Running Interference (Haganai/KS Xover) *Discontinued

[BobBobberson]

When I first watched Boku wa Tomadachi ga Sakunai (I Don't Have Many Friends), first thought when I saw Yozora was 'Dafuq is an unscarred Hanako doing here?' And thus, this story was born. There also isn't much in the way of outsiders messing with Hisao's relationship negatively in the VN, so I thought I'd try my hand at the hypothetical scenario of a love triangle. Beginning of the story takes place deep in Hanako's route. And just to reiterate, yes this is a crossover. Crossovers are fun, especially the plausible ones that don't suck. Here is my attempt at one of those.

Originally a one-shot, expanded on out of boredom and random inspiration.

Feedback, positive or negative, plot-wise or grammar-wise, are welcome

Chapter 1: Mistaken Identity
Chapter 2: Movie Night
Chapter 3: A Time for Pools
Chapter 4: An Unwanted Encounter
Chapter 5: Interrogation
Chapter 6: Flow
Chapter 7: Decency
Chapter 7: Decency Part Deux
Chapter 8: Burn One, Take One
Chapter 9: Revelation
Chapter 10: Desperate Measures
Chapter 11: Eccentricities
Chapter 12: Fun and Games
Chapter 13: Surprises
Chapter 14: Setup

What she looks like, as a reference if you're interested.

The sun beats down mercilessly as I trudge through the city’s shopping district. Damn, I shouldn’t have put off my shopping until the hottest day of the week. Stupid heat waves. The heat continues to assault me as I wander, with only the brief incursions into a store as my reprieves. After an hour, I’m still empty handed, so I head into a local Starbucks to grab a frappucino and decide if I really need anything at all.

Walking inside, I’m greeted by a chilling wave of air conditioned air. Sweet relief. As I take my place in the long queue, I start to idly examine the people in the room. The store is pretty crowded, probably due to how bad it is outside, so there’s a lot to take in. There’s an annoying crying toddler with a desperate mom trying to calm him down, a businessman sipping his coffee while talking on his phone...the list goes on and on. Moving up with the line, my eyes stop when I see the final corner of the store. A girl (or at least I think it’s one) with long flowing black hair is hunched over the table, facing towards the wall. She has this cute little black cap on her head, and it looks like she just had some shopping done, judging by the bags next to her. I can’t really see her though, since she’s wearing a denim jacket and pants, even in this weather. Damn, she must be burning right now.

I finally reach the counter, which puts an end to my observations. Ordering a caramel frappuccino, I pay for it, then head towards the pickup counter. Looking around again, I find myself somehow attracted back to that girl in the corner, but from where I stand now, I can see what’s on her table. Squinting a bit, it appears to be a pink cell phone with one of those flower clips attached...for some reason it looks familiar. Have I seen a phone like that before? But before I can think on that question, the server announces that she has a caramel frappuccino. Taking it from her, I take a table near the counter and start to sip my drink.

Pink cell phone, flower clip, black hat...Come on Hisao, I know you’ve can connect the dots. I urge my brain to work harder, because for some reason, the mystery girl makes me think that I’ve seen her before, even if I haven’t seen her face yet. Jeez, I sound like a stalker now, but I can’t help this feeling. She reminds me of Hanako, she would hide in a corner like this in public...

Hanako! Wow, how could I have been so dense? Gah, I’m stupid. She did mention something about doing some shopping in the city yesterday at the tea room, but my backlog of homework was growing, so I couldn’t offer to go with her. At least until I found out that I’m running dangerously low on food, toiletries, and suitable clothes for the summer. Damnit.

As I continue drinking my frap, I keep sparing glances over at the mystery girl, following all the things hunters do in documentaries. No wind to take my scent, lots of cover in case something goes wrong. The chances that the girl ISN’T Hanako is low...er than I expect given the amount of evidence, unless lady luck decides to screw me over, again.

I stand up and make my way over to the girl. With a loud ‘Ahem’, I make myself known.

“Hello, Hanako.” It’s a simple greeting, but it should be enough.

The girl turns around, hair whipping as she does so. But as I see her face, I internally reel. There’s no scars at all on this girl! Damn it, what the hell? She has an angry expression on her face, probably because of the whole mistaken identity bit.

“Whoever this Hanako is, I’m not her.” The girl spits out as she gets off her chair and moves toward me. I can’t help but make an awkward expression at this, but the whole situation is well, awkward. But then I notice something else about this girl, she has bright purple irises, just a shade brighter than Hanako’s eyes. It’s almost like looking into an alternate reality where Hanako didn’t get burned, which would be a great reality because this girl is really attractive. I back away a bit, in part because of her likeness to Hanako as well as the aura of hostility this girl is emitting right now.

“Oh, well sorry I thought you were...someone I knew for a moment.” I turn to bolt out of the store, but a hand clamps my shoulder.

“You’re not going anywhere, friend. Why don’t you sit down so we can...talk.” She deliberately emphasizes that last word, before spinning me around and pushing me down on the other seat on the table. Taking her own seat, she takes a sip of her drink on the table, before starting to talk.

“So what made you think I was one of your little friends? Because I was in the corner?” She says with a glare, I guess she must be really peeved.

Right now, my mind is screaming at me to run for it, but I’m literally in the corner. She could easily stop me from running. Sadly enough, I’ve learned a lesson like this many times attempting to evade Shizune and Misha. For now though, I guess I can humor her. After all, she is a stranger, if not sounding slightly insane.

“Well, er...” I’m not sure exactly how to phrase this without sounding insulting, but I plow on anyways. “You were wearing similar clothes to my friend and I saw that you had the same exact phone, right down to the flower clip, on the table. But what ‘tipped’ me off was the whole hiding in the corner bit. That’s something Hanako would do.” I keep my explanation clear and concise. But then my brain filter shuts down. “And your hair’s similar as well. It does look great on you though.” Wut.

With that last comment, the stranger blushes and looks away. Obviously she wasn’t expecting that, so I use this moment of weakness to get a question in.

“Why are you so mad about this anyways? It’s a simple case of mistaken identity.” I blurt out. I am genuinely concerned about why this is riling her up so. But then again, it could be for a lot of the wrong reasons. She looks straight at me again, this time without any hostility though.

“Well, I am me. And I don’t like being similar to anyone, even if it comes at the cost of being...alone..” She drops off her sentence into a whisper that I can barely hear through the din of the crowd, looking sad now. This is getting odder and odder by the second, but thanks to all the emotional stuff I have to deal with Hanako, I feel compelled to help this girl. Her downcast look is a mirror image of Hanako’s. I’ve had to deal with her look so many times throughout our friendship that it’s been ingrained into my mind.

“Ohh, umm sorry to hear that.” I mutter. There isn’t really an ideal response to something like that. I think I’ll try to cheer her up a bit though.

“Y’know, I never got your name. I’m Hisao.” I say my name first, offering to reach out to her. Her sad face is replaced with an expression that could best be described as ‘stunned’. Maybe she expected me to run away?

“Yozora. That’s all you need to know for now.” She responds back sternly. Finally, something that her and Hanako doesn’t share. If her name was Hanako as well, I might’ve started buying my whole alternate reality theory.

“This Hanako, does she have many friends?” Yozora asks. It’s a simple question she’s asking, but I see the perception behind it. This girl, Yozora, is a loner, for lack of a better term. Her actions certainly seem to indicate so, and since I mistook Yozora for Hanako, she probably put two and two together. As for confirming her thoughts, I don’t see much harm in doing so.

“Let’s just say about as much as you, given the circumstances. I’m one of them. She is a bit, er, shy though.” Unfortunately, Hanako’s shyness and tendencies to flee in normal social conduct is why her friend count is so low to begin with, although her scars are to blame for everything. This girl on the other hand, certainly doesn’t look like a girl who’d be lacking for friends, although maybe her first impressions aren’t the best. But I’m not going to drop the whole scar thing. If something happens out of this, I’ll save that bombshell for later. Meanwhile, I might as well test my theory.

“If you don’t mind me asking such a question, how many friends do you have?” I ask. For all I know, she could be some popular chick who has a habit of hunching up in coffee ships. Unfortunately, I think she took it the wrong way, as she takes on a dangerous look.

“Suffice it to say it’s not a lot as well. You’re very nosy, aren’t you? You remind me of Meat. Poking around in other people’s business” Her response is as rapid as Emi’s sprint, damn. Did I just hear her say Meat though? I overlook that and shoot back.

“Well, you asked me the same question before, and since you forced me here, I think I can assume that you want to talk. I’m simply making conversation.” With a deadpan stare, I look to see what Yozora’s next response will be. Like before, I don’t have to wait long.

“Feh, totally different things. I’m asking about someone I don’t even know. You, however, are asking a personal question about me. I’m surprised you’re still here though, I’d have expected you to run away. Japan is a free country after all.”

Well, she got the run away part right, and her logic about the questions has some soundness to it. Great, now I’m dealing with a Hanako look-a-like with the wits of a Shizune. If there is a higher being up there, he’s being exceptionally cruel right now. But despite the part of my brain still yelling at me to run for the hills, I stay glued to my seat. Might as well go for broke at this point. If I lose, I don’t lose anything, so why the hell not?

“Japan is a free country, true, so I’m deciding to stay here and talk to you. You remind me of a few people I know, well at least after you made me sit and talk. This may sound a bit forward, Yozora, but even with the few words we’ve exchanged, you’re really interesting.”

There, the deed is done. Even with all the questions unanswered, like her real motive for making me stay, I can’t help but stay and try to get to know Yozora better. Yozora gapes at me with an open mouth, forgetting the drink she was going to sip from. I’m not sure whether this is a good or bad thing, but I’m about to find out.

“Ah, I see. It looks like I was right in making you stay...Hisao, right?.” Yozora gives me a small smile, none of the initial anger obvious anymore. “You certainly like being the white knight.”

Huh? Looking back at the conversation, I don’t see how....ohhh. Damn it would make sense for her to accuse me of being a white knight even with the little amount of words and actions we’ve exchanged. And she already knows this is a double-or-nothing situation. Yep, definitely some Shizune in her.

“If you can call approaching some who you thought you knew an act of a white knight, sure that could work,” I move to get up, this is my all-or-nothing moment. Let’s see if she takes the bait. I take a look at my watch, and take a dramatic sigh as I throw away the rest of my frappucino. “Well it’s been lovely talking to you, Yozora, but I have to get moving. I gotta finish my shopping soon.”

I spare a glance at her, and she’s just sitting on the table still, chugging down the rest of her drink. I guess this is a loss than. But right when I get outside, I get forcefully spun around again to an angry Yozora (again).

“Hrrmmph. White knight my ass. Here I was thinking that you were a nice guy, but it seems I was mistaken. Idiot.”

With that statement, she stalks off in the opposite direction, bags in tow and long black hair rippling in the wind. As I watch her leave, a pang of guilt hits me, and I find myself subconsciously running after her, even though my heart is still weak. After a short chase, I finally get close enough to to tap her on the shoulder before taking the opportunity to lean against a nearby wall and check my heartbeat. Looking up, I see the traces of a victorious grin, before her slightly mad expression takes over again. Must be her normal look.

“Oh, so you are a white knight after all? I was going to give you my number, but if you want it now, you’ll have to beg for it. Show me how much you want to save me!” Yozora says with a smirk.

Ah, damn. It looks like I’ve lost this battle. Now she’s just rubbing it in my face. But at least it means that I've piqued Yozora's interest.

“Ok, ok I get it. Don’t you think the begging bit is a bit much, though?” I ask with a smile.

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s just something I do to Meat to piss her off. But you’re different, and by that I mean I don’t know you much, but it looks like you won’t run away even if you wanted to, Hisao.” She gives me a smile of her own, before digging out her phone from her purse. Taking her cue, I fumble around my pockets until I find my own phone. While we’re exchanging numbers, Yozora asks yet another question.

“So Hisao, which school do you go to? You hardly look like you have a job.”

Well, at least it’s an innocent one.

“Yamaku Academy. It’s a school for the-”

“Disabled, yes I know. Back at St. Chronica's Academy, the rabble there love to talk smack about other schools.” Yozora interrupts, grimacing when she mentions the rabble. “Anyways, I have to head home too. Nice meeting you, Hisao. Message me sometime this week, ok?” She picks up her bags, ready to move out.

“Yeah, I’ll message you...Yozora. Goodbye.” I utter out. With those words and a wave, I turn towards the path that would take me to the bus station, but not before stealing one more glance at the person who in the course of about 20 minutes, managed to make me chase her. Either she’s a really good manipulator, or maybe I do put others, even strangers, ahead of my own needs. Shaking my head, I continue walking towards the bus stop.

Later on at the bus ride back to Yamaku, I can’t help but think that what I just had a surreal experience. If it weren’t for the fact that I had Yozora’s number as proof of our encounter, I’d swear that this was something out of an eroge where I somehow meet the girl I’ll love in a random spot. The only problem is, I thought I might have been falling for Hanako. Now everything’s all messed up, and I can’t make head or tails of my emotions, kinda like someone’s running interference with my mind.

Ok, I'll stop with the crossovers now. I feel like I took a couple of liberties with Yozora's character in the intro, so if anyone who's seen Boku wa Tomadachi could help point out discrepancies (or lack of) here, I'd really appreciate it.

[MrDogsniper]

Another very interesting story continue on...I like how you incorporate other series into the Katawa Shoujo Good Job

[BobBobberson]

Another very interesting story continue on...I like how you incorporate other series into the Katawa Shoujo Good Job

Hehe, thanks. From what I'm seeing in the Fanfiction forum, all the good ideas have already been done, like the pseudo-routes for the 'DLC' characters and every variation of horror and comedy for each character. Crossovers might be my only original stories I can come up for this fandom, well that and a one-shot I have lying around, but haven't gotten around to posting yet.

[MrDogsniper]

well i will be looking forward to that too

[Nakasaro-San]

I've been reading alot of your stuff lately. I really like it, can't wait to see whats next.

[MrDogsniper]

Went and looked up the anime and watched the entire thing it was very neat, just wish that were me I don't really have friends oh well the people on forums and TV shows fill my time...I really don't mind

[BobBobberson]

I've been reading alot of your stuff lately. I really like it, can't wait to see whats next.

Assuming you haven't read/watched Boku wa Tomadachi, did the story still kinda make sense to you? If I update this, I'm obviously going to throw in references to the series, but for the most part I'd like to make it so that people who've only played KS would geddit. Unless that goes against the whole idea of crossovers assuming the reader knows the lore for both fandoms. Ah well.

[Mirage_GSM]

I haven't seen "Boku wa tomodachi ga sukunai" but so far I can follow your story just fine. Obviously I don't know the character you introduced, but you did a good job with her introduction, though I can't tell if it's true to the original.

[Nakasaro-San]

I've been reading alot of your stuff lately. I really like it, can't wait to see whats next.

Assuming you haven't read/watched Boku wa Tomadachi, did the story still kinda make sense to you? If I update this, I'm obviously going to throw in references to the series, but for the most part I'd like to make it so that people who've only played KS would geddit. Unless that goes against the whole idea of crossovers assuming the reader knows the lore for both fandoms. Ah well.

It did make enough sense, though I don't really know MUCH (emphasis on much) about the character. But yeah, it's great so far
EDIT: I just looked up the google images for Boku wa Tomadachi... All I can say is "wut".

[BobBobberson]

Well, this isn't a one-shot anymore. It's now a series, if only because I had more inspiration for this story than "A Guy's Luck" right now. I have an idea for the next chapter too, so I guess that'll help. As usual, non-assholey criticism is welcome. Even though I took my time with the chapter, it still feels like a hastily finished draft. Might be more my self-depreciation though.

The blaring noise of my alarm clock wakes me up. Yawning, I stretch and pull away the curtains, letting in the sun. After showering and changing, I make my way to the school building. I kinda feel bad for not going with Hanako yesterday. I already ended up going to the city anyways, so Hanako would’ve at least made for some decent companionship. I should try to make up for that.

As I enter the classroom, I see the usual scattered arrangement of students laying about, greeting me with a nod or wave. One of those students is Hanako, so I drop my stuff at my desk before walking over to her.

“Hey Hanako, how’d your day go yesterday?”

“It was a-alright. Did you get your homework finished?”

Ah, that homework. Stayed up ‘til about midnight doing that crap. And I still forgot to buy my stuff thanks to Yozora. Now I have to go back to the city soon before I run out of soap.

“Yeah, I did. Stayed up ‘til midnight doing it, but it was worth it.” I gesture towards the stack of papers on my desk. “Do you have any plans after school?”

“Umm no. Why?”

It’s kind of obvious why I’d ask you if you had anything to do, Hanako. But I repress that remark so I can move forward with my hastily constructed plan.

“Well there’s this new movie down at the town’s cinema, Left 4 the Half-Fortress, and it looks really good, at least from the trailer. Would you er... want to see it with me?” I lower my voice a bit while I’m asking this, no need for the gossip mill to get ahold of this.

“S-sure. I’ve seen the trailer too. Are you going to ask Lilly to come too?”

Wait what? She’s blind, why would she have need to go to a damn movie theater to watch something she can’t...watch? Well, maybe Hanako’s accustomed to doing things with all three of us now?

“Last time I checked, they haven’t found a way to convert movies into a form that blind people can understand.” I say with a chuckle. “But if you really want her to come with us too...”

“No it’s fine Hisao. S-she has class representative duties to handle after school anyways.”

Inside my mind, I’m jumping with joy. Finally, I can get some good alone time with Hanako. Not that there’s anything wrong with Lilly, but still. The arrival of Mutou interrupts our conversation, so I head back to my seat and get ready for the next few hours.

Nothing eventful happens after that. No other random interruptions, the usual small talk with Lilly and Hanako at our tea room during lunch, and the usual feminist rant Kenji goes off into while he’s blocking me from entering my dorm to change for my movie night with Hanako. At least I managed to set up a rendezvous point with Hanako before leaving for my room. When I finally get inside my room, I notice my phone lying on my desk. Huh, I guess I forgot to bring it with me today. Picking it up, I idly go through my small contacts list until I end up selecting Yozora. Maybe I should text her?

Pondering that question, I get changed into some respectable clothes for a night out: Denim pants and a blue T-Shirt with a graphic of a lion on a shield with some English lettering that seems to translate into “The Alliance”. My parents sent it to me with one of their care packages, so I might as well get some use out of it. After combing my hair into a somewhat representable shape, I leave my dorm room, confident about the night ahead. It is a school night, but it’s not like we’re going to be drinking or anything like that.

As I’m walking, I realize I haven’t decided whether to text Yozora or night. I guess I shouldn’t, it is pretty rude to be on your phone half the time when you’re with someone, especially so when you have a thing for said person and you don’t want to seem like a dolt. With that in mind, I take a seat on one of the benches near the school’s gate, and wait for Hanako.

Five minutes later, Hanako greets me. But as she draws closer to me, I notice that she’s wearing nearly the exact outfit that Yozora was wearing yesterday, with only a different shirt and shoes to differentiate Hanako from her. A very unusual coincidence.

We start walking down the road to town, when Hanako says something.

“Hisao, what’s the actual plot of the movie? I did say I s-saw the trailer, but it just seemed to be lots and lots of action shots.” Hanako asks.

“It’s about these 9 guys who kill near facsimiles of each other everyday for no reason...who er...” It’s a bit tough extracting the plot from said trailer. “Oh yeah, who somehow get sucked into a zombie-infested United States, who team up with four survivors...than...” Damn, maybe next time I should judge a trailer on what the actual plot will be instead of all the action shots.

“Ok, I lost track after that, hehe.” I nervously finish. Damn Americans and their ability to sell a movie based on explosions.

To my surprise, Hanako has a small giggle at that remark. I guess it is funny that we’re going to watch a movie based on explosions. Not that it’s a bad thing anyways.

“Don’t worry, Hisao, I like action movies. They’re fun to watch.”

A girl liking action movies? Wut. Isn’t there a stereotype about chicks only liking those cheesy romantic movies like The Notebook?

“I always thought girls only liked those cheesy emotional movies. You don’t seem like someone to appreciate action movies.” I inquire. Hanako looks a bit shocked at this, as if I were saying it was a bad thing.

“W-well, I just don’t like those kind of movies, especially the...” Hanako trails off, leaving the final part of her sentence unspoken. It seem like a touchy subject for her somehow, so I drop it and move to safer waters.

After about ten minutes, we finally arrive at the theater. Hanako and I pay for our tickets, and we take our seats right in the middle of the cinema after buying some popcorn and soda. Some trailers go on, mostly about Western movies that’s finally been dubbed or at least subbed for us Japanese viewers. It’s a shame that most of the good movies come out in America, because I’m really bad at learning English. There’s a reason why I got that 43 on the test.

As the movie finally starts, I notice that Hanako’s been drifting slightly closer to me from her seat, although it could just be me wishing that she actually was moving closer. As the movie goes on, I find that Left 4 the Half-Fortress has an insanely deep plot that manages to incorporate elements of comedy and horror into it. Those 9 men from Teufort sure do have a lot of funny mannerisms.

Halfway through the movie, with the serious part of the story unfolding, Spy, Nick, and Gordon Freeman find themselves wandering the basement of an abandoned mansion in search of Australium. But as the creepy music starts to wind up and the trio find themselves moving deeper into the basement, a cry emanates from the area in front of them. I lean back a bit, unsure of what the sound it is, but at least I know that it isn’t anything good. Than I grab some popcorn.

Hanako doesn’t seem to be taking this portion of the movie as well as I am though. I felt her flinch when that Charger came out of nowhere and beat the life out of Scout. While he’d end up respawning anyways, it doesn’t change the fact that it was scary as hell.

A few minutes later, the heroes find themselves in front of a set of wooden double doors. Freeman, being the toughest of the group, takes point and opens the door. Looking around, the camera shows a relatively small room that looks like it’s been used for storage. Oddly enough, there appears to be arrows that lead directly to the ‘Objective’, or at least that’s what the subs say it means anyways. Then the same crying that the audience heard earlier starts again, except this time it’s continuous. It gets louder as they follow the arrows, eventually leading to a chest against the wall with the label “Australium” on the wall. But there appears to be a woman slumped over and crying next to the chest. Spy, being the gentleman that he is, starts to approach her slowly, but then the music stops, and her crying is replaced with growling. Normally that would be a sign to back away, but Spy keeps going forward. Eventually, he gets close enough to touch her shoulder, and suddenly the woman turns around, eyes red with fury, and slashes Spy in the face with her suddenly razor-like claws.

This sudden turn of events frightens even me, so I instinctually put my arm over Hanako and pull her closer to me. Then I realize what I just did. I look down to Hanako, who’s looking at me with surprise, although with a small smile on her face.

“Y-you didn’t get scared there, did you Hisao?” Hanako asks as she leans on me.

“No, I totally meant to do that.” It’s best to pass it off as a fluke for now. No point in Hanako questioning my manliness, or lack thereof, right now.

As the movie nears its climax with a full scale assault against the Announcer and her company full of lackies, I start to think of whether I should try to make a move. But then the rational side of my brain kicks in, claiming that I have no idea how Hanako feels about me. That, and it would feel really cliched to do so. As I continue to produce excuse after excuse, an image of Yozora flashes into my mind. It was for the briefest of flickers, but for some odd reason, it makes me resolute in not doing anything.

Hanako doesn’t notice my inner dilemma, too embroiled in the movie and in snuggling against me. She looks almost serene right now, with the darkness to cover her scars and someone to watch a movie with. It’s like she’s being a normal person for a few hours.

The rest of the movie passes by uneventfully, the protagonists triumphant, only to see a spaceship come into view in the sky. Then, credits. Like it’s not obvious there’s going to be a sequel. I carefully extricate my arm from around Hanako, who gasps in surprise as I pull away. We take our leave of the cinema, and start the trek back to Yamaku.

Hanako and I stay silent for the entirety of the trip, neither of us having much to say. We’ve been spending most of our time together with Lilly, so there’s nothing that neither of us have already discussed. When we finally get to our dorms, I turn to Hanako.

“So, err, goodnight than, Hanako.” I lamely say. I really ought to be smoother about these farewells.

But then Hanako does something strangely uncharacteristic for her, she opens her arms wide and embraces me in a hug. It’s a bit on the light side, as if she’s treating me as a fragile object. Looking up to me, she has the same smile I noticed back in the theater.

“Goodnight, Hisao.” She whispers before pulling away from me and walking towards her dorm.

That moment left me dazed for far longer than it should have. I didn’t even notice I made my way up to my room until my head met my pillow. Then I remember that I should probably change into my pajamas before sleeping. Luckily, I have no near-due homework, so I can get a good night’s sleep for once.

As I empty my pocket of junk, I pull out my phone and select Yozora again. I’m tempted to message her about how she infiltrated my thoughts in the theater. It was odd using her as an excuse to not be more forward with Hanako. She’s just someone I randomly met, not my girlfriend or other significant person. I still want to text her, but I should probably wait a bit longer before I do so. Putting the phone back on the desk before I change my mind, I finish changing and jump into bed.

I guess I can text her tomorrow. That should be enough time to make it look like I’m not desperate for a girl or anything like that. Come to think of it, I never really had much use for my phone to begin with. Never had much reason to contact anyone with it. And judging from what Yozora said about being alone yesterday, she probably doesn’t have anyone to talk to as well. At least this way, we won’t be wasting our parents’ money with the phone bill.

Ah, screw it, I might as well confront this now. I know I want to ‘talk’ to Yozora, not out of practicality, but because of...I’m not sure, maybe something about that alone remark she made?
It would be a good way to delve into the matter of things, I guess. That, and she is someone from outside my little social circle. As much as I like Hanako and Lilly, I’m not going to hold myself back socially on their behalf. Lilly already has an army of other friends and admirers, so it wouldn’t hurt for me to talk to Yozora and see where this goes.

Satisfied with my rationality of the situation, I drift off into sleep.

Don't be alarmed about the Hanako-centered chapter, next one will be almost all Yozora.

[Mahorfeus]

Left 4 the Half-Fortress

iseewhatudidthere.jpg

Oh, you. Silliness aside, I'm glad you decided to expand on this, I'm liking it so far (despite not being familiar with Yozora's series).

[MystiKnight]

It's really great so far, I'm really enjoying it. I haven't watched the anime/read the manga, but I'm already quiet interested in this 'Yozora' character. Now, just a few little errors I picked up..

My parents sent it to me with one of their care packages, so I might as well eke (make) some use out of it.

That's supposed to be 'make', right? Also,

With that in mind, I take a seat in (on) one of the benches near the school’s gate, and wait for Hanako.

Just being picky there. And finally,

Five minutes later, Hanako greets me. But as she drew close (draws closer) to me, I notice that she’s wearing ...

Just a little mistake with your tenses. Still, great job, I hope you write more soon!

[BobBobberson]

It's really great so far, I'm really enjoying it. I haven't watched the anime/read the manga, but I'm already quiet interested in this 'Yozora' character. Now, just a few little errors I picked up..

Just a little mistake with your tenses. Still, great job, I hope you write more soon!

Thanks for the heads up, fixed them. Although 'eke' does mean to use, but I reworded it into a more sensible phrase anyways.

And for Yozora, I'll be showing most of her true colors next chapter. I didn't have a chance to do that in the initial chapter unfortunately, since Hisao and Yozora's first encounter was supposed to be relatively brief.

[BobBobberson]

100th post! So I present to you yet another chapter! Forgot about my 100th post, so I deleted a couple of posts beforehand so my 100th one would be a story post. OCD much?

“Nakai. Nakai!” Mutou’s voice rouses me from the nap I was taking in class. Caught red-handed.

“Class is over, the bell rang over 30 minutes ago.” Mutou says in that monotone drawl of his. He gestures out to the empty classroom.

“What?” I scramble to put my things in my bag and after a hasty wave, I throw myself out the door only to find...the rest of my class standing in the hallway outside. Misha starts laughing (because I didn’t see that coming), and soon the rest of them join in, reveling in my epic fail.

“You might want to consider staying awake for my lectures next time, Nakai, or I might have to come up with an even more embarrassing event for you.” My teacher says while watching from his desk. “Alright, let’s continue with the lecture, class. Hisao, it’s only 9 A.M.”

I lift my head up and walk back in standing tall, trying to salvage my dignity in this situation. Many students are still chortling as they head back to their seats, pleased that they managed to one-up one of their fellow classmates.

“Hicchan, it totally wasn’t Shizune’s idea to have everyone silently leave the classroom than make you think you slept through class today! Wahaha~!” Misha says with her trademark laugh as she takes her seat.

Yeah, thanks a lot, Shizune. Because I definitely needed something like this right now. I attempt to shoot her an angry glare, but she simply smiles at me and looks away, seemingly unfazed. I’ll get you back for this somehow.

At lunch, Hanako and I head up to our usual lunch spot at the tea room. It seems Lilly got out of class earlier, as she’s already making tea by the time we get there.

“Hello, Hanako, Hisao. How’s your day so far?” Lilly inquires as she sets the teapot on the table.

“Ermm, not so well. Shizune managed to pull one over on me.” I sullenly respond while taking my usual seat next to the window.

“Hisao was taking a nap in the morning, so Shizune (through Misha) persuaded Mutou to play a prank on him. So we all quietly left the room and Mutou woke Hisao up and made him think school was over.” Hanako elaborates.

“Then I ran out of the classroom to see everyone else standing in the hallway. Then, laughter. Ooh, I’m definitely getting back at her for that.”

“Well, if you need help in your endeavour, I’d be happy to assist you, Hisao.” Lilly says as she takes a sip of tea.

What. Did not expect Lilly to be the type to encourage embarrassing pranks on someone. But then again, it is Shizune, and the whole Lilly vs. Shizune thing isn’t exactly private. I think this is something I should do alone though, even though I have no idea what I could do. I’m sure something will come to me eventually.

“So Lilly, how’d your class rep duties go yesterday?” Hanako asks. Huh, I forgot she was busy with that yesterday.

“It was tiresome,” Lilly sighs. “Shizune kept us in for longer than we expected, unfortunately. I did hear you two went on a little date though.”

“What?” “Huh!” Hanako and I gape first at Lilly in surprise, than at each other. I struggle to control my blushing, to no avail, so I quickly turn away from Hanako before she sees my reddening. Naturally, Lilly chuckles at our response and takes another sip of tea.

“Well there’s a rumor going around that you two were on a date. Apparently, Rin Tezuka and Emi Ibarazaki saw you two leave the movies together. I think you two can piece together the rest of the story. ”

Damn females and their ability to turn anything into gossip. Here I am, trying to prevent this kind of stuff from reaching the rumor mill, but no! How the hell did those two even recognize us in the dark? Rin is permanently spaced out! She wouldn't be able to tell who's who....

“H-Hisao invited me to go watch Left 4 The Half-Fortress, and I didn’t have anything to do that night, so of course I went...” Hanako remarks, still looking down due to her embarrassment.

She didn’t deny that we were on a date though. Great, do I say we were on a date or not? If I confirm it, everyone's going to think Hanako and I are boyfriend/girlfriend! And I'd rather not take that risk if it turns out I've been misinterpreting Hanako this whole time. I'll just avoid talking about this for now, that seems to be the safest option until I can confront this appropriately..

“Left 4 The Half-Fortress was a good movie though...” I start to go into a long-winded speech about the characters and the plot, shutting down any chance to switch the subject back. I manage to talk long enough for the bell to ring, signaling me to stop talking and head back to class with Hanako.

When the final bell rings, I wander off to the grounds, in a mood for some thinking time. I purchase a can of melon juice from one of the outdoor vending machines, than take a bench on one of the paths and spread my arms and legs. The summer heat has dropped down to bearable levels, and like yesterday, I have a minimal amount of homework to do.

A thought hits my brain, “Yozora”. I forgot I was going to message her today. Without hesitation I pull my phone out of my pocket and send her a text.

“Hello, Yozora.”

Just when I put my phone away, my ringtone plays. Looking at the screen, it does indeed say it’s from Yozora. It reads:

“Oh, it’s you Hisao. I thought you would have forgotten about me by now.”

Huh, when my phone has barely any contacts, it’s hard not to forget about you. Looking around to make sure no one’s behind my back, I reply.

“No, I’m a man of my word. What’s up?”

“Nothing of importance, you should have been able to decipher that by now though.”

Ok, she got me there. That was just more for confirmation than anything else.

“So do you do anything after school? Go to the arcade or something with a friend or two?”

“Out of the question. Hisao, you know what first impression I make on people. I don’t think I could make anyone do anything with me outside of brute force.”

So I guess she is a loner of sorts? But it seems more self-imposed than anything else. Sighing, I start my reply.

“That’s not true, there’s ONE person who wouldn’t mind going somewhere with you without being threatened or anything like that.” A bit sappy yes, but that should get my point across.

“You’re funny, Hisao. If I didn’t know any better, I’d be thinking you were talking about yourself. But I do have Tomo-chan.”

Tomo-chan? Who’s that?

“Who’s Tomo-chan?”

For some reason, her response takes longer than usual. Like ten minutes long. I was about to put my phone away when it rang again.

“A friend. Simple as that.”

Such a long time for such few words. That’s the thing I hate about texting, it’s harder to gauge one’s intentions with the words they’re ‘saying’. I should drop that subject for now, no need to get too nosy.

“Oh, ok then. Well if you’re interested in...” Hmm, how should I phrase this properly. I want to see Yozora again, but I don’t want to seem too forward or awkward. “meeting up somewhere in the area again, I have a free weekend if you want to meet up.”
This time, Yozora’s reply is as fast as quickfire.

“Taking the initiative for once? You do have balls after all. Anyways, there’s this water park close by the city. If you take the bus to the city, we can meet up and I’ll lead the way from there. Interested?”

Well this is an interesting proposition. I did hear about an indoor water park somewhere around the city, but I have no idea where it is. Going to one would be amazing in this summer heat right now. That and well....as much as I’m embarrassed to think about it, seeing Yozora in a swimsuit is also a pretty good incentive. She does have a nice body.

“Okay, I’m free on Sunday. Saturday I have a half-day worth of classes unfortunately. Is that alright with you?”

“Yeah, that’ll work. Meet me at the same Starbucks we met at 10:00 A.M. sharp. And if you don’t show up...” She leaves 3 dots at the end of that threat, probably to make me imagine what she’d do to me. Well, at least my mind doesn’t need to concoct such scenarios, since I will definitely be there.

“Alright, thanks for the information.” Looking up, I notice that the sky has turned from its bright blue into a darkening red. I should head back to my dorm before curfew. I hastily add “I gotta go, have homework to do. Bye.” Satisfied, I place my phone back in my pocket and walk back to my room. That text conversation took up way more time than I expected. At least I made the purpose of the meeting purely platonic for now, I hope i did anyways. Luckily, there’s no sign of Kenji when I approach my room, so the night comes and goes quickly.

The same could be said for the rest of the week. I continue my routine of spending most of my non-school time with Hanako and Lilly. But it seems that after our little ‘date’, Hanako became a little more reluctant of spending time with just me. But surprisingly enough, she rejects Lilly’s offer of going somewhere with Lilly on Sunday as well. But to be fair to Hanako, Lilly said that she has no idea what they would be doing, as Akira would be the one driving them. So God only knows what kind of stuff Akira would want to do, probably something inappropriate for underaged teens. Lilly also asked me to come once Hanako rejected her, but I came up with some vague excuse about going to the city for some shopping that day. She didn’t seem to be entirely convinced, but she doesn’t pursue the subject further.

When Sunday arrives, I gather all the things I’d need for a day at the pool; towel, goggles, bathing suit, spare clothes, and some other things that I don’t care to recall. Dressed in a plain blue v-neck and black denim shorts, I head out to the bus stop. Conveniently enough, the bus arrives only a couple of minutes after I arrive.

As I watch the road go by me, I wonder how this next meeting with Yozora will turn out. While she did seem to want to see me again, a wrong move this early in the game would scare her off. Although knowing her, she’s probably aware that the same terms apply to me as well. I feel kind of nervous thinking about this now. Again, this is another test of wits, except this time, Yozora and I will have to cooperate with each other. Given her...aggressiveness back at Starbucks, I’m not sure how this’ll work out.

I finally reach the city with twenty minutes to spare before 10. So I take my time walking towards the Starbucks, pausing to purchase a bottle of orange juice, which I drain in a short amount of time. When I finally see the Starbucks, I recognize Yozora leaning against the store’s window with a dark blue messenger bag slung over her shoulders. . She’s wearing a pink version of the hat she wore last week, along with a black tank top and long denim jeans. Seeing her again in person does reaffirm my belief that she does look amazing. Looking around, she notices me and beckons me to her.

“I thought you’d be late. Maybe I should start threatening you if you’re too early...” Yozora says when I get close.

“Well I showed up at least, didn’t I? Oh, and nice to see you too, Yozora.” I respond, pointing out her lack of greeting.

“Hmmph! Hello to you too, Hisao. Come on, we’ll miss the bus.” Without another word, Yozora grabs my hand and starts to lead the way towards her destination, presumably a bus stop that leads to the water park.

“Hey, I can walk by myself, y’know! I’m not going to run off or anything.” I shout after a few minutes of being dragged.

Yozora stops, as if finally realizing that she was dragging me all along.

“Well, try to keep up than!” Yozora snarls as she throws my hand away. Well, she’s certainly very spirited.

It turned out that the bus stop was only a few feet away from where I shouted at Yozora, making my protest moot. When the surprisingly empty bus comes, we both take seats in the same row, albeit in opposite sides of the aisle. This is awkward. I can’t come up with anything to talk about, and Yozora does nothing to break the silence, opting instead to look out the window. Huh.

We leave the bus once it reaches the end of the line, which must be the water park. From the outside, it appears to be one giant translucent cube, except it’s more elongated in the front and back. It must be pretty fancy. I take a moment to take in this giant building.

“Yeah I know it looks cool on the outside, but you might want to see the inside as well.” Yozora says as she pushes me towards the automatic double doors. For a friendly outing, she's very pushy, literally.

Somehow, the inside looks even more amazing. One side of the park is entirely dedicated to a near-empty wave pool, while another section seems to be full of many kinds of water slides. In the center of it all appears to be an Olympic-sized swimming pool, except that instead of a rectangular shape, one side is in the shape of a semi-circle which then juts out into the shape of a rectangle. The wall next to the pool contains a line of food kiosks, some tables for eating food, and the entrances to the locker rooms. Heading to the register to pay for admission, Yozora suddenly turns to me.

“You’re paying for two, right?” She asks in a suspiciously innocent voice. While I do have enough for two tickets and then some, why would Yozora want me to...Oh. I get it. She must be seeing how dedicated I really am to our little endeavour now, among other things. Anyways, it’s too late for me to back out now.

“Yeah, sure, I can pay for you.” Pulling out my wallet, I pay our entrance fee (which was pretty small considering the amenities) and we both make our way towards the locker rooms.

“Let’s meet up at the center swimming pool. I haven’t swam in a while and I could use some practice” I throw out as we go our separate ways. Entering the locker room, I pick a random locker and start to change. But as I take off my shirt, I suddenly realize that I still have a scar from my heart surgery back in the hospital. I’m not sure how I forgot about it, but then again, I don’t have much reason to be going around shirtless in public...until now. While it’s a small scar, a jagged, diagonal line cutting across where my heart is, I can’t help but feel self-conscious.

Come on, Hisao, it’s just a scar. If you had Hanako’s scars, this would be a completely different story. And I suppose Yozora would need an explanation of my arrhythmia sooner or later. Now would be a good a time as any to tell her. After I finish changing and lock my stuff away, I step in front of the wall mirror once more. Besides the scar, there’s nothing that would yell out ‘cripple’ to a normal bystander. Maybe one could think I have a horrible taste in swimwear thanks to my bright yellow trunks, but whatever. At least the park is fairly empty right now. After this self-confidence speech, I step out into the park and power walk towards the pool.

With a running start, I jump into the deeper part of the normal pool, receiving a shock of cold as the water envelops me. Swimming back up to the surface, I paddle towards a ledge to get ahold of my bearing. But then I notice I somehow swam towards a pair of feet. Looking up, it turns out said feed belonged to Yozora. She’s wearing a full body zebra-striped swimming suit that shows no skin whatsoever. And she’s giving me a disapproving look.

“Couldn’t even wait for me before jumping in, huh?” She sits down on a part of the pool’s ledge next to me, dipping her long legs into the water. “So what do you think of the park?”

I pull myself up from the pool and sit next to Yozora.

“It’s amazing. I can’t believe I didn’t come here sooner. Not that I would have anyone to go with anyways.” Not with Hanako’s scars, anyways.

“Why wouldn’t you be able to go with anyone?” Yozora inquires. Damn, shouldn’t have thrown in that detail.

“Well...it’s a bit more complicated than you’d think...” I’m still attempting to come up with either a cohesive explanation or an excuse when a loud voice that I recognize comes from the locker room.

“Hey, Lilly, hurry up! I wanna get to the wave pool before it fills up with people!”

Oh, God, no. It’s Akira. And by the looks of it, Lilly’s with her as well. This must’ve been the the place Akira was planning to take Lilly, Hanako, and I. Of all the times to come to the water park...

I twist my neck, if only to confirm my fears. And naturally, they are. Akira’s calmly leaning against one of the tables, wearing a red two-piece that leaves a lot to be desired. Although that may be because Akira isn’t exactly well endowed. Soon after, Lilly steps out of the women’s locker room, but unlike her sister, Lilly’s bathing suit suits her perfectly, wearing one of those brown strapless tops with the matching bottom as well. Lilly says something inaudible from this distance to Akira, and they start to walk in our direction. Shit, if they see me, I'm screwed. They'd immediately jump to the worst conclusion possible.

It looks like this Sunday is going to hell in a handbasket.

Dat lame cliffhanger. And about Tomo-chan, I really can't remove the honorific there, it just makes more sense than simply "Tomo". To anyone who's seen Boku wa Tomadachi, you'll know exactly who she is.

[Mahorfeus]

I am admittedly confused. Is he already technically a thing with Hanako? Is he two-timing her? Or he completely unaware of the ramifications that taking someone on a date implies?