Katawa Shoujo Forums

You know what, fuck it. I'm not doing comments on specific chapters. Screw it. I QUIT! *walks away*

*comes back immediately to see what's going on*

I liked all of those chapters, really. Gotta say, I was more concerned about Taro's home situation than Ritsu's, but that just reversed itself. I'll be interested to see what happens I'm calling it that her family arranged a marriage for her and she and Taro are going to have to run away to Mexico.

Also, I can totally ship Hanako x Akio

Alpacalypse wrote:You know what, fuck it. I'm not doing comments on specific chapters. Screw it. I QUIT! *walks away*

'Paca, come back! Any kind of fool could see!

Alpacalypse wrote:I liked all of those chapters, really. Gotta say, I was more concerned about Taro's home situation than Ritsu's, but that just reversed itself. I'll be interested to see what happens I'm calling it that her family arranged a marriage for her and she and Taro are going to have to run away to Mexico.

Why do you think I made his step-mum a Spanish speaker?

Alpacalypse wrote:Also, I can totally ship Hanako x Akio

Just you wait 'til you read the next one-shot.

Sharp-O wrote:'Paca, come back! Any kind of fool could see!

I don't get this reference. What am I missing here?

Sharp-O wrote:Just you wait 'til you read the next one-shot.

PHASE 1: POWER UP THE HYPE CANNON

Alpacalypse wrote:

Sharp-O wrote:'Paca, come back! Any kind of fool could see!

I don't get this reference. What am I missing here?

Dude! How can you forget Player's seminal hit?

Alpacalypse wrote:

Sharp-O wrote:Just you wait 'til you read the next one-shot.

PHASE 1: POWER UP THE HYPE CANNON

Limiters Disengaged! FEEL Drivers to maximum!

Sharp-O wrote:

Alpacalypse wrote:

Sharp-O wrote:'Paca, come back! Any kind of fool could see!

I don't get this reference. What am I missing here?

Dude! How can you forget Player's seminal hit?

I was trying to keep the song out of my head when you first made the reference. Now, you got it stuck in my head.

Sharp-O wrote:

Alpacalypse wrote:

Sharp-O wrote:'Paca, come back! Any kind of fool could see!

I don't get this reference. What am I missing here?

Dude! How can you forget Player's seminal hit?

It was that song you were referencing
I get it now!

Sorry, I thought you were referencing something else (I kinda forgot the lyrics to that song )

Chapter Twenty-One: Culture Shock

A circle of people surround me, each one I recognise instantly as one of my friends. Why aren’t they looking at me? I approach Ritsu and I can’t look her in the eyes, no matter how many times I circle around her. The same with Akio. And Miki. Why won’t anyone look at me? I collapse in the middle of the circle, which seems to weigh down on me, even as the figures fade into the distance. My friends have turned their backs on me.

I wake with a start and instinctively bring my hand to my face. My laboured breathing is eventually brought under control as I take measured breaths. I close my eyes and open them three or four times, just to clear the images from my mind and focus on the room around me. I scowl into the middle distance as if to intimidate my subconscious. “…That’s not true.”

As I wander aimlessly around the campus, my thoughts become introspective. I thought hanging out with Yuuko yesterday would help alleviate the loneliness but I guess not. Is my head trying to tell me something? Do I really need to go see Miss Tsunemori again? Would she even be here during summer break? I wouldn’t think so…

THUD-CLATTER “{Tatti}!”

“Crap, I’m so sorry!” In my self-indulgent daze, I accidentally bumped into one my classmates and sent her tumbling to the floor. It had to be the one who’s always tripping over herself too… I hold out my hand to help her up but she bats it away.

“Watch where you’re {kamabakhta} going, you-- Oh!” It seems she’s realised it’s me and takes my offered hand the second time.

“Sorry, Molly. I was in my own head and wasn’t looking where I was going…” I say forlornly.

“No, no, I wasn’t looking where I was going either…” She presses her index fingers together.

“Trust me, I fully deserve to be cursed out in Hindi.” I chuckle a little and rub the back of my head. “A guy my size should be more considerate to those around him.”

She nods with a small smile before looking around. “Where’s your girlfriend? And your boyfriend for that matter?” She laughs while rocking back and forth on her prosthetics.

“They’re visiting their families for break. I only got back from doing the same the other day.”

“Oh! That’s nice. So you’re on your own until they get back?” She asks with an enquiring eyebrow. I give a downcast nod.

“Yup. Kind of at a loss with what to do with myself…” I admit, looking around the campus, as if the answer will magically appear from behind a tree.

“Well, I’m taking a trip into town if you’d like to come with me?” She offers sincerely. How can I refuse?

“Thank you, Molly. That would be nice.”

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

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the sheer variety of weird flavours your country will put into sweets…” Molly says as she scrutinizes a plastic bag full of confectionary and other essentials.

“Well you don’t have to buy them all.” I shake my head and she seems to take offence to that.

“Like hell I don’t! Do you know how many countries have Kit-Kats?” She asks sternly.

“I dunno, a bunch I guess?” Where’s she going with this?

“Exactly! Do you know how many have pear and blueberry cheesecake flavoured Kit-Kats?”

“A couple?” I ask, cautiously.

“ONLY. JAPAN. I’ll never have another chance to try this stuff! I have to! For science.” Molly declares with a grin.

“Okay, I get it! You want to gorge on Japanese treats and you’ve got a boner for Kit-Kats.” I laugh as she wastes no time stuffing a Rum Raisin Kit-Kat finger into her mouth.

“They’re the best!” She says with her mouth full and I crack up with laughter.

“I can’t even imagine what your opinion on our curry is…” I idly ponder. Crap, was that racist? Molly seems to pick up on my trepidation and attacks.

“You keen racist!” She cackles with a teasing grin.

“I-I didn’t mean…”

“It’s okay, Taro. I think you’re one of the few people to actually ask! When your home country has it as a national dish, it’s only natural to wonder but most are too scared of offending me.” She smiles, wiping an errant tear from her eye.

“And for the record, it’s quite nice. I’ve never been a fan of spice so your version is perfect for me. Don’t even get me started on katsu curry…” She seems to drool a little at the very thought of it.

“Man, katsu curry is one of my favourites!” I agree, it’s been a while since I had it though.

“We should make some!” She bounces a little before stumbling. “Oop!”

“Easy there, Molly!” I barely grab her arm to steady her, pulling her back a little.

“Nice catch!” She gives me a thumbs up. “Now I definitely owe you some katsu curry.”

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

[Hey Ritsu, I hope you’re okay. I miss you.]

The message was sent about an hour ago and no reply. I hope everything is all right. I make my way over to the girls' dorms at the behest of Molly, who seems all too eager to make some katsu.

I enter the common area on the ground floor to see a small crowd around the miniscule kitchen area. The smell of curry hits my nose and I see a petite black-haired girl at the stove looking rather flustered by the crowd.

“That smells so good!” - “I hope you’re going to share…” - “What brought this on, Molly?” - “It looks yummy~” The chorus of voices coos.

“You know what they say about too many cooks…” I announce, a little louder than normal to catch their attention. The group falls silent as they look at me and then to Molly, who looks more awkward. I guess I just made this ten times worse.

I look at the crowd and see some familiar faces. Molly, of course. Fuuka Sakurada, the one-time rolling object of affection for Akio. Saki Enomoto, a talented musician from what I hear. Tomoko Sakuta, the silver-haired sculptor from the Art Club and a first year girl I’ve never met before.

They all look at me with the same interest before giving each other a look and making a rather conspicuous nonchalant exit. I give the first year a look as she peeks back around the corner.

“I’ve just caused you a butt-load of trouble, didn’t I?” I offer a bemused smirk.

“Ya think? I’m never going to hear the end of it!” She shoots me an incredulous look before turning her attention back to the curry pot.

“Would you like a hand?” I wave my one functioning hand in a vain attempt to get a smile and, luckily, it works.

“Not really, I was mostly guarding it from the others. If you can grab me some bowls, I’d appreciate it!”

“{Roger}!” I give a salute and set about my duty.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

I let out a satisfied groan as I lean back in my chair, patting my stomach for emphasis. Molly does much the same but much more ladylike.

“That was fantastic, Molly. Thank you for the meal.” I give a grateful bow to my dining partner who waves it off.

“No problem, Taro! I don’t think I’ve eaten that well in a while so thanks for the idea.”

I get up and stack my bowl on top of hers and take it over to the sink. The pot was left to soak so I place the bowls to one side while I attack the pot with a sponge.

“You don’t have to do that!” Molly calls, rushing over from the common room table.

“Yes I do, you cooked.” I smile, deftly cleaning the pot of it’s contents, filling and emptying it a couple times before giving it one last wipe and then a rinse in the second sink while Molly looks on.

“If you insist on hovering, you can dry.” I sigh with a smile, tossing the tea towel to Molly and she manoeuvres around me to start drying the curry pot. I place the bowls in the sink and give them a good scrub too before rinsing. The disposable chopsticks are thrown into the refuse sack under the sink cupboard and I pull the plug on the sink and turn to Molly.

“There we go, much quicker if you have a {helping hand}, right?” I grin, waving my still wet hand around.

“Watch it!” She giggles and tosses the towel to me. “You’ll mess up my hair!”

“Wow, that’s such a stereotype…” I chuckle, shaking my head and drying my hand before handing the towel back. “Do you want a drink?” I motion towards the kettle.

“Mmm, tea would be good right now.” She smiles.

“{Gotcha}!” I set about making a coffee for myself and a tea for Molly. She finishes drying and putting away our dishes before coming to inspect my progress. My coffee is done in an instant, so to speak, so I’m dealing with her tea. The gasp from my left side indicates I’m obviously doing something wrong and my swatted hand confirms it.

“What are you doing? For someone who speaks English, you make tea like you don‘t have a clue!” She scolds, hip-bumping me to the side and quickly fixing whatever mistake I made.

“Sugar first. For me, two and half sugars.” She demonstrates by adding two and a half teaspoons of sugar to the mug. “Then your milk, but only to about halfway up the teaspoon. Then the tea bag.”

“Oh, sorry. I was just doing it how Lilly showed me.” I explain a little sheepishly.

“She’s no {bloody} better! She's supposed to be Half-Scottish and wouldn’t know a {proper brew} if it bit her on the {arse}!” She’s getting more passionate about how she likes her tea than-- Wait…

“Do… Do you speak English as well as Japanese and Hindi?” I ask, slightly unsure if I heard her right. She looks shocked by the question.

“It’s my first language! {I’m British, you silly sod}.” I don’t know what she just called me but that’s definitely English, just not the English I know.

“Huh. I just kind of assumed…” I realise what I’m implying half way through my sentence and Molly is quick to pick up on it too. Thankfully, she doesn’t spring another attack on me but a smile creeps across her face as she finishes making her tea. She can curse me out in three languages. Remind me never to piss her off.

“And the final step,” She continues with her instruction. “Is making sure the tea is a nice tan colour. That shows how strong it is. Somewhere between your skin tone and mine should do.” She beams and takes a bow. “{That’s how you make a proper British cuppa}!”

I can’t help but clap my hand against my right arm. “Consider me schooled, Molly.”

“That’ll learn ya for making assumptions.” She grins, handing my mug to me and bringing hers across to a large plush sofa, casual tucking her legs to her side and turning the TV on. We settle on some movie that neither of us are really interested in.

“Thanks again for the meal. And hanging out with me today…” I say quietly into my drink.

“Guess you’re kinda lost without your shadows, huh?” Molly laughs, turning to face me and bringing her knees up to her chest. She’s not wrong.

“Yeah… Never really thought what my life here would be like without my friends. Not a fan of it, personally.” I snort with amusement and take a sip. This coffee is pretty damn good, I’ll have to look at the brand before I go.

“Well I hope you realise that you’ve got one more {mate} than you thought.” She tilts her head and gives a very sweet smile.

“After a meal like that, how could I forget?” We both laugh. “But seriously, thanks for today. I owe you.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” She laughs and takes a big gulp of tea.

“You do realise your dorm-mates have been watching us for the past ten minutes, right?” I smirk, not looking away from the screen. Molly’s head bolts all the way around to glare at the four pairs of prying eyes.

“{Piss off}!” Molly shouts and I hear a chorus of scampering and giggling. Molly turns and groans. “That’s going to be my whole day tomorrow…”

“Sorry…” I look over while taking a sip of coffee.

“Don’t be,” She smiles. “At least this might quash the rumours that I’m trying to get into Misaki’s knickers.”

I don’t recommend squirting coffee through your nose. It’s undignified, you’ll be laughed at by a tiny British/Indian girl and it fucking stings.

Molly is British?!?!
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a new Bestgirl!

Seriously, that was a fun chapter. Please tell me that Molly gets more time in the spotlight, because she's great.

One mistake, though:

Sharp-O wrote:into Mizaki’s knickers.

If this is a reference to that one-shot of yours, I assume that it's "Misaki" you want,

Anyway, another excellent chapter, Sharp! Whoo, I was here to comment this time!

Alpacalypse wrote:Molly is British?!?!
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a new Bestgirl!

Seriously, that was a fun chapter. Please tell me that Molly gets more time in the spotlight, because she's great.

I figured it might be a neat twist that people may not have done before and I'm glad you liked it. Molly will be part of the expanded cast for the forseeable future and gets lots of play in the next chapter (I've always had a soft spot for her so I'm happy to be using her)

Alpacalypse wrote:One mistake, though:

Sharp-O wrote:into Mizaki’s knickers.

If this is a reference to that one-shot of yours, I assume that it's "Misaki" you want,

Nice catch! It is a sly nod I've fixed the error now, thanks for noticing.

Alpacalypse wrote:Anyway, another excellent chapter, Sharp! Whoo, I was here to comment this time!

Glad you enjoyed it

I think you did this in your last one shot too, but: "Breathes." should "Breaths." as in "I take a deep breath."

blueberry cheesecake flavoured Kit-Kats - *Drools*

British Molly = Best Girl

Very nice chapter, loved it!

I'm not surprised about Molly. I had an idea that she might've had family that might have helped the British administration of the colony years ago.

A familial connection to the Meiji period? Interesting idea, that.

No, no. I mean her ancestors probably worked for the British in India and got some mad money out of it for the Kapurs, providing enough money for Molly's folks to move to Japan for better healthcare (and Yamaku, later on).

Oh, fair enough. I just considered her to be from an upper middle-class British family who are of Indian descent. Hell, I could even see her being the one to convince her family to send her to Yamaku after her accident. She has a natural affinity for language, hence speaking Hindi and Japanese to a capable level.

I have to say, British Molly is pretty awesome. Well, more Molly is always a good thing anyways, but this Molly is particularly cool. Looking forward to more of her.

Also, nice inversion of the family situations, with Ritsu now having problems at home. It'll be interesting to see what's going on there.