The Ties that bind. LillyxHisao 18+ Chapter 5 up!

[hatori1181]

I haven't written anything in years. For some reason, after playing KS for the second time, I find myself being really drawn to Lilly, despite being a former Hanako fanboy. So I present you this Lilly X Hisao Lemon. I'm not quite sure where it came from, and while I won't make any statements about it's quality, I will say that I've read FAR worse fanfiction. I might continue this story, if people like it. Enjoy!

Edited by the Fantastic Mirage_GSM. Thank you so much.
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I wake slightly to movement next to me. For a minute, I panic. What was that? Where am I? The bed is feels unfamiliar, the feel of the sheets is wrong, and there is a radiating warmth from someone lying next to me, the sounds I'm used to in my room are not present. The room smells of sweat and.... something else. It's the scent that jogs my sleep-addled mind. I remember. I Remember where I am, what I've done, and who is next to me.

I take a moment to let it all sink in. I'm in Hisao's room, in his bed. My watch is missing, so I have no idea what time it is. As my body relaxes, I hear the quiet hum of something electrical. A heater? No, it's too hot for that. His alarm clock? If so, it must be old to hum like that. I listen to Hisao's breathing. It's deep and peaceful, and for the first time in a very long time I genuinely wish I could see what he looks like.
I turn to him, and as I do, a soreness between my legs reminds me of what we've done. I am not ashamed, nor do I have any regrets. The pain is not intense, and them memory of why it exists actually brings a smile to my face. I move my hips slightly in an attempt to massage away the soreness. It works slightly, but raises another problem.
I need to use the bathroom, but I don't remember where it is in relation to this room. I feel bad, but I need directions. I feel around for Hisao's body, and shake him gently.

"Hisao?"
He mumbles something, but after a second his breathing has returned to it's slow pace.

"Hisao? Please wake up."

I feel him move, then I hear a sharp intake of breath. A part of me wonders if he had a moment of panic like I did. If he did, it's over quickly.

"Lilly" he breathes. "What's the matter?"

"I need to use a bathroom."

There's a pause. "Oh! Right. Um, hang on."

I feel him sit up, and I do the same. He moves to the edge of the bed, then stops. 

"Hisao?"

"Huh? Oh! Sorry."

It takes me a few moments to realize that he was staring at me. A part of me is embarrassed, but a part of me wants to jump for joy.

"So how are we going to do this?" He asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, do you want to get fully dressed, or just put on your shirt and skirt?"

I think for a moment. "do you own a large shirt?"

"I think so"

"Well, if it will cover me, I'll just wear that, and you can stand guard."

"That will work, I guess"

He hands me a large shirt and helps me with the sleeves. As I'm buttoning the shirt I hear him sigh, though I doubt it was intentional. The shirt is large enough to cover me though I ask for my panties too, just out of paranoia and modesty. He takes my hand and we walk together out of his room and down to the bathroom.

"Aren't you worried about others being in the hall?" I ask at his lack of hesitation.

"Nah," he replies, "It's just me and Kenji on this floor, and he rarely leaves his room, even when he should..."

I hear a door open and I gasp as my feet feel the sudden cold of the bathroom floor. I feel Hisao move towards me.

"Cold feet" I say, as I point to the floor.

He chuckles and I'm drawn in by the sound. He's so open and honest with his emotions, I don't have to see in order to know how he feels about something; it's always present in his voice.
He leads me to a bathroom stall, and closes the door after making sure I know where everything is. As I hear the door close, I smile. Considerate, loving, kind, gentle. Could I have found someone more perfect?

I finish my business, and Hisao leads me to the sink so I can wash up. As I'm doing this a sudden thought pops into my head.

"Hisao, what are you wearing? I didn't hear you put anything on."

"Oh, I have a shirt and some boxers on. I might be confidant in knowing that there's only two people that live on the floor, but I'm not that brave."

We laugh together, and make our way back to his room. I hear the door open, then shut behind us. I feel him turn to me, then stop suddenly.

"Hisao? Is something wrong?"

"N-no." His voice is shaking slightly. "I was going to ask you something, but..."

"But?" I put out my hand to touch his chest. His heart is beating wildly. Is he going to be okay?

"It sounds so cliche in my head." He continues, "I was going to say something to you, but the way you look in the moonlight just.. emptied my head. You're so beautiful, and I am lucky that you have chosen to be with me. When you woke me up, I thought for a moment that it was another dream, then I panicked untill I saw your face. Then I knew that it had really happened."

I move my hand from his chest to his face, and I am surprised to find that it is wet. Hisao is crying. My heart jumps, and I move closer to him. I pull his face to mine and we kiss. It is full of emotion and love.

Breaking away, Hisao takes my hands. "Lilly. I love you. More than I thought I could ever love anyone, more than I sometimes feel I have a right to."

I feel a sting in my eyes, and I feel a tear roll down my face.

"I love you, too, Hisao."

Have I ever been this happy? I don't know; I can't think. I know that I love him. He pulls me closer and we kiss. I feel his body pressed against mine, our kiss changing from sweet to passionate. His arms are tightly holding me. He breaks off the kiss, but then continues down my neck. He releases his hold on me and begins unbuttoning the shirt so that he can continue kissing my body.

I thought he would stop at my breasts, but he ignores them and continues to kiss down my torso to my stomach. He must be kneeling now, as the final button is undone, and his face is just below my navel. I feel the slightest touch of his fingertips on my hips, and they trail slowly up to the waistband of my panties. His fingers begin sliding them down, and he begins kissing the newly exposed area, just as he did with the shirt.

Slowly, he uncovers my pubic area. He kisses the mound of hair, and lets my panties finally fall to the ground. I feel his breath move my pubic hair, and it sends shivers all over my body. I'm aroused, but I can feel the soreness from losing my virginity, but before I can wonder if I should continue, my body moves of it's own. My legs part slightly, and I suddenly feel Hisao's fingertips brush very gently on the insides of my thighs. I moan slightly, and my knees feel weak.

Hisao must have felt my knees buckle slightly. He stands up slowly, tracing his fingers as he does back up my body. Up over my navel, and I shudder, over my stomach, up to my breasts. He touches them ever so slightly, he makes sure to stop touching every so often so that I'm not sure where or when he will touch next.
I feel him start to guide me. The back of my knees hit the edge of the bed and buckle. Hisao uses the moment to renew his kissing on my thighs. I lay back and enjoy the sensation. Feeling his breath on my legs, his warm kisses drag across each inch of skin. his fingers touch the insides of my thighs again, and my legs part for him.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm amazed at this behavior. Something about Hisao's kisses and the way he holds me makes me desire him in a way I've never known. Our lovemaking earlier wasn't planned, though compared to now it felt rushed. As if our mutual desires couldn't be held back any longer.

My train of thought is suddenly derailed as I feel Hisao's breath against my labia. As I'm about to say something, all thought leaves my head. I feel Hisao's lips and then his tongue against me. He moves slowly, and between the movements of his tongue and his heavy breathing, I feel like I'm falling apart.

I lose track of time while he explores me like this. Suddenly, my body convulses and I gasp. Hisao touches that spot with his tongue again, and is rewarded with a similar reaction. My hands go to his head to push him away from the sensitive spot, but he merely moves my hands to the back of his head and makes me push him against me. I can't contain the moan that escapes from my throat, and my body starts shaking.
Hisao no longer needs to hold my hands, my body has taken over, and it feels like I'm trying to bury his face in between my legs. My body feels hot, then cold, and suddenly I am falling. Another moan flies out of me, much louder than before, and my body shakes.

I feel the weight on the bed shift, and suddenly I feel Hisao's body against mine. I feel his erect penis against my thigh and his kisses the hollow of my throat. His knees find a spot between mine and once again, my legs part for the man I love. He kisses me, and I taste what must be my own fluids on my lips. I don't like the taste, but I'm not repulsed by it either.

Our lips part, and the taste of his tongue mixed with my taste is far better. I feel him start to move closer to me, and my knees bend and begin to wrap around him. Hisao reaches between us and I feel the head of his penis against the opening of my vagina He removes his hands as he slowly pushes into me.

I break the kiss to cry out. I hear his voice, but not the words, my mind too wrapped up in all of the sensations going on inside of me. His insertion hurts, I'm not really recovered from earlier, but I can't stop myself, as the pleasure makes me forget the pain. I feel his penis, stiff inside of me, throbbing sending a chill through me.
Hisao is talking again, I still can't focus, but I feel him start to pull out of me. I wrap my legs around him and I pull him to me, turning the motion into a thrust of his hips. My hips seem to move with his, and he makes a gasp as he pushes deeper into me.

I kiss his body, I'm not even sure where I'm kissing, and I don't care. Hisao is beginning to thrust repeatedly into me. It hurts; I try my best to focus on the pleasure, but I can't deny that I'm in pain. Hisao's breathing seems to be getting more ragged, too. A part of my brain wonders if we should stop.

I realize that I'm crying out with every thrust, and I hear Hisao say something again, and his body convulses. Suddenly, he thrusts very deeply inside me. I almost scream, but I'm cut off by the throbbing of his penis inside me, then the warmth of something filling me.

He slowly pulls out of me, and lays next to me on the bed. He pulls me close and whispers that he loves me, but I fall to sleep before I can reply.

I wake with a chill, still next to Hisao. I use my feet to fumble for the blankets then pull them over the both of us. My entire pubic area hurts, but I do my best to ignore it for the moment.

As I shuffle closer to Hisao, and make myself comfortable, I whisper "I love you, too" before falling back to sleep.

[Mirage_GSM]

Quite a few typos and you slipped into past tense for a few sentences somewhere in the middle.
Other than that it was quite good. I admit I liked the first half better and hoped it would continue like that, but then it's not like you didn't give adequate warning...

[hatori1181]

hmm. I'm sure I ran the fic through spell check. Sorry about the typos. I'm a terrible speller, and I use spellcheck the way alcoholics use a 12 step program. Otherwise, thanks for the thoughts. I'm a bit busy at the moment, but I'll probably go through and fix the tense issues. I honestly like the first part better, myself. I have an idea to continue this story, and making the love and passion between them is going to be the focus. Maybe I just needed to get some H-fic writing out of my system. heh.

[scott1and]

That was pretty good, i liked the little touches like how you though lily would react to a bathroom floor, and yes there was a few
spelling errors but not as many as some other fics I've read, so i wouldn't worry about it.

If you wanted to continue it you could, although it seems nicely rounded of to me. Your writing style is good though, maybe you could try one of the other girls as a POV character.

[griffon8]

I liked it. Like others have said, the first part was better.

The most noticeable typos to me don't show up with spelling check. Here's the rule:

it's = it is
its = possessive

There are no exceptions.

Except for some horribly convoluted case and it's never going to happen.

[Leotrak]

Much d'awwwww to be had here - which is a good thing ^_^

[hatori1181]

I liked it. Like others have said, the first part was better.

The most noticeable typos to me don't show up with spelling check. Here's the rule:

it's = it is
its = possessive

There are no exceptions.

Except for some horribly convoluted case and it's never going to happen.

for that very reason, I tend to not use contractions. Oh, well.

In my head, the continuation of this fic could become very dark. I like the idea myself, but the events that I'm planning are based on things that actually happened to me as an adult. I don't think I could separate myself from it enough to accurately portray it coming from teens...

That said, I have a much happier idea, too, where we see (maybe hear, in the case of Kenji) the relationship from the POV of other characters. heh heh heh.

[Morph]

I finish my business, and Hisao leads me to the sink so I can wash up.
[...]
Slowly, he uncovers my pubic area. He kisses the mound of hair, and lets my panties finally fall to the ground.

Yummy!

[hatori1181]

Here we go! Chapter 2! New POV, Suspense! Drama! Actual Story title! More to come! I think I'm going to continue this, changing the POV each chapter. Thanks again to Mirage_GSM for the editing work. Enjoy.
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I close the textbook and carefully put away the work I just finished. Standing up, I stretch out and work my cramped muscles. I look longingly back at the novel I was reading earlier, but I should take a shower before I go back to it. If I don't, I'll have to get up extremely early in order to take a shower tomorrow morning.

I grab my towel and my shower bag, and I just about make it to the door when there is a knock. I look over at the clock on my dresser, it's almost 9PM, who could be here to see me?

I move over to the door and open it a crack.

“Hanako?”

It's Lilly. I open the door completely. As I do, I get a better look at her. Something seems wrong, her eyebrows are drawn together, and her hands are shaking.

“Lilly? What's the matter?” I ask.

“Hanako, I need your help, as the only friend I can trust with something this... delicate.”

My mind reels. My mouth forms the question in my head.

“What is going on, Lilly? Is something wrong?”

She blushes for a moment, then answers, “I...don't... I need something from the convenience store tonight. It can't wait until our normal Friday afternoon trip.”

Normal is not the word I'd use for that any more. We haven't been down to the convenience store together in weeks. “The convenience store? What could you possibly need at this time that can't wait until morning?”

Lilly blushes again, and my mind pushes images of items that Lilly would want that would be too embarrassing to ask for a stranger's help. I feel heat rushing to my face, and a sour feeling in my stomach.

“If you need something like that, ask Hisao to go with you!” I say it louder than I meant to, and I can't keep the disgust and pain from my voice.

Lilly flinches like she was slapped. Her hands begin shaking, and when she turns her face to me, she is crying. 

“That's not.. It's not...” She stutters. “Please Hanako, I need you. This isn't what you think, I can't ask Hisao to do this.”

Between Lilly's tears and her pleading, my anger melts. For Lilly to be like this, something must really be wrong.

“Give me a second, Lilly. I need to get ready.”

Relief flows through Lilly, the effect makes her look almost like a different person.

“Thank you, Hanako.”

***

Even though it's summer, the night air is cooler than I expected. The walk down to town is silent, with the exception of Lilly's cane tapping on the pavement.

“Hanako”, Lilly calls after a while, “Since we're walking together, I'd like a chance to talk, if it's okay.”

I'm sure I know where this is going, and I'm not sure if I'm ready, but we've been ignoring it for too long, and it's been taking a toll on our friendship. It needs to be discussed. I make a noncommittal noise, and after a few minutes, Lilly begins speaking.

“I know that you have, or at least had, feelings for Hisao.”

Of course she knew. I've never been able to hide anything from Lilly.

“Whenever I spoke to Hisao, I just wanted to know him better. I was curious about this new person that had so easily become our friend. I was shocked when Hisao told me that he was interested I me. I admit that I was excited about it, that all of my curiosity had led to me caring for him more than I realized, but I refused him at first.”

I stopped. “Why?” I asked.

“Because I knew, or rather guessed, about your feelings for him. Since we had met him, he was all you could talk about. I didn't want you to be hurt, and more importantly, I didn't want to be the one that hurt you.”

Lilly must have noticed that I had stopped walking, as she did the same, and turned to me.

“Hisao told me that he didn't want to become a wedge that drove apart two friends, and that if I wouldn't be with him because of that, he wouldn't force the issue, and we could pretend that nothing had ever happened. It was at that moment, that I fell in love with him.”

A light breeze blew past and Lilly turned her face to it, letting it blow her hair behind her.

“I tried to pretend that Hisao had never confessed his feelings to me, but the more I did that, the more I wanted to confess my growing feelings for him. I made a decision, and I pulled him aside one afternoon and confessed my feelings for him. I had one condition, though; he had to tell you about his feelings for me. Thinking back it may not have been the best choice I've ever made, but I thought it would be better to hear it from Hisao, than me.”

I remember that afternoon. Hisao had come to the library and found me in my usual corner, reading. He asked me if we could speak privately. We went to the tea room, and he began telling me about how much he enjoyed spending time with Lilly and I. I remember my heart beating at a hundred miles an hour, I had just finished reading a romance novel, and there had been a confession of love that had started just this way. He started telling me how much both of us meant to him, and that he didn't want anything to change.

I remember him looking at me and saying that something had changed, something he needed to get out in the open. I remember my heart beating so loudly I could feel it in my ears. And then he said it. That he was in love with Lilly, and wanted to be with her. He said other things after that, but all I remember is crying, running away and crying some more.
I didn't know it had been Lilly's idea for Hisao to come to me, and the thought burned in my stomach.

“Did Hisao tell you what happened?” a part of me realizes that I didn't stutter when I said that, but I'm too angry to care at the moment.

“Yes, and it was his unfortunate method of telling you about things that makes me think that I should have been the one to tell you after all.” She turns her head in my direction, and her face crumples again. “It's a thought that keeps me up some nights. Which is easier to bear? The unrequited love telling you of his feeling for someone else, or your friend telling you of her feelings for the object of your affection?”

Again, Lilly's words and the sincerity of her emotions deflate the anger in me.

“The last thing I ever wanted was to make you unhappy, Hanako.” Lilly continues. “I hope you won't be angry at me for finding happiness for myself.”

I give my thoughts and emotions a moment to settle before speaking.

“No, Lilly, I won't hold it against you, even though I want to. I am unhappy. I had the first guy that had ever talked to me because he wanted to, stolen by the only real friend I have in this school.”

“I'm not stealing away his friendship, Hanako. We both still want to be your friend. I stepped back after everything happened, I made sure that you knew I was still there, that I still wanted to be friends, but I wanted to give you space so that you could deal with things, too.”

“I still want to be friends, too, Lilly. I just think it's going to be hard for me to see the two of you together after having feelings for him.”

Lilly turns away from me and says, “That may be harder than you realize.”

Before I can ask why, Lilly continues. “I've asked Hisao not to join us for lunch, should you want to spend our lunches together again. I have to tell you that I've missed you dearly these last few weeks. And I also promise to keep all talk of my relationship with Hisao to myself, so that we can enjoy our lunches together like we used to.”

“What about the two of you? It's not fair to Hisao to not spend time with him.”

“I never said I wasn't going to spend time with him. Hisao and I have been enjoying morning tea before class in the tea room, and we've been having dinner together. I think that is a fair compromise. As a further thing, I'd like to have our old Friday afternoon walks together again. I miss those, as well.”

While my thoughts settle themselves again, I realize that we've come to the convenience store.

“I'm still not sure, Lilly, but I'm at least willing to try.” I finally say, as we walk through the door.

Lilly smiles again, but it's strained. She's starting to fidget again, something that makes me want to do the same. Lilly's usual calmness being broken like that really gets to me.
“Hanako... I hope you can see past everything that's happened enough to realize that above everything else, asking you to come here with me was one of the most difficult things I've ever done. And I hope that your understanding sees through your emotions to help me, regardless of how difficult it might be.”

My heart stops. That was the biggest lead-in I've ever heard. Whenever a character in a book says something along those lines, the next thing that comes out is the big hook, the thing that makes or breaks a friendship, or a relationship. Whatever Lilly needs here, is so important that she not only needed it badly enough to try patching things up with her friend, but too sensitive to involve the man she loves.

In that moment, I know what she came here for.

“Hanako. I need a pregnancy test.”

[bradpara]

Duh Duh DUN

[DRKO]

Well... You dropped a pretty big bomb there. It'll be interesting to see Hanako's reaction to this...

Keep up the good work!

[Sgt_Frog]

Duh Duh DUN

Instead of that, Hanako dropping her book in shock, with it falling in slow motion, played through my head. It struck the road with a resounding "whap!" (with echo, of course).

[hatori1181]

Well... You dropped a pretty big bomb there. It'll be interesting to see Hanako's reaction to this...

Keep up the good work!

and ruin the surprise? Why would I do that?


I realize that I forgot to add all of hanako's usual studderings. I wrote all of that with the intention of adding it in after I was finished, but I was so excited to get it out, that I entirely forgot. I may edit the post and add them if I get the ambition, but I think that everyone is used to her studdering, and adds it in, even if it's not present. (at least, I know I do that.)

I sent chapter 3 to mirage to check it over, and it should be up soon. It was a blast to write, and the next one should be, as well.

Thanks for all of encouragement, guys.

[scott1and]

Really good, this is as gripping and tense as a tense and gripping novel

I don't know what you're planning, but the one thing I can see happening is as Lilly can't see the pregnancy test results, Hanako will have to tell her them. This could lead to her lying about the results, which could be a good story tool...albeit a harsh one on Hanako's part.

[hatori1181]

Man, this was fun to write. with the quickness, here's chapter 3 for you enjoyment. Chapter 4 will be a bit longer, as I have to finish planning it all out.
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There is a sound I sometimes hear at night. It passes through my dreams and turns them into nightmares, forcing me awake. It doesn't happen every night, but it is happening tonight. I know I'm dreaming, but I can hear the sound. My beautiful dreams are falling apart, out of control, and twisting into horrors. I wake with a muffled cry, trying to block out the sound that haunts me.

Tak.....tak......tak.....tak.....tak.....tak.....tak....tak.....tak....

I look over at my clock. It's one in the morning! WHY? Why is she here now? The whole world should be asleep right now. Soon, She'll reach the door..... She'll knock... and the it will start. The last time was only a few days ago! Will this become more common? What if it ends up happening EVERY NIGHT!

The horrid noise stops. There is a pause. Time stretches out for what seems like forever. Finally, a knock. Why was there a pause? My mind races with possibilities. The door opens. I hear the voice of a sweet tongued daemon.

“Hisao?” a slight tremble to her voice? Interesting.

“Lilly?” He answers, “What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you, not that I'm sorry you're here. Come inside.”

The door closes, and my brilliant mind has still not come up with answers. I'm used to the charms and sinister ways of these feminists. I've heard the shaky voice trick before. Weak willed men crumble under it's effect. I cannot deny, however, that there was hesitation before knocking on the door. The bitch may be blind, but she should know where his door is by now. She's certainly been there enough, lately.

I had figured Hisao a lost cause, just another soldier fallen in the war against the feminists. I figured she had used her ultimate weapon in order to fell my greatest and last ally. While I can admire it's effectiveness, I wish it wasn't so...audible. It's like listening to a man being tortured. Maybe that was the point. Maybe it was a two pronged attack. Enslave Hisao using her body, and use the sounds of that act to torture me. I bet they have some kind of amplifier in there pointed right at my room. That must be it.

Just as I'm coming to this conclusion, I realize that the torture hasn't started. Is the amplifier broken? Maybe I could get back to sleep. Sighing happily, I'm about to lie back down when I hear something I've never heard before. Someone crying. I bolt out of bed and run to my door. There's no mistaking it, the daemon is crying.

I open my door carefully and look down the hall. There's no one there that I can see. Is she still in the room? I sneak over to Hisao's door and press my ear to the wood. The daemon is sobbing, and Hisao is trying to comfort her.

Hisao! You tactical genius! You only pretended to be enslaved by her. You used her ultimate weapon against her, and now she's dependent on you! I want to jump for joy, and dance in the hallway, but I'm naked and one doesn't dance naked. I press my ear back to the door to try to discover anything further, but all I hear is silence.



Disappointing, but the news of Hisao's continued fight against the feminists brings me hope. Further, Hisao is now a deep cover agent, as the feminist oppressors won't know of the daemon's betrayal to their cause until it's too late. He could potentially learn all of their plans from either his slave or her masters.

This stroke of good fortune keeps me awake until morning classes start. I see Hisao as he leaves for classes, but he's alone. The daemon didn't leave last night, so she must still be in his room. Normally, I'd worry, but now that I know he has her enthralled, he doesn't need to worry about her snooping through his affairs.

I'm about to congratulate him on his masterstroke, but then I realize that even in the relative safety of the men's dorms, I can't risk blowing his cover. It is imperative that the feminists not suspect that he is not on their side.

I catch up to him and call out to get his attention. I put my hand on his shoulder and give him my most confident grin.

“Hisao, I know you can't say much, neither of us can. I want you to know that you are doing the right thing, and I'm proud of you.”

The colour drains from his face for a moment, possibly afraid that his cover will be blown, then he rights himself.

“Thanks, Kenji. I really needed to hear that. I appreciate your discretion in this matter.”

“Of course. We'll talk later.” I say.

He nods and walks off. I'm glad I said something to him. A good commander knows how important morale is for his troops. Hisao has been enduring the daemon's attacks while setting up a counter attack, all without support from his commander. It must have been a lonely and difficult time.

The day passes quickly, the daemon shows herself halfway through the school day, taking up her usual duties. I smile to myself knowing that her part of the great feminist plot has failed, and I see that some of what must be the command structure in the feminist organization is faltering. At lunch the daemon isn't with her usual companion, the she-devil, and thinking back, I haven't seen them together in some time.

While normally, this would be a great turn of events, appearances must be kept. It would be too suspicious if I said anything myself, but I could get Hisao to look into the matter. Perhaps he could work another tactical miracle and get the she-devil enthralled, too.

I head back to my room and wait for Hisao to come back to his room. When I hear him at his door, I open mine and call out to him.

“Hey, Kenji” He says, “Thanks again for what you said this morning, it made things a lot easier to deal with today.”

“Hey, don't mention it. Though I noticed something today, that I thought you'd want to know about if you were unaware.”
“Oh? What's that?”

“I've noticed that the dae- uh, Lilly, hasn't been spending much time with her friend, lately”

“Ah, yeah, things have become a bit strained, there.”

Again I put my hand on Hisao's shoulder. “It's times like this that we need friends to support us more than ever.”

“That's,” Hisao begins “That's perfect, Kenji! I should go talk to Hanako. Kenji, thank yo so much for understanding, I never knew you had it in you.”

“Hey, that's my job”

Hisao stops for a moment, then shrugs. “I guess you'll always be Kenji, though... Thanks anyway.”

Hisao hurries down the hall. I smile to myself for a job well done.