and can only catch the tail end – “__op it st-” Lilly snatches her hand away, scowling at her sister.

I’ve had enough of this.

“Stop what?” I ask coldly. It was guesswork to pin down exactly what she was probably saying, but it seems to have paid off because Akira and Lilly both look deliciously surprised that I know Wabun. Any other day I’d love this moment, but I’m too mad right now.

“Why is Lilly asking me so many questions? What’s going on?”

Akira recovers first, holding her hands up peaceably, like she’s worried I’m going to attack. And maybe I will. I can feel myself shaking with anger and my mother’s hand on my shoulder has tightened.

“I… don’t know if you want to know, to be honest, Miss- ah, Emi.”

“I think I do.”

“Knowing everything doesn’t always make you happier, you know. I’m speaking from experience here.”

“Do not talk down to me right now.”

“My apologies - I didn’t mean it like that.” Akira takes a second to carefully shift gears. “Would you take my word that based on what you’ve told us, you’ve absolutely taken the bottom out of my sister’s unfounded theory?” Lilly’s scowl could curdle milk, but Akira pays her no mind. Neither do I.

“Of course not! If I don’t even know what this ‘theory’ is, how do I know you’re not in on it?”

“I’m not, but I take your point. If you’ll let me-”

“No. I won’t let you! Tell me what’s going on!”

Mom sighs. “Emi dear, I’m sure they’re just worried about his well-being, is all.”

Why is everyone working against me here? “He’s my boyfriend - I just want to know!” I shriek.

Not even the wind dares interrupt the stone-cold silence. I hate the knowing, pitying look in Akira’s eye. It’s as though my little display just confirmed something for her. Then she abruptly nods to herself, wiping the look from her face, and clears her throat. “As mentioned before, my sister has a… theory she's been worried about since we initially spoke to Hisao-”

“Thank you for respecting attorney-client privilege,” Lilly scowls at Akira. Even through my own rage I recognize that Lilly can be very cutting when she wants to be. Then, back to the pretty, nice princess-girl act in an instant. “Akira’s summary is accurate. I was worried about Hisao but now I’m not. Your answers have made me feel much better.”

And yet I only feel worse. “What about Hisao worried you?”

“I’m certain it’s nothing worth making a fuss over at this point.”

I think it’s a bit late for that. “Then it won’t matter when you tell me, will it?”

“I wouldn’t want to make you stress over what’s likely a baseless assumption on our part.” Lilly slightly turns toward Akira, who seems unbothered her sister has incriminated her.

“Enough with the games, Lilly. If it really is nothing it won’t matter, but either way I need to know.”

Mom’s hand tightens again on my shoulder, but she says nothing.

Lilly doesn’t seem convinced and hesitates to respond. I’m about to start shaking the answers out of her when Akira steps in. “It’s only fair, Lilly – think of it as compensation for prior emotional distress.”
Lilly sighs. “I’m still not sure what value there is to be gained from this, but if you’re certain… As best as we could tell when we visited him in the hospital, it seemed like his thoughts and mind were preoccupied. Like he was worried and that something was bothering him - that’s all. As I said, probably nothing.”

Ah – “Was… was that it?”

“Yes. I apologize that my presumptions caused you undue stress.”

“No, no…” It’s like I’ve fallen flat on my ass after the rug’s been pulled from under me. I sag into the chair and Mom must notice since her vice grip on my shoulder loosens dramatically. “I shouldn’t have blown up at you like that. Sorry. As for Hisao being worried, well, that was probably my fault.”

Lilly cocks her head and looks concerned that I answered in spite of myself.

But it’s true. I couldn’t talk to him about my leg in the hospital, not there. I wanted to wait until we were both out at the very least. It bothered him a lot more than I hoped it would, but I guess waiting a whole week in the hospital with nothing to do but worry would do that to him… or anyone, really. Still, he never seems to stop worrying, even when I tell him not to. “Thanks for not telling him about my leg sooner. Sorry I got you involved.”

Lilly gives a warm smile. “I don’t mind. There are some things others should not interfere with. As for earlier, it’s only natural you’d get suspicious of us given the situation.” Her expression falls back to a neutral one. “However I- err…” It’s rare to see Lilly pause mid-sentence like this.

Akira nudges her shoulder. “Out with it, then.”

Lilly turns to Akira and nods. It seems like they’ve talked this out before already. “I don’t believe that’s what was on his mind. Of course, he was very concerned about your condition and did an extraordinarily poor job hiding that fact, but there was something else.” Something else? “I’m not sure, maybe I was just imagining it, but he seemed… I don’t know…”

Akira finishes the thought. “I believe your earlier description of it was that he was ‘lost in his own head,’ right?”

“Yes. Something along those lines.” Lilly smiles at her sister.

Akira rubs her forehead. “I’m still not convinced. Forgive me for being so forward, but he’s young, was in the hospital with a life-threatening condition, and is going to be separated from his girlfriend for a couple weeks. If you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras.”

So this isn’t a new conversation for them. I wonder how much time they’ve spent going back and forth in private. It’s nice to know others share my feeling that something was off with Hisao, but what could be bothering him?

I’m pretty sure I talked about everything going on with me at the picnic, and Hisao also talked about a lot… but then again he still seemed off for the rest of the day. He was unusually quiet, and kept trying to help me with busywork when I told him I was fine. At the time, I thought he was tired (and with good reason), but if Lilly noticed something even that far back…

“Sorry Emi. I didn’t mean to pry, it was just-” Lilly pauses and tilts her head to the side a little. “It seems as though we have company on the way.”

Speak of the devil. I wave him over. “Hisao! There you are.” While Hisao starts walking towards us I turn to Lilly and say, “I’m sure it’s nothing! Just as you said.”

“I’m sure…” She seems far from convinced, but drops the subject as Hisao joins us.

---

Table of Contents | Previous Scene: Scene 4: One Step Forward | Next Scene: Scene 5 - Chapter 2: Building Tension (Coming November 26th)

First off, thanks to Stiles as always for the stupendous work and feedback you've given me. I love the way the story is coming together and improving under your advice.

As for this post, thus ends the shortest post for Uncertainty so far. After posting Scene 4, getting feedback on it, and honestly as the result of a lot of thinking about it both before and after that, I realized that posting a 20k word update was my breaking point. I don't want to make such large dumps all at once that it hinders the enjoyment of the story, and no amount of splitting posts will make up for the fact that it is all under one single "Scene" post. But I also didn't want to break up "Scenes" into separate Scenes because I felt it would harm the thematic ties I wrote them with.

Solution: Posting Scenes in parts labeled "chapters". These will happen at natural pausing points in the story while also giving distinctive breaks between the long Scenes as a whole. On top of that, it will hopefully lead to a smoother posting schedule. If things work out as I hope they do, the massive breaks between Scenes shouldn't be as massive in the future. But I make no promises and the only time a schedule will happen is when you see a date after "coming" for the next Chapter/Scene.

This Chapter is on the shorter side, but not by much for what I want the average chapter length to be. Some may still be on the longer side, but barring special exemptions I do not plan make a single post over 10k words going forward. If you're reading my new story "Saying Goodbye to Tomorrow", I am also using this method for posting that as well.

On to this chapter! I knew from the beginning of writing Uncertainty that I wasn't going to stick to just Hisao's POV. This was for two reasons. One, this isn't just Hisao's story; it's Hisao and Emi's. Writing Emi's perspective was and has been a nice change of pace and exploring another perspective and side of the story helped a lot of what I want to write click into place. I can't say whether or not there will be other perspectives as well later on, but it's not off the table . This perspective change is also why I described Scene 4 as the "end of 'chapter 1' of Act 1" last time, though the new naming scheme makes all that more confusing. Basically, think of it as a slight shift in stages for Act 1, of which I think there'll be 3. Not that any of those semantics matter...

Anywho, thanks for reading and see you next month for Chapter 2!

[hdkv]

Guessing by the next chapter here: the central conflict of the story, here we go!

Maintaining relationships is harder than getting into relationship in the first place (divorce rate may bring your faith in humanity into very low points lol). I wonder how it will be resolved.

Looking forward for the next chapter!

[ShizuneFan2019]

I've been looking forward to your update! I must say, the way you write Emi's POV is so good that I feel like you either have the same personality as her, or your partner does.

As I have mentioned, I have been trying to align my story with your content, and I've given credit to you and the artists. As for the update rate, I agree that a sudden burst of reading material every like half a year or so isn't that great of an idea, mainly because by the time you post the next update, people most likely have forgotten about the contents of previous chapter, and have to read it again just to review the context, which could be annoying (especially for someone like me who's writing my own story and also reading a few others). Monthly updates, even if short ones, are probably better.

And I'm gonna adopt your Emi's ex-boyfriend's name (assume that it is) into my story, if you don't mind.

[StealthyWolf]

Guessing by the next chapter here: the central conflict of the story, here we go!

Maintaining relationships is harder than getting into relationship in the first place (divorce rate may bring your faith in humanity into very low points lol). I wonder how it will be resolved.

Looking forward for the next chapter!

I felt like, of all the relationships in the base game, the only one that had a smooth path forward after the good ending was Hanako's. Which, funny enough, is the one I think was still in the earliest parts of it and was least developed (romantically, at least). Every other relationship was more likely to run into issues down the line, IMO. I think Emi's was probably in second place behind Hanako's, but even Hanako's was still likely to have issues, so...

I've been looking forward to your update! I must say, the way you write Emi's POV is so good that I feel like you either have the same personality as her, or your partner does.

That's an amazing compliment, but I'm sad to report that I neither have a partner nor Emi's personality lol. I think I'd like to believe I have aspects of Emi in my personality (particularly the sarcasm and playfulness there within), but it'd be hard for me to further compare myself for a multitude of reasons.

As I have mentioned, I have been trying to align my story with your content, and I've given credit to you and the artists. As for the update rate, I agree that a sudden burst of reading material every like half a year or so isn't that great of an idea, mainly because by the time you post the next update, people most likely have forgotten about the contents of previous chapter, and have to read it again just to review the context, which could be annoying (especially for someone like me who's writing my own story and also reading a few others). Monthly updates, even if short ones, are probably better.

I think the new update schedule will work better, so I'm happy to see others agree.

And I'm gonna adopt your Emi's ex-boyfriend's name (assume that it is) into my story, if you don't mind.

I'm not sure what name that would be (To be frank, I'd have to re-read most of what I've written in drafts to even know if I have settled on a name for Emi's ex). If you're referring to "Shige", that is Nurse's name in this story. See the start of the chapter connecting his name to actions of Nurse.

In any case, glad your enjoying and sticking around!

[ShizuneFan2019]

I felt like, of all the relationships in the base game, the only one that had a smooth path forward after the good ending was Hanako's. Which, funny enough, is the one I think was still in the earliest parts of it and was least developed (romantically, at least). Every other relationship was more likely to run into issues down the line, IMO. I think Emi's was probably in second place behind Hanako's, but even Hanako's was still likely to have issues, so...

Agreed, and the issue of a relationship with Hanako is described extensively in Sisterhood. And Sisterhood didn't even account for the family aspect of the problem (i.e. the role of Hisao's family in their relationship), which you've been addressing in your story (with Emi) and I'm going to do the same with mine.

That's an amazing compliment, but I'm sad to report that I neither have a partner nor Emi's personality lol. I think I'd like to believe I have aspects of Emi in my personality (particularly the sarcasm and playfulness there within), but it'd be hard for me to further compare myself for a multitude of reasons.

That's actually quite shocking to me, because I believe it's always best and most comfortable to write for a person if you have the personality (or similar) of that person. For example, I'm a stoic, hard-working, and efficient person, so writing Shizune is easy for me. Meanwhile, I encounter big trouble when writing for Emi's sarcasm and playfulness. I can do a few paragraphs, but won't be sustainable. So, being able to write someone that doesn't suit your personality is awesome!

If you're referring to "Shige", that is Nurse's name in this story. See the start of the chapter connecting his name to actions of Nurse.

That's exactly what I was thinking! Now that you spoiled it, I can see that it makes some sense for it being the Nurse's name instead. I probably misunderstood it as a first name rather than last name because you didn't put "Mr." in front of it. In the original story, even though the Nurse seems to be closer to Emi than other characters, I don't see them go beyond a staff-student relationship, to the point that she can address him with first name and be given birthday presents, both of which the role is much more suitable as a boyfriend. My suggestion is, in order to avoid confusion, you might want to indicate the Nurse's name by, say, Emi reading the plate on the door or the name plate on his uniform.

[crimeedge]

Read first chapter of this while engorging on SGtT.

“She hasn’t had other boyfriends?” Wait, Why’d I ask that? I must be more exhausted than I realize because that was a really stupid thing to ask.

Since Emi told Hisao about her ex-boyfriend in the game, is Hisao just meant to be exhausted to the point of some memory loss?